On May 6, LIMS organized an online training for 17 participants as part of Tripoli’s Youth Activism for Lebanese Accountability (YALA) program. The training discussed the meaning and importance of the building blocks of democracy that include democratic institutions, human rights, separation of power, and rule of law. A special focus was placed on Lebanon and participants debated over whether people in Lebanon fully enjoy their human rights. Citizenship, citizen qualities, and citizen participation in a democracy were also examined. The concept of the rule of law was presented and how the law should equally apply to people and organizations, regardless of the degree of power or wealth they hold.

The workshop discussed the two levels of government: centralized and decentralized. Furthermore, the principle of subsidiarity was used to define the authority of each level of government. Then, a conversation around the three different forms of power, visible, hidden, and invisible, emerged. Participants debated on the roles and responsibilities of political parties and civil society groups in Lebanon, along with women’s participation in politics, and emphasized on the roles and responsibilities of the media, journalists, and social media. During the discussion, social media was put in the spotlight, as these platforms empower individuals and provide them with tools to propagate news. Finally, the core elements of working together and the five stages of group development were explored.