UISP Initiatives in Lebanon

Since 2013, UISP has been active in development cooperation in Lebanon, through initiatives to strengthen the provision of social and educational services for Palestinian children in refugee camps and support measures for local communities and associations.

International cooperation interventions, however, halted in 2019 due to the pandemic, only to resume in 2025.

These are the main UISP activities in Lebanon:

2025

Ana Kamen Project (Phase 2), funded by the AICS-Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and in partnership with WeWorld-GVC, with the aim of facilitating access to inclusive and quality educational services for vulnerable Lebanese children and refugees, promoting the educational and social inclusion of girls and boys in four Lebanese public schools.

2019

• Contribution, in collaboration with Terre des Hommes, to the construction of a friendly space within a public space, ensuring a high degree of sustainability since management would be handled by local institutions. The identified area is approximately 250 m2. The space is designed to ensure accessibility, not only physically but also, and above all, experientially. For this reason, particular attention will be paid to designing a space that fosters the development of the diverse abilities of boys and girls, both with and without disabilities.
• Contribution to the purchase of a minibus for the Kanafani Foundation to facilitate transportation for guests of the Teacher Training Center for activities with young people with disabilities.
• Monitoring and supervision of trained staff
• Organization of Vivicittà and plogging activities in the Ein El Helwe Palestinian refugee camp in collaboration with the Kanafani Foundation
• Project: SCALE: Social Cohesion through Accessible Learning Environments (April 1, 2019 – May 31, 2020). Area of ​​intervention: Lebanon - Tall Bire and Bebnine municipalities, in the Akkar Governorate, and in the Nabi Osmane municipality, in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. Proponent: We World – GVC Onlus, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation – HOPE program - health, protection, and education for the most vulnerable groups among refugees and host communities in Lebanon, 2019. The project promoted access to educational services and social inclusion for vulnerable Syrian and Lebanese children and those with special needs, ensuring adequate, accessible, and inclusive school facilities and protected environments created through recreational activities involving communities in the destination areas. The proposed action included the implementation of sports and recreational activities and awareness campaigns to promote social inclusion and protection of the most vulnerable children, as well as actions to promote active parenting, in order to ensure social aggregation of diverse groups within the various schools and, in the long term, social cohesion within communities. The intervention was terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018

• Organization, in collaboration with Terre des Hommes and the Kanafani Foundation, of the Vivicittà Run for Palestine in Saida on the occasion of the Nakba: four teams of 40 boys and girls ran a relay race covering the ideal distance from Saida to Palestine. In collaboration with Terre des Hommes, a play bus was purchased and training courses were organized for local workers as part of a broader Terre des Hommes project in Macharia al Qaa to promote children's right to play and enjoy their childhood. Our trainers provided all the necessary assistance to local workers in launching the activities.
• Sport Keepers Project, together with Terre des Hommes and the Ghassan Kanafani Foundation. Funding: Province of Bolzano.
• Project: Strengthening the provision of social and educational services for Palestinian children in the Mar Elias, Burj Barajneh, and Rashidieh refugee camps in Lebanon. Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation. Funder: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2017

• Project: Strengthening the provision of social and educational services for Palestinian children in the Mar Elias, Burj Barajneh, and Rashidieh refugee camps in Lebanon. Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation. Funding: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Project: Promotion of children's rights and new opportunities for informal education in southern Lebanon (Tyre and Sidon). Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Les Amis des Marionettes. Funding: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Project: "Free to Move – En Plein Air." Partners: UISP Committee of Bolzano, Shouf Biosphere Reserve (SBR) / Al-Shouf Cedar Society (Lebanon), Arc en Ciel Association. Funding: Province of Bolzano
• Funding for the construction of a soccer field in the city of Qsar, north of the Bekaa Valley, and for the training of local workers. Partner: Terre des Hommes NGO
• Funding for the purchase of a play bus for use in the Macharia al Qaa region, home to thousands of Syrian refugee families unable to travel to neighboring areas, and related training for play bus operators. Partner: Terre des Hommes NGO
• Vivicittà Tripoli: May 21. Partners: AICS, UNRWA, and the Municipality of Tripoli

