Our Mission:

Positive Young changemakers

Peace of Art is a local organization that uses Art and culture in place of conflict and violence as tools to promote Peace. We create groups of young changemakers to be the future leaders in Art and to transform a culture of violence, discrimination, extremism and ignorance into tolerance, acceptance, development, and freedom. We do this through designed programs that focus on fine Art training (music, theater, photography, film making, drawing), and civil training (citizenship, acceptance toward others, leadership skills, conflict mediation and resolution).

Sustainable development

We believe that Art, education and capacity building can contribute in developing our communities and build youth to be our future leaders and entrepreneurs.

Our vision

Peace of Art aims to build a young generation that believes in Art and education as a way to solve community problems. And to contribute to establishing an open and tolerant society where young voices engage with each other in the democratic transformation of the region. Our goals through Art, education, and culture include: – Create a safe space for youth, women, and children in marginalized areas and places of conflict to meet with intellectuals, artists and civil society organizations to allow and inspire local people to express themselves through Art in an environment of dialogue. – Promote the acceptance of “the other” who may come from different religious backgrounds, nationalities, and political views and learn to fight discrimination, racism, and negative tribal mentalities. – Break stereotypes about people from specific backgrounds (refugees, people who live in rural areas, the handicapped, marginalized groups, etc.) and contribute towards ending hate speech towards them. – Contribute to peacebuilding and creating a new, more aware generation.

Our Aim

Peace of Art aims to build a young generation that believes in Art and education as a way to solve community problems. And to contribute to establishing an open and tolerant society where young voices engage with each other in the democratic transformation of the region.

Who we are?

We are a group of motivated Lebanese youth who believe in the power of Art and education to make positive social changes. We started in North Bekaa with a strategic objective: “build a community where Art and other nonviolent means of communication are employed for the betterment of society.” We have been active in Lebanon as a registered non-governmental organization since 2016.

Why starting from North Bekaa?

Baalbeck – Hermel, where North Bekaa is located, is the largest governorate in Lebanon. It is a poor, deprived, marginalized, and rural area suffering from the government’s negligence and several conflicts including ISIS attacks in 2016 (as one of the neighboring villages was an ISIS stronghold). Living in close proximity to one another are Syrian Sunnis, and Lebanese Sunni, Shiites, and Christians; it is the perfect example of Lebanon’s mixed population structure, and the extreme challenges that are encountered throughout the country. Including the impact of the Syrian crisis, which was dramatic on the region. We are bordered by Syria from the North and East, and considered a Red Zone by many embassies (tourists and visitors are recommended not to visit) due to an increased rate of crimes and kidnappings. Many of our youth are involved in organized crime, violence, drugs and weapons dealing, and armed conflicts because of the absence of any alternative or public spaces for promoting Peace and acceptance (the next activity center is a 2-hour drive). There is an absence of statistics, but we see this in our communities, daily. Thus there is an urgent need to change this situation for the betterment of our current and future generations. Or, we fear, they and our communities are headed towards the violent extremism we hear on the news.

How we work?

In places of conflict, where Art is often the last priority, we use it to make sustainable, and positive social changes using different tools: Fine Art Training (music, theater, photography, production, etc.), Civil Training (conflict resolution, peacebuilding through Art and education, building leadership skills, tolerance, acceptance towards others), Capacity Building for Youth and Women (including preserving national heritage; carpet and musical instrument making, local handmade crafts, languages courses) and through organizing Youth Training Programs and Art Events (music festivals, photography and drawing exhibitions, film screenings).

Why Art?

Arts have proved to be a useful tool to express oneself when all other means failed to. We are promoting Arts as an alternative to guns, drugs, and violence in the complete absence of any other options where youth can invest their energies.

Focus

Our main focus is on our youth, but also women and children, who are the seeds to a future where diversity is the main element of social life. We are committed to the empowerment of the area by reviving the national heritage and embracing the local (shafting) cultural identities. Through our work we are building a large network of volunteers who are becoming the positive role models in North Bekaa and breaking the stereotype of youth in Baalbeck-Hermel as ‘narrow-minded and violent individuals who come from rural areas, and who are most likely drug addicts with guns in their hands.’

Global Partnerships for peacebuilding

We are building partnerships to further achieve our goals in peacebuilding and youth empowerment towards contributing to global positive change and UN SDGs 2030 including: SDG #4 – quality education, SDG #16 – Peace justice and strong institutions, and SDG # 17 – partnership for goals. We believe that young people are not trouble makers or victims, but rather people who can be agents of change and Peace through capacity building as mentioned in the UN Security Council Res. 2250, which recognizes youth’s positive efforts in the future of peacebuilding and security. Today we are an official member of the United Network of Youth Peacebuilders (UNOY), representing Lebanon among a network of 80 youth organizations in 50 countries, who are united around the vision of a world free from violence in which young people play an active role in contributing to peace. We are also a partner of “In Place of War,” University of Manchester’s research project, and a global organization that uses creativity in places of conflict as a tool for positive change. If you are an organization working on capacity building, art, peace, and human rights and see a way in which we could mutually benefit from a partnership, please feel free to use the Contact section to contact us.