Lebanon is surrounded by countries in conflict and war and is affected by the multiple regional crisis. FFP has been reaching out to Palestinian ex-fighters living in Lebanon as part of reconciliation efforts in Lebanon. FFP has worked with recent fighters and refugees from countries such as Syria and Iraq, giving their testimonies, holding dialogue sessions and training and engaging participants in mediation efforts to transfer the lessons learned in a peer-to-peer environment, aiding their reconciliation and reintegration efforts. FFP also supports communities hosting large numbers of refugees in social cohesion strategies.
Furthermore, these wars and crises also go beyond regional borders, reaching Europe as well. In Germany, as well as in other places such as the UK and Scandinavia, FFP has worked with refugees and recent fighters from the Arab region, in particular from Syria. In partnership with a German congregation, FFP addressed Syrian refugees and helped mitigate conflicts between pro-regime and opposition groups to foster common ground. For this work, FFP received the 1st prize Innovative Education Award in 2017.
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In 2015, FFP was invited to Northern Ireland for a study tour in order to learn about the conflict there and meet ex-fighters from both sides of the conflict and visit initiatives that engage in peacebuilding and reconciliation. It was a great learning trajectory for both Lebanese and Irish ex-combatants and a very inspiring exchange of experiences, followed up by cooperations such as online workshops and conferences.
With Germany-based NGO Inside Out, FFP engaged in several projects targeting youth with a refugee and migrant background in German schools, refugee shelters, migrant community centers and juvenile detention centers in order to raise youth’s awareness of the dangers of violent extremism. For these youth, of whom many experienced (gang) violence and war, FFP created safe spaces for dialogue about the wounds suffered stemming from conflict.
Violent extremism has shown that it goes beyond regions through the radicalization of people around the world. FFP seeks to contribute to the growing practice of de-radicalization internationally by taking part in further knowledge exchanges and is regularly invited to expert workshops and conferences related to Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism, conveying their experiences as first-line practitioners to an international expert audience. As a result of these contributions FFP is a member of various international networks.
In partnership with the Italian organization Un Ponte Per, FFP has had a several years long engagement in a regional project spanning Italy, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Tunisia and Iraq with a focus on engaging women in peace building, while promoting the Women, Peace and Security agenda under the UNSCR1325. Especially memorable are conferences organized by FFP in Beirut about Women in Peacebuilding, with testimonies of Yezidi survivors of genocide as well as rape victims from the Lebanese civil war, giving a public platform for those who suffered the most in violent conflicts.
2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) article 5 and 16
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
UN Security Council Resolution 2419 and 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security
Lebanese National Plan of Action to Prevent Extremism
Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration (DDR)
