News analysis by Maria Wehbe, Featured Writer

August 12th, 2021

On August 5th, 2021, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini returned to Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, in order to stand in solidarity with its people as the country had reached its one-year mark since the destructive and devastating Port Blast . She also came back in order to reflect on the concrete results that the “Li Beirut” Initiative has achieved thus far, one that had been launched in the aftermath of the blast, on August 27th, 2020 by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.  

Its main goal? To place education and culture at the center of all of the reconstruction and relief efforts.

Her prior visit took place in June of 2021, whereby a ceremony was held by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab states as a way to celebrate their collaboration with the Lebanese University (LU), the American University of Beirut (AUB), and the Saint-Joseph University (USJ).

To put matters into perspective, the Beirut Blast impacted more than 85,000 students given that 226 schools, 20 training centers, and 32 university campuses were severely damaged. As a result, UNESCO has made it its mission to rehabilitate two Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers, 55 public schools, and three universities in Beirut with the help of the Qatar Fund for Development and Education Above All. It is worth mentioning that the Qatar Fund for Development has been of immense aid on numerous occasions for Lebanon: for instance, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Lebanese Ministry of Health in June of 2021 in order to reconstruct the old building of the Karantina Hospital in Beirut. As well, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education to provide scholarships for 400 students in cooperation with the Education above All Foundation.

It is clear that Qatar is still willing to help Lebanon deal with the repercussions of the Blast, even a year later and onwards.

However, one must note that there are about 1508 schools and 48 universities in Lebanon and a big chunk of them are located in Beirut. The Lebanese Education Sector was one that was flawed to begin with long before the tragedy of August 4th, and coupled with a deadly blast this sector only regress further, and it is expected to to take a lot of time to get it back up on its feet completely.

During her visit, Ms. Giannini met with key national and international education stakeholders and partners to discuss ways to reinforce the ongoing efforts put towards the recovery of Beirut’s educational system. The Assistant Director General is very interested in Lebanon and shows deep interest in the welfare of its people: on the morning of August 4th, 2021, she paid tribute to the victims of the Blast by observing a minute of silence in front of the victims’ memorial at the port alongside Lebanon’s United Nations family and the diplomatic corps.

“It is a great pleasure to be with you today to share a moment of hope and solidarity with students, teachers, parents and the education community at large. Last year, with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, I visited Beirut two weeks after the explosion and witnessed the destruction of schools first hand. These are images that leave deep scars, ones that can never be forgotten. For the past 12 months, UNESCO has mobilized its teams to coordinate local and international support to ensure that the damaged schools are rehabilitated. This is the power of partnership around a single mission”, mentioned Giannini.

After UNESCO rehabilitated 20 public schools and 20 private schools with the help of the international fund Education Cannot Wait, the Assistant Director General presented the Minister of Education and Higher Education Tarek Majzoub with the keys of 20 public schools and 20 private schools in a ceremony that was held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah public school in Beirut, in the presence of the Chief of Strategic Partnerships at Education Cannot Wait Nasser Fakih, the Director of the UNESCO Office in Beirut Costanza Farina and the Director General at the Ministry of Education Fadi Yarak.

“Rebuilding Beirut starts with the revival of its education sector, and its rich cultural fabric. In situations of crisis, a short-term response is simply not enough. We need a long-term vision to give children and youth aspiration, a sense of hope in the future, and competences to rebuild their lives. We must prioritize and invest more in education, because this is the heartbeat of Lebanon’s future. This is where the real capital of Lebanon has always been and shall remain if we act together to empower this country’s most precious resource - its children and youth - and stay true to our commitments and ambition”, added Giannini.

Minister Majzoub affirmed that “the first signs of the return to life after the explosions are revealed through the restoration of schools, educational and university institutions, and this is where the Li Beirut initiative comes in in this context”. As well, he accompanied the Assistant Director General and the attendees on a tour to the rehabilitated Zahrat Al-Ihsan private school, located in the Achrafieh neighborhood.

Indeed, it is crucial to put the educational system as a priority, because as Giannini said, Lebanon’s future lies in the hands of its students and youth. However, given the accumulations of crises and the dire conditions that Lebanese citizens are faced with on a daily basis, a bright and proper future seems more and more out of reach. Brain Drain is becoming more and more common, whereby Salam Abdul Samad, an immigration attorney, said that calls about immigration have not stopped since the beginning of 2020 and most of those who are calling are fresh graduates seeking opportunities abroad. If the situation remains as is, Lebanon is bound to become an ageing society and the only way to avoid this is by enhancing the education system and assuring that education is attainable for anyone who seeks it.

The Fate of Higher Education Institutions and a potential 5-Year National Plan

Stefania Giannini also managed to hand over the keys of 16 buildings within the Lebanese University (LU), which were rehabilitated by UNESCO as well, to the President of said-university Dr. Fouad Ayoub, in the presence of Minister Tarek Majzoub, Director General of Education Fadi Yarak, Director of EAA’s Al Fakhoora Programme Talal Al Hothal, First Secretary at the Qatar Embassy in Beirut Nasser Kahtani and the Director of UNESCO Beirut Costanza Farina. One must keep in mind that the Lebanese University is the only public university found in Lebanon, and so its rehabilitation and maintenance was crucial given its increasing number of students, with a staggering 70 000 students enrolled, give or take. “Lebanon continues to face immense parallel and compounded challenges; the education sector has been profoundly impacted. Students, teachers, professors and administrators are paying the highest price and enduring a deep hidden crisis. They are not only coping with learning disruptions and struggling to make ends meet, but they see the future closing in on them and dimming their prospects.”, added Giannini. She praised “the many great minds and renown intellectuals of the Lebanese University who have made indelible contributions to this nation” during her meeting with the faculty members on campus, a meeting that took place in order for her to listen to their concerns.

