Our Mission
PCDD is an independent Lebanese NGO that specializes in advocacy and electoral campaigns. Through its technical expertise, consulting services and capacity building programs, the Center provides assistance to marginalized groups and civil society organizations in Lebanon and the MENA region to become active proponents of change in the public sphere.
About the 2011 Annual Report
The key pillars of PCDD’s work are reflected in the types of projects it proposes and undertakes. We could easily make the case that this year’s projects were very youth oriented, with PCDD’s campaigns being spread to multiple Lebanese universities, and our director and staff equipping students with skills all over the country. Women empowerment was also a recurrent theme this year, with PCDD shown prominently at numerous workshops, forums and conferences that are focused on women and their development as a social group. As always however, advocacy remains our grand focus as an organization.
As proof that civil society advocacy can bear fruits in the Middle East, PCDD rejoiced to learn that after 7 months of campaigning for the project “Access to information and bread safety”, the decree No. 82/1/أdated 27/4/2011 was issued by the Lebanese ministry of economics imposing safety standards on white flour for bakeries and was supported by PCDD. This is an important success that we proudly share!
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Annual Report / [2011]Projects
DeMOCRACY
“Access to Information and Bread Safety”, Lebanon
August 2010-February 2011
Context
Due to the decline of the economic situation in Lebanon, most Lebanese depend on white bread as their essential food supplement. However, in the absence of any decree imposing a detailed information label on bread bags, white bread had been subject to numerous alterations in its manufacture leading to various health problems. Moreover, the procedure of bread making and ingredients’ storing in Lebanon didn’t meet the international standards of food manufacture and storage. Therefore the absence of bread safety standards was a health hazard imposed on Lebanese citizens by the agro alimentary lobby which took advantage of the status quo.
Objectives
PCDD recognized that Lebanese citizens were not aware of their right to have access to food related information and ignored how to ensure the legal proportions of the ingredients used in the alimentary products. This is why the campaign objective was to investigate what were the components of the Lebanese Bread in order to set updated standards and impose an explicit nutritional label on white bread bags.
Strategy
•Working in partnership with the Ministry of Industry’s LIBNOR, the official body responsible for developing and implementing standards in Lebanon.
•Collecting randomly different samples of Lebanese bread from various regions in Lebanon to be tested on their components: unsafe results were received from the laboratory.
•Drafting a law on bread safety recommending that all ingredients have to be listed on a standard obligatory label onbread packages.
•Launching of an awareness campaign to inform the Lebanese society of the obtained result.
- Interviews broadcasted on most national T.V channels and radio stations;
- Collecting thousands of signatures from concerned citizens demanding safe Lebanese bread;
- Different schools and universities in Lebanon.
•Lobbying numerous decision makers and concerned ministries (Ministry of economics and Ministry of Industry) for the draft law to be adopted.
Challenges
•Have access to information concerning the ingredients composing white bread was a real challenge: PCDD had to collect bread samples and go to a laboratory by itself.
•Face corruption and comfortable status quo in the agro alimentary sector and at the Ministry, which led to pressure to stop the campaign.
•Make Lebanese citizens aware of their right to information.
•Lobby on ministries reluctant to change the law and/or unaware of the issue.
Our Successes!
After 7 months of campaigning, a decree No. 82/1/أdated 27/4/2011 was issued by the ministry of economics imposing on bakeries to respect and abide by the safety standards on white flour!
Consulting services
Training and facilitation
Strategic Planning, Beirut, June 6, 2011
PCDD responded to AUB’s request by providing young and mid-career civic activists from the Middle East and North Africa with a full day training on Strategic Thinking and Planning. The workshop helped them define a mission, conceptualize a vision as well as identify strategic goals. The training was part of the “Leaders for Democracy” project implemented by the American University of Beirut (AUB) in order to encourage emerging civic leaders and democracy activists to gain academic skills and practical experiences as well as networking opportunities with like-minded professionals.
