Summer is over, although we’re still sweating! While the world went to the beach, AiW continued the fight for gender equality and women’s rights! There’s no holiday for human rights defenders and social change activists… at least not until we’ve achieved equality, right?!

So, we kept pretty busy. Here are the highlights:

• We ran trainings with our big sister, the Global Women’s Institute at George Washington University on gender-based violence in refugee settings. AiW provided the space for field staff and social workers to learn more about addressing cases of gender-based violence and to provide the needed access and support for survivors of violence, specifically in refugee settings.
• We co-hosted the Managing Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies with International Medical Corps . The training included participants from several countries committed to building a stronger  support base for gender-based violence survivors as a life-saving service in humanitarian emergencies.
• We spoke at a range of events in Lebanon and around the world. We spoke at the  22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam and engaged with our power-partner, SheDecides, a global movement to promote, provide, protect and enhance the fundamental rights of every woman and girl.
• We organized a panel for the annual Media and Digital Literacy Conference (MDLAB) in collaboration with our colleagues at LAU’s Department of Communication Arts talking about women confronting gender discrimination in the media.
• We worked with the contestants of the upcoming  Miss Lebanon Pageant 2018! As part of series of workshop done by LAU, AiW worked with Miss Lebanon contestants on the beauty industry and its link to objectifying women, and promoting violence. We saw this as an opportunity to spark a conversation to reframe beauty and disrupt an industry that historically subjugates women.
• AiW was represented at the United Nations Populations Fund, United Nations Development Program and UN Women’s workshop on Gender Justice, bringing together government, civil society and the security sector to promote and protect gender justice in Lebanon. Lebanese laws leave loopholes for this – and we need to work together to ensure we all benefit from our right to safety, dignity, respect!
• We marched, protested, spoke out, and published articles. We wrote an article about gender equality as the best driver of sustainable development, arguing that gender equality could help stabilize the Arab region — so long as locals lead.  This was published by Apolitical –an international platform and creator of the list on Gender Equality Top 100 Most Influential People in Global Policy - I was one of only two Arabs to make the list.

In short, we felt the heat this summer! What can you expect for the fall? In short – more of EVERYTHING.

We’re energized and ready to bring back our Gender in Development and Humanitarian Assistance Certificate program, our Food 4 Thought speaking series, our actions – like the awesome student video competition - for the upcoming 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women, and much more. Check out previous videos - Misplaced Guilt and Covering Up – to get an idea of what’s to come!

Keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter and get involved – or you risk missing out!

Happy September,

Lina

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