Dear Friends,
It is our great pleasure to invite you to the seminar “Pluralism, Liberalism & Participation: What to learn from Lebanon—and what to improve!”. We as the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) are organising this event in cooperation with the International Democratic Initiative (IDI) of the D66 Party of the Netherlands and the seminar will take place in Beirut, Lebanon from 2-5 May 2019.
The general idea behind this project is two-fold: First, it aims to introduce and train young activists from different backgrounds in the ideas of liberalism and the promotion of individual liberty, liberal pluralism, liberal democracy, and human rights, with a special emphasis on the application of relevance of these institutions in the context of diverse societies. Second, it aims to carve out best-practices in terms of tolerance, social discourse, and pluralistic practices that empower minorities from various regions of the world, with a special emphasis on Lebanon and the MENA region. As one of the most pluralistic societies in terms of ethnic and religious composition (as well as with a history linked to the topic), we believe that Lebanon would be the ideal platform to discuss the relevance of pluralistic institutions to enable inclusion and political and social participation by all societal groups.
The goals of the project can be summarized as follows:
- to provide youth activists with a thorough understanding of liberal political theory by discussing the topic of liberal pluralism, tolerance, and the open society.
- to enable youth activists to apply these principles of liberal pluralism to their own communities and respective societies.
- to provide them with a platform to discuss their experiences with diversity and inclusion in their political realities—and to exchange best and worst-practices.
- to learn and gain insights from the Case Study of Lebanon (pre and post Civil War) and to draw recommendations for Lebanon, the region, and their respective societies.
- to provide participants with the skills and tools to develop implementable social policies that could improve the (a) formal and (b) informal institutions that promote social inclusion and pluralism.
All participation costs will be covered by the organizers. If you are interested to participate, please fill in the application form by 20 April 2019.