Advocacy Strategic Planning, Jordan, August 24th- Oct 12th 2011
As per the request of the American Educational Development (AED) / Jordan Civil Society Program, PCDD provided technical assistance and training for the After Action Review (AAR) grantees through workshops conducted on the concept of advocacy and advocacy strategic planning (micro and macro). PCDD provided also a one to one consultation to each NGO grantee to guide them developing a 3-5 years detailed advocacy action plan and in identifying a 12-15 months plan. The support consisted on raising questions, asking for more information, reviewing and analyzing the draft action plan deliverable and identifying gaps and clarifications.
Building Organizational Identity, Tunisia, October 1st -3rd, 2011
In response to an expressed desire by the Tunisian Association of Women Lawyers (ATFJ) and in partnership with the American Bar Association (ABA) / Rule of Law Initiative, the director of PCDD, Ms. Lina Alameddine, conducted and facilitated a 3 day workshop on organizational development. Women Lawyers were supported in the analysis of the external and internal context, identification of strategic priorities, and the development of an action plan for the coming three years.
Strategic Planning, Qatar, November 26th, 2011
As per the request of the American Bar Association (ABA), and under its program “Women Leadership Program” implemented in partnership with Qatar University, PCDD conducted a full day of training on Strategic Planning, assisting 26 female student lawyers to acquire knowledge and planning skills necessary for the development of their future plans.
Events
In 2011 PCDD took part in the following conferences and workshops:
LAU NGO Fair, Beirut, April 13, 2011
PCDD attended along with 100 NGOs in Lebanon the 2nd annual LAU NGO Fair that took place in LAU Beirut Campus. The fair that adopted this year the Moto of “Civic Actions Speak Louder than Words” intended to present a platform that instills in students the importance of community service and volunteerism and provide them the opportunity to channel their creative potential, energy and passion into the meaningful conduits of constructive social work.
Volunteering Fair 2011, Beirut, April 27-28, 2011
PCDD attended the annual Volunteering Fair at AUB aimed at connecting non-governmental organizations and AUB centers or groups with students, faculty, and staff. PCDD profited from the event to familiarize AUB students with its recent activities, collected signatures for the bread safety campaign and recruited volunteers.
Empowering Women in Emerging Democracies and Transitional Societies, Tunisia, May 3-5, 2011
The director of PCDD, Mrs. Lina Alameddine, took part in a high- level strategic dialogue with a small group of key women’s civil society leaders from the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and the United States. The meeting that was hosted by the US State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and the US Middle East Partnership Initiative in Tunisia, intended to discuss how best to secure and defend the Tunisian civil society role in political transition.
Meeting with American Ambassador for Global Women Issues, Tunisia, May 4th, 2011
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer led a State Department consultative colloquium with women civil society leaders from throughout the Middle East and North Africa region to which PCCD’s director Lina Alameddine participated.
World Justice Forum III, Barcelona, June 20-23, 2011
The director of PCDD, Ms Lina Alameddine, participated to the third conference of World Justice Forum aimed at incubating concrete, multidisciplinary projects that advance the rule of law. Ms Alameddine joined 400 leaders from more than 100 countries and a multitude of professional commitment dedicated to strengthening the rule of law around the world to discuss about their latest projects implemented and share with them PCDD’s experience with access to information.
Regional roundtable discussion on gender: Women empowerment through research, Beirut, November 17-18, 2011
PCDD participated to a two day long roundtable organized by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Women Empowerment Organization and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World which aimed to explore concrete models and activities of cooperation between civil society activists and academics working on gender-related issues.
Rule of Law Index, 2011
The director of PCDD, Ms Lina Alameddine, contributed along with experts from 66 different countries in disseminating and completing a questionnaire directed to experts in the area of labor law. The questionnaire was part of the Rule of Law Index, a project held by the World Justice that investigated labor law, civil and commercial law and constitutional law.
Partnership Center for Development and Democracy
Corniche el Mazraa
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel 00961 (1) 303911
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