1. Develop educational curricula at all levels to protect youth from the risks of violent extremism and spread awareness among those involved in the educational process.
2. Develop creative and intellectual skills among young people.
3. Develop training programs to make young people more responsive to market needs and job opportunities.

Conduct a General Students’ Social Survey (GSSS) on yearly basis with clear generalization around the entire academic institutions in Lebanon:

The survey shall act as an assessment tool for the value system of students at all educational levels. It shall measure their perspective on trust, perception on violence, social diversity, identity composition and perception of the other.

The results of the survey shall be disaggregated by gender and vulnerability to guide and inform subsequent policymaking and program design. The survey shall take into consideration the element of vulnerability to violent extremism, use of internet tools and encounters online.

Survey design process shall be participative and consultative with clear consideration to do-no-harms and gender sensitivities.

Conduct an assessment of public and private educational institutions to measure the environment or ecology of education and its vulnerability to violent extremism recruitment and indoctrination. This includes the curriculum, role of teachers, and interactions among students.

The assessment shall be conducted based on a socially consulted criteria which measure the educational environment in which students live and its ability to facilitate recruitment or enhance feelings of alienation or grievances among young students from all gender, socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds.

Organize non-formal, extra-curricular activities in partnership with the civil society organizations related to acceptance and diversity and conflict resolution, which aim at introducing students to their responsibility vis-à-vis the “other”.

Assumptions This action assumes that promoting tolerance, dialogue and social cohesion will mitigate the in-group/ out-group dynamics which are created due to the increase in social polarization between Lebanese communities and building social resilience to VE recruitment.

This action requires clear coordination with activities mentioned under Pillars 1 and 4, and thus, requires cooperation between municipalities, committees, and local organizations in order to identify the students’ tasks in getting to know other people from the various segments of the society. Catalogue progress and invest in relevant ideas/workable approaches.

Enhance problem-solving, peaceful conflict resolution and critical thinking skills within the existing curriculum, by following an assessment that identifies gaps and weaknesses in the curriculum. Create new curricula which promote civic education, human rights, and active citizenship. These updated curricula shall be online- friendly, provided to students in a creative and appealing manner. It shall be conflict and gender sensitive and shall provide space for students to express themselves in a free and creative way. These subjects should not be provided by traditional teaching means, neither in teaching nor assessment.

Integrate modules focusing on human rights, VE issues and wider problems with human security in civic curriculum (national level).

Revising And developing civic education textbooks, teachers’ guidebooks, activity kits and promoting their piloting in schools across Lebanon, informed by an assessment addressing gaps and needs. Organize training programs for teachers and professors on how to present this new content in an interactive, engaging, and participatory way. The key objective is to ensure that teachers and professors are delivering their educational messages in an interactive and sensitive manner, without discriminating against any specific population, group, community or individual otherwise risks counter- productive outcomes.

Build the capacities of public schools to enable them to deliver citizenship education in a pedagogical approach that focuses on both knowledge and behavior. Public schools shall include psychosocial and psychotherapeutic specialists who can advise on both curricula design and presentation tools. Develop a more coherent pedagogical approach to cultural and religious education in Lebanese schools via a new curriculum.

Organize workshops in partnership with parents’ committees in schools to:

- raise parents’ awareness And knowledge of educational approaches that foster acceptance And openness to nonviolence And common human values.

- raise their awareness on internet safety and online activities of their kids at home.

- build their capacity on how to deal with their kids during critical health lockdown measures And during times of political crises.

A full governmental plan to decrease drop-out rates among primary and secondary schools shall be designed and endorsed for implementation by relevant governmental authorities.

This is based on various research that drop-out rates among primary and secondary schools were identified as a significant contributor to recruitment into violent extremism in some contexts. Research on the Lebanese context is needed to assess the validity of these findings on the Lebanese context. The plan shall be designed in partnership with civil society organizations active on the education field.

Organize vocational training programs specifically designed according to the needs for men and women in economically vulnerable and alienated areas to enhance vocational skills of individuals and facilitate their income generation efforts.

This shall support them with elements of resilience against recruitment efforts which utilize their economic inactivity and sometimes their unemployability to pull them towards joining their radical cause. This activity could be done through the existing vocational training institutions. Vocational training opportunities shall particularly target ex-prisoners and detainees who were disconnected from the job market. This intervention shall use economic integration as a gateway for the overall social integration.