Campaigning for a Cleaner Future
Civil society organizations rally the youth of Lebanon to raise awareness on waste and the environment.
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| Activists from the Youth Movement project protest at a landfill in the southern city of Tyre.
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To protest government plans to install environmentally harmful waste incinerators, young people across Lebanon on December 19 called for the adoption of the conceptual goal of zero waste and attracted public and media attention to the issue of solid waste management.
The National Day of Action, as it was called by its League of Independent Activists (IndyAct) organizers, featured over 175 initiatives across the country, including cleaning campaigns, demonstrations, and distributions of educational materials.
To raise awareness and mobilize the country's youth, IndyAct worked with civil and environmental groups for months to prepare for the event, touring the country and collaborating with various nongovernmental organizations that have hosted its mobile exhibition on the topic of waste. The Day of Action was one of the largest demonstrations ever organized by civil society actors in Lebanon.
Partners of USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) led awareness-raising activities about the zero waste goal. Youth activists with SAMA for Development answered IndyAct's call to action and picketed the Saida landfill with banners reading "Yes for zero waste, no for incinerators."
According to 16-year-old SAMA member Ibrahim Mzayen, the initiative was about getting the country to listen. "Demonstrations should be held in all villages," he said. "The more media coverage we get, the better chances we have to reach the decision makers."
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"They tell us that waste management is the municipality's responsibility. We'd rather start working on managing our waste at home instead of just placing blame."
—Tahani Dheini, 23, a member of the Toura Youth Club
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Blue Mission, another OTI partner, held a discussion session after screening "The Story of Stuff," a short movie that exposes wasteful practices and promotes environmental stewardship. During the discussion, Nour Bizri, 19, voiced dissatisfaction with her local municipality. It "only remembers to clean the beach in the summer and then dumps waste throughout the winter season," she said.
And in the North, OTI-partner Welfare Women Association held an exhibition showcasing handicrafts made from discarded materials to encourage recycling and re-use.
Many of the organizations that joined IndyAct in its effort have uploaded pictures of their activities to the "Join us in the National Day of Action for ZERO WASTE" Facebook page.
For further information, please contact:
Marialice Ariens, Program Manager, 202-712-4031, mariens@usaid.gov
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