Daily Star - Participation Of Women

By Patrick Galey Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Lebanon needs to involve youth and women more in policymaking if it is to continue enjoying stability, according to the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). Speaking ahead of the organization’s 26th session in Beirut next week, ESCWA’s executive secretary, Bader al-Dafa, said that greater diversity in the public sector would carry universal benefits. “The more participation we see from youth and women in the development process, the more stable society is,” he told The Daily Star on Thursday. “Lebanon’s political structure is difficult than any other country. I would like to see women get a larger role, because there are a number of highly qualified females, but that doesn’t reflect the number of females in Parliament or public places.” ESCWA was established in 1973 to promote economic cooperation among 14 member states from the Arab region. Its forthcoming summit will seek to engage youth groups from across the region and assess future policy priorities, the executive secretary explained.“We are bringing Lebanese youths to discuss what are the burning issues and challenges. Between the ministers and youth groups [at the conference,] we will be able to see what is missing,” he said. Dafa said that Arab states, had suffered from nepotistic practices which hampered performance and a country’s capacity to offer necessary reform. “It is really important to reform the public sector in this part of the world,” he said. “We see in some countries that selection of staff goes on who you know, rather than who is best qualified, and this affects the performance of organizations. It is the case in most Arab countries, not only Lebanon. “This is something that is respected, so each party brings its own [interests] to government. For me, the loyalty should be to the state and not the individual. This is how society progresses,” Dafa added. “This is part of the debate that takes place among the Lebanese,” Dafa said. Next week’s conference comes amid a backdrop of international consternation over Israeli allegations of Syria shipping Scud missiles to Hizbullah, threatening to shatter fragile regional calm. Dafa said that while calm in Lebanon was in everyone’s interests, it remained an internal issue. “We do have a concern about stability in Lebanon but that does not mean we have to interfere. Lebanon represents a good example of coexistence but when we talk about a national unity, all personal interests should fade away,” he said. “Part of the problem that has existed, not only in Lebanon but also worldwide, is not accepting ‘the other,’” he added. A key area of ESCWA’s focus is how to ensure reform in sectors such as health, technology and education in Arab states. Dafa praised the Lebanese education system, even while acknowledging that inequality remained endemic. “Education is an important element in the progress of any society. If we compare the Lebanese education system to that of other countries, it could be near the top,” he said. Dafa continued, however, that there remained a gulf between private and public education in Lebanon. “Some areas are not as well taken care of. Some people get an education, but not in a competitive sense like people who could send their kids to private school. “That reflects in job opportunities for kids.” He added that many teaching methods were in drastic need of overhaul. “The education system has to be reformed. This should be a priority. We have to feed students with proper knowledge that is needed for the future, not the past,” he said. “The traditional education system depends on memorizing. Memorization of a subject does not indicate a kid is ready to go to the next stage in his education,” Dafa explained. In spite of the organization’s long history with the country, Dafa said Lebanon was failing to take advantage of ESCWA’s expertise and consequently had missed opportunities to implement meaningful reform. “I don’t think Lebanon is benefitting fully out of ESCWA’s services. If we look at the requests from other states, compared to Lebanon, [its requests] are very little,” he said. “Its government has just been formed, so maybe at a later stage it will come. What is missing in our part of the world is data. Without proper figures, you cannot plan for the future.” ESCWA’s conference will see ministers from member states engage with civil society in a bid to turn brainstorming sessions into concrete policy. Dafa expressed optimism that some suggestions from youth groups would be adopted by respective countries’ policymakers. “I’m sure the youth will come with good ideas that will affect their future,” he said. “We will turn them into policies and redistribute them to the government. You cannot force governments to implement things, but we will try to work with them.”