Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Welcome

Photos by Marta Bogdanska

Heinrich Böll Foundation – Regional Office Middle East

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, associated with the German Green Party, is a legally autonomous and intellectually open political foundation.
Our foremost task is civic education in Germany and abroad with the aim of promoting informed democratic opinion, socio-political commitment and mutual understanding. In addition the Heinrich Böll Foundation supports cultural and scholarly projects, and co-operation in the development field. The political values of ecology, democracy, gender democracy, solidarity and non-violence are our chief points of reference. Heinrich Böll’s belief in and promotion of citizen participation in politics is the model for the foundation’s work.

Our programme areas in the Middle East are:

Statehood & Participation
Conflict and International Politics
Environmental Justice
Culture & Dialogue

Statehood & Participation

Collaborative Study

Censorship in Lebanon: Law and Practice

This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of censorship in Lebanon which will hopefully allow the many local artistic and cultural actors the opportunity to lobby for the most appropriate legislative amendments to the current censorship regulations which are currently not conducive to their work.

Monthly Seminar - Legal Agenda

Legislative trends in 2011

Thursday, 23 February 2012 at 6pm in the "Université pour Tous" Building. In the context of monitoring the legislative activity in Lebanon, the ‘Legal Agenda’ is organizing a seminar to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the legislation issued in 2011.

Research

Narrating Beirut from its Borderlines

- Narrating Beirut from its Borderlines is a collection of four small research studies that examine a number of the physical and immaterial borderlines that have come to define the contemporary geography of Beirut and its peripheries since 2005. By Mohamad Hafeda, Hiba Bou Akar, Dana Mazraani and Massa Ammouri more»

Perspectives Middle East #3 February 2012 - Syria's Revolution: Society, Power, Ideology

Print and Online Publication

Perspectives #3 February 2012 - Syria's Revolution: Society, Power, Ideology

- It is almost a year ago that Syrian citizens, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, courageously took to the streets in protest against the decades-long denial of their basic rights by the Assad regime. more»

Conflict & Intl. Politics

Analysis

Is it Winter or Spring for Christians in Syria?

Following the popular uprisings, there has been much amount of debate on the future of minority Christians sects in the region. Is the new Arab world hostile to Christians? Is it wise for them to fear the downfall of the Assad regime? By Doreen Khoury more»

Peace Prize

Hanaa Edwar from the Iraqi Al-Amal association awarded the Sean MacBride Peace Prize 2011 by International Peace Bureau

- The International Peace bureau (IPB) is to award the MacBride Prize 2010 to the Heinrich Böll Foundation Middle East's partner Hanaa Edwar for her contribution to the advancement of democracy and human rights as well as her firm stand against violence and war. more»

Publication

To the Death: A survey of the continuing experiences among fighters from Lebanon's Civil Wars

- No history of the Lebanese civil war can ever be complete if it fails to explain why ordinary Lebanese chose to fight and how they perceive the actions they took during the war. With that in mind, this work has attempted to identify and elucidate some of the many factors that compelled Lebanese to enter the fray.
more»

Environmental Justice

Preparatory Meeting

What are we Expecting from the UNFCCC COP 17 Meeting in Durban?

Organized by the Lebanese Commission for Environment and Development in collaboration with the Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Middle East Office, the Ministry of Environment and the League of Independent Activists, Indyact.

NGOs and Climate Crisis: Fragmentation, Lines of Conflict and Strategic Approaches

- Climate policy active NGOs and movements are fragmented and characterized by heterogeneous interests. Cleavages exist in important issues and the choice of strategies. A discussion of complementary strategies and division of labor is an urgent need. By Barbara Unmüßig more»

Study

Climate Change and Tourism in Lebanon

- Worldwide, the inexorable growth of the tourism sector with its high demand for land and other resources has reignited the debate about the environmental impact of tourism. Given the number of natural attractions in Lebanon on the one hand and the fact that its tourism development is only beginning anew on the other hand, it offers a rare opportunity to sufficiently consider, at least in theory, the interrelations of climate change and tourism from the onset. By Manja Riebe more»

Culture & Dialogue

Cultural Magazine

Kalamon

Kalamon is an Arabic quarterly magazine published in Lebanon. It seeks to provide a free space for articles, essays, studies and literary texts pertaining to the Arab world and aims at stimulating dialogue among intellectuals and academics, artists and critics from the region and the world. more»

International Conference

Social Sciences in Arab Countries Facing a Scientific Multi-Versalism: Pathways, Challenges and Constraints

8-9 July 2011 at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. The emergence of a multi-polar science world with many emerging and strong science communities in East-Asia, India and Latin America and, last but not least, in the Arab countries, indicate the end of the exclusive reign of Western social sciences and the beginning of a new era of international social science collaborations.

Public Discussion and Presentation

Global Prayers – Redemption and Liberation in the City

21 June 2011 6pm to 9pm at Hangar/Umam, Beirut, Lebanon. Holy Ghost services which feel like pop concerts; cinemas and theatres converted into churches; the Koran and the Bible as rap songs. New religious movements have arrived on the urban scene across the world – be it in Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Mumbai, Berlin, London, or Beirut.

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