Participants engaged in the YALA Program delivered an outstanding advocacy campaign to address the barriers preventing tourism in Tripoli namely: the lack of security, cleanliness, and accommodation. The campaign started on social media and built a grassroot momentum highlighting how Tripoli suffers, such as through distortion, defamation, and inequality. Participants produced a short 26 second video that reached 38,886 people, 43,086 plays, 1,113 likes and 671 shares on Instagram. The video was also shared on Facebook and 71 stories were created on Instagram related to the campaign. The hashtag they created: Ahla Bhal Talleh in Tripoli “اهلا_بهالطلة_بطرابلس#” trended on Twitter, being among the top five.
Social media momentum attracted the attention of Tripoli’s members of parliament (MPs) that attended a rally, organized by the campaign team at Rachid Karami International Fair. Participants communicated the campaign’s demands during the rally and asked MPs to: (1) work with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities to strengthen security in the city of Tripoli, (2) work with the local authorities to clean the city, especially the old souks and historical places, and (3) work with relevant ministries to find a solution for the Quality-Inn Hotel. Two MPs attended the rally in person, three MPs sent their representatives, and one MP invited participants to a meeting at his office. 21 newspapers and news-websites and 15 social media pages active in Tripoli covered the rally. Participants decided to form a smaller committee in charge of the follow up.