Ever wonder how YES alumni associations plan, grow, and enact their ideas? Take a closer look at the inner workings of the recent open alumni meeting of the Lebanon YES Alumni Association!

The president of the Lebanese YES Alumni Association, Mohammad Ali Kalassina (YES 2012-2013, hosted by NW Services PEACE Program in Bridgeport, OH), called for an open meeting of YES alumni at AMIDEAST in Beirut to discuss upcoming events and share project ideas.

On June 1, 2016, ten YES alumni attended this important event, which helped to keep alumni informed of upcoming projects and offered them a chance to express their thoughts and ask questions directly to the board. During the meeting, alumni discussed their yearly theme and the role of their leadership.

The theme of the year for the YES alumni in Lebanon is "Citizenship," a topic that can be dealt with on many levels. Alumni discussed how citizenship can be applied to environmental issues and sustainability through a tree-planting project. The theme of citizenship also applies to YES alumni projects on education, including English teaching courses provided for free in the north of Lebanon and in Bekaa. Finally, citizenship is an important theme for social topics, including potential upcoming projects on interfaith dialogue.

To support these projects on citizenship, YES alumni in Lebanon discussed ways they can support training one another in leadership skills. For the coming year, this will likely include a CV and cover letter writing workshop in June, public speaking sessions, and a course on iOS app development. Alumni leadership is also sustained in Lebanon through regional coordinators, who are tasked with holding at least two major projects in their region and coordinating the involvement of other local YES alumni.

Finally, this gathering of motivated YES alumni in Beirut also led to an intense discussion of upcoming projects. The regional representative for Southern Lebanon, Ali Hallal (YES 2013-2014, hosted by PAX in Brattleboro, VT), introduced ideas for two projects. First, Ali plans to lead two sessions that relay the leadership training he received at the recent YES AALT in South Africa. Second, Ali is working on plans for a project for Syrian children at Lebanese high schools. More details will be revealed at the next board meeting.

The YES Alumni Association in Lebanon certainly has a lot to plan for in the coming months! It’s a good thing they were able to get together for this open meeting to help motivate and support one another. Stay tuned for updates as their exciting projects develop.