Research Report
Authors:
Emily Wills, Co-Director of the Community Mobilization in Crisis Project at University of Ottawa
Diana El Richani, Program Manager of the Community Mobilization in Crisis Project
Zeina Awaydate, Programs Manager at LASeR (Lebanese Association for Scientific Research)
Executive Summary:
The Community Mobilization in Crisis (CMIC) project promotes a participatory approach to community challenges based on the agency and drive of citizens of a community through community mobilization education programs, particularly focusing on work with refugee communities in Lebanon. In this project, we tested this framework through a pilot implemented by University of Ottawa, in partnership with a local community actor: Lebanese Association for Scientific Research (LASeR), a non-profit, working closely in education and with refugee communities in Northern Lebanon. Because this project was supported by the research project “School to College Transitions among Vulnerable Youth in Lebanon” at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, the specific theme chosen was educational barriers experienced by secondary and post-secondary students. The pilot engaged thirty-five students from various backgrounds, who participated in community mobilization training, chose a problem they think is relevant to their own educational barriers, design a solution accordingly, and move towards implementation.