Policy Innovation for Leadership Learning and Reform (PILLAR)

The YMCA of Lebanon, in collaboration with An-Nahar newspaper, the International Management and Training Institute (IMTI) and the Forum For Parliamentary Dialogue (FFPD), designed the Policy Innovation for Leadership Learning and Reform (PILLAR) program in response to the Middle East Partnership Initiative’s Revised Standing Program Announcement of November 4, 2004.  PILLAR’s goal is to build on Lebanon’s constitution that advocates democratic principles and ideals - endorsing freedom of expression, the right to vote and to form associations.  With those foundations already in place, the PILLAR program serves as a means to advancing those democratic principles within Lebanon by creating awareness around issues pertaining to democracy, encouraging participation with particular focus on women and youth, and education on basic rights and governance. 
YMCA with An-Nahar, IMTI and FFPD have developed a comprehensive program that integrates three components into the program:

• The influence and outreach of media
• The impact of lobbying

The PILLAR program was developed around the belief that strengthening and maintaining a democracy requires a commitment between the various sectors of society, including Civil Society Organizations (CSO), youth groups and the media and not just our political institutions.  We believe that this sort of cooperation leads to better coverage of democratic practices and processes – e.g. elections, constitutional rights, civil liberties, transparency and accountability, participation and the basic ability to choose. 
The Project specifically targets youth and women in geographical and social clusters throughout the country - areas where they are less likely to be exposed in such depth to the subject matter.  PILLAR has succeeded in bringing together people of various religious and political backgrounds to work together for the benefit of the community.   Conducting training on democracy awareness in remote and often confined villages, in addition to organizing workshops at the heart of the legislative body in the country, the parliament, has served to benefit all the participants on one level or another.
One key objective of PILLAR is to establish links between the citizens of Lebanon and the decision makers as the country turns a new socio-political page.  The program’s focus is on the following:

• Education on democracy by training and engaging future leaders on democratic practices and principles and creating awareness on the value of democracy and the need for political reforms
• Encouraging civic participation in public life with a particular focus on women and youth
• Promoting “citizen rights”
• Developing links between Lebanese youth and the media to give youth the opportunity to express their opinions, concerns and aspirations
• Build on the capacity of citizens overall, with particular emphasis on youth and women, in order to enable them to effectively engage in decision making processes on all levels.
• To engage in an awareness campaign - via the media - to raise awareness on the important work of NGOs and CSOs.
• To provide youth, women and civil society leaders with a venue to express themselves on  key issues through publications and the distribution of their opinions in a weekly newspaper supplement

Activities of PILLAR include the following:

• Media Monitoring
• Training of 122 young journalists and 42 CSO media liaison officers
• Awareness Campaigns including a televised talk show on LBCI “Kilmeton Kilmeh” and a Radio talk show on Voice of Lebanon under “Sharaftouna”
• 10 volunteer work camps that planted around 5,000 trees, rehabilitated a social center and a public playground, and built two sidewalks
• Public Policy Workshops at the Parliament and women focused workshops
• Good Governance Training for CSOs

training of 126 teachers on basic democratic principles and interactive teaching methods and democracy sessions to around 6,500 students nationally