As well, the American University of Beirut (AUB) was severely impacted by the blast, whereby 8 buildings with extreme heritage value had been damaged. Ms. Giannini made sure to visit the campus and check on the buildings to note the progress and see where the reconstruction efforts had reached. Dr. Fadlo Khuri, the president of said-university, made sure to accompany her. “I am aware and very concerned about the country’s brain drain - the migration of faculty members, medical doctors, and nurses, etc. If not reversed, this will add up to dramatic loss of human capital that the country cannot afford and carries long-term social and economic consequences. I am here to listen to your voices and concerns and get a hands-on sense of major issues facing the higher education sector generally, and this prestigious university in particular, so that we may explore how to step up support from the international community. Our collaboration will go beyond the rehabilitation of buildings and will continue to work together to find solutions and respond better to our challenges”, assured the Assistant Director General. Indeed, Dr. Khuri pointed out the AUB-UNESCO collaboration and said that “it has proven to be an excellent concoction of good will, high expertise, and committed support. The drive for knowledge, so vibrant in this magnificent university through both war and peace, is uniquely intended towards excellence for the greater good, striving for a better world.”

First and foremost, Ms. Stefania Giannini made sure to schedule a meeting with Caretaker Minister Tarek Majzoub at the Lebanese Ministry of Education, after which she took part in the launching of Lebanon’s 5-year plan for the education sector. She reassured that UNESCO would be contributing new financial core resources needed to sustain its policy engagement. The conference was attended by Director General of Education Fadi Yarak, the President of the Educational Center for Research and Development George Nohra, the Deputy Special Coordinator of the United Nations in Lebanon Dr. Najat Rushdie, the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut Costanza Farina, UNICEF representative Yuki Muku and the Regional Director of the Levant Department at the World Bank Saroj Kumar Jah.

"The plan provides equal opportunities for all children residing on Lebanese territory to access quality education in the public and private sectors. It also takes into account the marginalized and poor groups and allocates an important space for students with special needs. It is a plan that unifies the efforts of all partners and the observations that we received on the first draft of the plan from international bodies were taken into consideration. The plan has three pillars: justice in providing learning opportunities and preventing or limiting drop-outs for all Lebanese and non-Lebanese children; providing quality and flexible education; and good governance and strengthening the educational administrative system”, noted Minister Majzoub. The plan does take into account the major issues that the education sector is currently faced with, and hopefully, it can lift the sector up and improve it drastically, because it really is necessary. “I am proud that UNESCO and its specialized International Institute for Educational Planning have collaborated so closely on the plan’s development. I commend its ambitious vision and transformative approach”, said Giannini.  

Prioritizing the arts and heritage

UNESCO cares deeply about culture and heritage. It seeks to encourage the protection, identification and preservation of cultural and natural heritage all over the world that is considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. As a result, it launched its World Heritage Mission that embodies many principles, some of which are the following: encouraging countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage, providing emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate dangers, etc. And so, it does not come as a surprise that UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Education also cares deeply about culture and heritage, and thus made it a part of her mission to see through its preservation, given that is was one of Li Beirut’s main pillars as well. Lebanon is known for its culture and heritage drawing on many Arab customs.

Seeing that the blast led to the destruction of 640 buildings with heritage value, of which 60 were in critical condition, was truly upsetting. This is where UNESCO stepped in and stabilized 14 heritage buildings in the areas of Rmeil, Saifi and Medawar, with the support of Germany and UNESCO’s Emergency Fund; buildings that Ms. Giannini could not pass on visiting. She also made sure to visit the Sursock National Museum, home to many Lebanese cultural archives, modern and contemporary art, a museum that UNESCO is restoring and rehabilitating with a donation from the Government of Italy under the “Li Beirut” Initiative.

In July of 2020, UNESCO organized a Beirut TERDAD Festival in the hopes of reviving the city’s cultural life – undeniably, Lebanon has always been known for its culture, its people, its food, its way of life basically. Giannini met with local artists there, ones who represent all the different forms of art: music, dance, theatre, cinema, etc. More so than anyone else, they really are worried about the country’s cultural scene after the blast and made sure to make their voices heard on the matter. After all, Lebanon would not stand for what it is today if it weren’t for artists like these, who showcase to the world what the country truly is about. Nonetheless, they made sure to shed light on the positive impact that the “Li Beirut” initiative has had on their lives and showed their enthusiasm to take part in a second edition of this festival, if there were to be one.

Stefania Giannini concluded her visit by touring the National Museum of Beirut with Deputy Special Coordinator of the United Nations in Lebanon Dr. Najat Rushdie and Director General of Antiquities Sarkis Khoury, followed by a courtesy visit to the Lebanese Caretaker Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zeina Acar.

      “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

Given the current circumstances and the accumulating crises that keep drowning Lebanese citizens, it really does seem like Education is the only remaining lifesaver to dig the country out of the rabbit hole that it is currently stuck in. When one talks about Education, there are many different angles to look at: it is about teaching others how to properly vote, it is about learning how to communicate and work together as a community towards the greater good, it is about each and every one of us, and UNESCO was able to see that immediately. With international aid coming through and countries willing to contribute to this cause, it is crucial to see through the plans that have been discussed and agreed upon, because the time limit for saving the education sector is almost up, and this time, if restauration and amendment are not properly sought through, there’s no coming back from it.