Urban/Rural Development and Engaging Local Communities



OBJECTIVES


1. Develop balanced, equitable and sustainable development, economic and financial policies at the national and local levels.
2. Consider the developmental balance between regions.
3. Develop community participation in local development programs.
4. Develop national industries and local handicrafts.
5. Monitor urban transformations and predict their effects and implications.


ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES


P4. A1 Local VE Assessment Framework and Capacity Building

Develop context-specific, gender- and age-sensitive, framework to assess individual’s risks and vulnerabilities to violent extremism according to the following:

1. Engagement with a group, cause or ideology;
2. Intention to cause harm;
3. Capability to cause harm;
4. Resilience factors (family situation, health/social care assessments, housing situation etc.).
5. The impact of social environment and service delivery on vulnerability to radicalization.

Develop training manual and implementation guide with a focus on cooperation/collaboration within a multi-actor team to help local entities, municipalities, schools, NGOs, use the assessment framework.


P4.A2 PVE Multi-actor National Conference and Mechanism

Organize a national conference on the opportunities and challenges behind the use of multi-agency/multi-actor approach within the Lebanese context. The conference shall start the national conversation around the mechanisms of knowledge and expertise sharing and the needs for national-local coordination in a cross-jurisdictional cooperation. It shall bring together actors from local communities, civil society, national institutions, and academia.


P4.A3 Local Prevention Networks and PVE Models

Support and coordinate the establishment of local prevention networks in different cities with the goal of applying the multi-agency approach. The local prevention networks are cities level networks which involve municipalities with local actors from civil society, education, health, and social sectors to:
a) meaningfully engage with local, national and international policy-makers and peers to support the implementation of the national PVE strategy b) coordinate on local PVE efforts in their communities; c) co-design local PVE models and activities and mentorship workshops and develop action plans based on the needs of their communities and d) deliver prevention- related projects to prevent youth from engaging in violent extremism. Establish a psychosocial support unit in the two or three municipalities as a pilot phase, that includes LPN, teachers, youth, scouts, as a pilot step geared towards institutionalization of the LPNs. Design, create, and train municipal technical offices which act as focal points on cities level to support municipalities in violence prevention efforts. These technical offices would support and host the LPNs. First, the tailor-made training course aims to raise the awareness on radicalization among key members of the network as well as to give them knowledge on radicalization as a social, psychological and political phenomenon. Second, the course aims at giving the participants knowledge on the Lebanese strategy and methods in preventing radicalization in general as well as among mentally vulnerable people. Last, the course aims at giving the participants knowledge on the “standard- operating-procedure” in organization and communication when confronted with a concern of possible radicalization.


P4.A4 PVE Capacity Building for Municipal Police

The main aim is to train municipal police units and to enhance their capacity in working with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), private, education, health and social sectors in every municipality. It also aims at building trust between police, the NGOs and the overall local communities. The training shall also include community policing tools and gender sensitivity.