NATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT (2001-2002)
GLOBALIZATION: TOWARDS A LEBANESE AGENDA
Globalization creates extraordinary opportunities that can be realized on the strength of key national assets and enlightened policy-making. It also generates threats that can easily wreck the economy and destabilize society. In the Foreword to the report, the UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Yves de San, notes that 'the process of globalization is in itself neither good nor bad; one does not have to praise or despise it. Nevertheless, I will single out governance as a key element in successful national outcomes of globalization and what each of us will make of it.'
The third National Human Development Report of Lebanon (2001-2002), the theme of which is Globalization: Towards a Lebanese Agenda will be launched on Friday 20 September 2002 at 10h00, at The United Nations House, Main Conference Hall (B1). The National Human Development Report is a joint initiative of the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the United Nations Development Programme.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Yves de San, and the Vice President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, Mr. Karim Yazbek, will introduce the event. Mr. Salim Nasr, the National Coordinator and lead author of the report, will present the highlights and main findings of the report. Two national specialists who participated in the preparation of the report will make brief comments. An opportunity for questions and answers will conclude the event.
The aim of the report is to raise public awareness and trigger national action on critical human development concerns in a rapidly globalizing world. It is an exploration of issues at stake and options for Lebanon, and is intended also as a contribution to national debate concerning requirements of a Lebanese development and globalization strategy. The National Human Development Report strives to present objective analysis of statistical and other relevant data and information. It is the outcome of an extended process of interaction involving national development specialists, key stakeholder groups and informal networking.
The report first reviews and analyzes the state of human development in Lebanon. Then, the historical background and present context of globalization are presented, with emphasis on the openness of the Lebanese economy and society to the world. The main body of the report focuses on selected challenges and opportunities of globalization within a human development perspective. The key 'drivers' of globalization discussed in the report are global competitiveness and market building; the financial sector and the crisis of development; information and communication technology and its potential contribution to human development. The smooth integration of Lebanon into a rapidly globalizing world will critically hinge on giving increased and sustained priority to the human dimensions of development, namely continued investment in human capital, necessary reform of social protection policies, and the new role of the state.
The global Human Development Report, first published by UNDP in 1990, has been a source for alternative viewpoints on critical development issues, inspiring a growing movement in every region committed to embracing the human development approach and recognizing development of the people, by the people, and for the people. This corporate initiative recently led to the preparation of the Arab Human Development Report, which has provided an unusually frank account of the development situation and challenges in the region. It has pointed to three major deficits, namely governance, gender and knowledge, which constrain the region's future in a major way.
The National Human Development Reports have been published in many countries since around the mid-nineties. They are a tool for national policy debate, placing human development at the forefront of the national political agenda. They are also a tool for policy analysis reflecting people's priorities, strengthening national capacities, engaging national partners, identifying inequities and measuring progress.
The first National Human Development Report of Lebanon, titled A Profile of Sustainable Human Development in Lebanon (1997), introduced and promoted the SHD concept and portrayed significant features of sustainable human development through a review of the main thematic and sectoral components. The second National Human Development Report of Lebanon, the theme of which was Youth and Development (1998/99), provided a national perspective of human development in the light of the experience of the past years and, in particular, discussed various salient aspects of youth and development, including demography, education and employment, youth health, and public participation.
The publication of the National Human Development Report is part of a process of awareness raising, advocacy and promotion of national action. The latter will include, among others, a discussion series that will place Lebanon in the regional Arab perspective and will be based on both the third National Human Development Report and the Arab Human Development Report.
Click here for the press release in French
Click here for the press release in Arabic
|
Lebanon