2016

• Project: Strengthening the provision of social and educational services for Palestinian children in the Mar Elias, Burj Barajneh, and Rashidieh refugee camps in Lebanon. Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation. Funding: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Project: Promotion of children's rights and new opportunities for informal education in southern Lebanon (Tyre and Sidon). Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Les Amis des Marionettes. Funding: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Project: "Free to Move – En Plein Air." Partners: UISP Committee of Bolzano, Shouf Biosphere Reserve (SBR) / Al-Shouf Cedar Society (Lebanon), Arc en Ciel Association. Funding: Province of Bolzano
• "Free to Move" initiative at the Rafick Hariri Stadium, Saida, involving 250 children, including 50 with disabilities, in sports games and training on Dance Ability, organized by UISP Sassari and Bolzano. Partner: Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation. Funding: Autonomous Province of Bolzano
• Training course for operators of Terre des Hommes and local associations in the Mount Lebanon area on play and learning, organized by UISP Sassari.
• Vivicittà at the Rafick Hariri Stadium in Saida, involving 600 Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian children. Partners: Italian Cooperation Agency of Beirut, Municipality of Saida, UNRWA
• Five-a-side football match in Roumieh prison, spokesperson Renzo Ulivieri. Partners: Italian Cooperation Agency in Beirut, UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Lebanese Ministries of Justice and Interior.
• Funding for the construction of a five-a-side football pitch in the municipality of Deddeh, overlooking the Al Waha Collective Center, which hosts 1,400 Syrian refugees. Partners: NGOs COOPI and UNHCR
• Funding for the restoration of a multipurpose field adjacent to the local church in Jdeide Fekehe, a small village in Lebanon, in the northern Bekaa Valley, 9 km from the Syrian border. This village currently hosts approximately 3,000 Syrian refugees, including more than a thousand minors. Partners: NGO Terre des Hommes
• Training course for local and Terre des Hommes sports operators on sport for all in Jdeide Fekehe, organized by UISP Sassari

2015

• Vivicittà in Tyre, involving 1,200 Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian children. Partners: UTL Beirut, Municipality of Tyre, UNIFIL, UNRWA
• Project: Strengthening the provision of social and educational services for Palestinian children in the Mar Elias, Burj Barajneh, and Rashidieh refugee camps in Lebanon. Partners: CTM, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation. Funder: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Project: Free to move, inclusion through sports for children with disabilities, organized by UISP Sassari. Ein El Alweh refugee camp. Partners: Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, UISP Committee of Bolzano. Funder: Autonomous Province of Bolzano

2014

• Organization of Vivicittà in Tyre, involving Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian children. Partners: UTL Beirut, UNRWA, UNIFIL, Tyre Municipality
• Set up six gyms and provided the necessary sports equipment for gymnastics, basketball, and volleyball. Organization of training courses for local workers in collaboration with the gymnastics and basketball facilities. Beneficiaries: UNRWA schools in the six Palestinian refugee camps. Partners: UTL Beirut, UNRWA, UISP Basketball and Gymnastics facilities

2013

• New edition of Vivicittà in Saida and Baalbek. 3,000 Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian children participated. The event was covered by RAI with the program "Dribbling." Partners: UTL Beirut, UNRWA, Municipalities of Baalbek and Saida
• Sportiva….mente Project - At the Al Fanar Mental Health Institute in southern Lebanon, a training course for mental health workers was offered by UISP Sassari and a four-team soccer tournament with a team made up of the institute's residents. Partners: UTL Beirut, Sardinia Region, Al Fanar Hospital, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation
• Mosaic Project - Training for teachers and social center workers, children, and minors offered by UISP Genoa. Eight gyms were set up in six refugee camps. Locations: Mount Lebanon (Municipalities of Chiyah, Jdeideh, and Ajaltoun), South Lebanon (Tyre), Bekaa (Rachaya), Akkar (Bebnine). Partner: UTL Beirut
• Sport&Dignity: training courses and supply of sports equipment for soft boxing activities, provided by UISP Rome. Beneficiaries: UNRWA schools in the six Palestinian refugee camps. Partners: UTL Beirut, UNRWA, UISP Bolzano Committee, Province of Bolzano, UISP Rome