About Us

Who we are:

Social and Cultural Nashet Association, 388/Ed, a non-governmental non-profit organization in its work and carries out its activities based on long-term programs within three titles:

  • Community development
  • Learning and education
  • Culture and art

Vision:

A Palestinian society in Lebanon, active, belonging, independent, and open to the other

Mission:

Nashet is an independent and active association founded in Lebanon in 2006 to work with all segments of society, including young men and women, women, children and families for their development and economic empowerment, socially, educationally, and culturally.

Our strategic objectives:

  • An active and proactive society working towards improving the economic and social situation of all segments of Palestinian society in Lebanon
  • A safe and friendly environment for all children in refugee camps and communities in Lebanon and supporting their development
  • A Palestinian identity that continues from one generation to another and is open to the culture of the host country

Target groups:

The association targets children, young people, women, men, and all segments of marginalized society within the family and the surrounding entity.

 

The Establishment Story

The beginning was in the Lebanese University Theater (Faculty of Humanities and Humanities) in Sidon. After an in-depth dialogue, an independent student group aimed at moving and stimulating an active student life with community issues, in response to the state of inaction and paralysis that prevailed in the student community which made it a recipient or under the influence of projections of conflicts, political contradictions, and partisan interests.

This group considered that it is its duty to contribute positively to the creation of student vitality in cultural, scientific, and societal dimensions, with student tools that reflect the student mentality. Hence, this group worked on the launch of a monthly critical bulletin (We Say What We Should). This publication addressed transparently and directly the issues of concern to the students. This was followed by the establishment of a forum for student dialogue that was held periodically (once a month).

The founding group presented itself as an independent group made up of Palestinian and Lebanese students, which distinguished it on the grounds that the student frameworks were either Lebanese reflecting the Lebanese political map and either Palestinian and reflecting the reality of the Palestinian division. Its tools were the dialogue and the pen, it focused on student issues, and took part in the students’ struggle for their demands. Its role was prominently highlighted in the student elections where this group insisted on confronting the tradition of electoral-ism and the regulations that win the acclamation, which was considered an exceptional boldness in that period.

At a later stage, the group gained the designation of a student activist group and was joined by a relatively large number of students, which allowed it to form an active dynamic reflecting student character and student goals; it related to student issues away from politicization. Despite the difficult political circumstances at the time, the movement of Lebanese polarization on the one hand, and the Palestinian on the other, the group maintained its independence and positive neutrality.

As the years of student work passed, Nashet faced new challenges:

  • As a student group, it gained fame off-campus and received invitations to participate in activities, campaigns, cultural, social, and student events.
  • Its participation in various courses enabled it to gain knowledge of institutional work.
  • Several of its students graduated.

These challenges forced Nashet to enter a workshop in which 40 students participated and the title and center of discussions in the workshop that lasted for days was the question: What to do?

Nashet student group was keen to conduct the workshop with the supervision of an expert in institutional work and outside the group. It lasted for three days and turned into a foundational workshop for what became known as the Social and Cultural Nashet Association. After that, Nashet applied from the Ministry of Interior Relations to request a registration license which it obtained in 2006.

Therefore, 2006 is the year of the actual and official establishment of Social and Cultural Nashet Association and the process of transitioning from the mentality of a student group to the pattern of institutional work. This process was not easy, and they faced many difficulties, most notably:

  • The lack of the necessary financial resources, especially since the association was an expression of the wishes of an independent group of individuals and not affiliated with a party.
  • Lack of a center for the association
  • Lack of specialized staff and reliance on volunteer work
  • The control of general ideas based on enthusiasm for an idea or activity, the lack of crystallization of a vision and strategy of the association

Between 2006 and 2009, the Association underwent a transitional period in which it faced many challenges to prove its identity and its actual presence in the field of social and cultural work. During which it achieved the following:

  • Continuous attendance of different forms of activity
  • The establishment of the association’s first centre with the help of European volunteers within the context of the European-Palestinian camp (2008-2009).
  • The crystallization of the identity of the association, its objectives, and its target groups.

2010 was an exceptional year in the life of the Association having partnered with two European organizations (MI) and The Swiss Geneva Call. A partnership that allowed it to establish two long-term programs, The Girls of Palestine Club and The Torch Youth Activist Team.

Considering 2010 as a founding year comes through its ability to provide a material base that has allowed the formation of a primary staff and a daily work system which means that it is the year in which the association has moved through the steady staff from volunteering to specialized work.

 

https://www.facebook.com/nashet.association

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