LEBANON: Day 4

Our final working day in Lebanon had on agenda a meeting at the American University of Beirut (AUB). In attendance were:

Professor Mounir Mabsout, director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) at AUB and his team,

Mr Vesa Jaakola, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Damascus, currently working from Beirut,

Nassib El-Solh and Maria El-Solh of the Al-Amal Institute,

and our group from Aalto University.

We did a presentation recapitulating our endeavors so far and elucidating where we are heading with the Rock Village project; our goals and hopeful partnerships.

There was also a presentation from CCECS on similar projects they have carried out in villages in South Lebanon, followed by discussions around the following themes:

- Creating the project/concept proposal based on scientific data to back relevance of the project.

- Designing a relevant project through comprehensive participatory methods.

- Working on the liaison between AUB and Aalto University. Aalto University needs to create a formal institution in the manner of CCECS that can organise and coordinate the project and its funding. AUB is interested in knowing how far Aalto University is ready to go with their collaboration, funding and continuity of the project.

- Possible sources of funding. Vesa Jaakola was instrumental here in making recommendations on options for funding.

In a nutshell, the vision of the Rock Village project is quite clear and pursuable at the moment, but for the next steps there is still work to be done on the working structure, partnerships and funding mechanism.

It was a fruitful field trip to Lebanon with enormous learning outcomes, thus a befitting night out in culmination of our trip. We return with a clearer insight on how to proceed with our project. 'Merci' to Nassib and family,  and to all the officials who fitted us in their hectic schedules.

Please, keep following our blog for progress on the Rock Village project.