RESLOG: Lebanese representatives visit Sweden to study citizen dialogue, crisis preparedness and business development.
In September 2023, SALAR International´s local RESLOG team in Lebanon and two representatives from project partners participated in a study visit to SALAR and its member municipalities. The themes for the study visit was citizen dialogue, crisis preparedness and business development with a focus on the tourism industry.
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Firaz Khoder, Ellen Ahlqvist, Paul Särnholm, Anna Wiktorsson, Abdelkarim Alkerdi, Wael Chami, Souraya Hammoud, Jessica Vidberg, Manal Daou, Malin Johansson, Abdul Ilah Zakaria, Samih Abdul Hay in Laxå municipality.
The project RESLOG collaborates with partner unions and their member municipalities in northern Lebanon to create resilient local communities through effective local governance, cohabitation and increased livelihood opportunities. As a part of the project SALAR International´s local team in Lebanon and two representatives from partners of the RESLOG Project, Mr. Abdul Ilah Zakaria (Head of Union in Jurd al Qayteh) and Mr. Samih Abdul Hay (Mayor in Fnaydek municipality), visited Sweden to meet SALAR and its member municipalities.
Nacka municipality, Örebro region, Laxå municipality, Hallsberg municipality and Eskilstuna municipality shared their different experiences and work with citizen dialogue, active citizenship, crisis preparedness and business development with a focus on the tourism industry.
Examples of activities during the visit
- Linda Gustafsson, Development Manager Tourism at the administration for Regional Development in Region Örebro County and Anna Wiktorsson, business developer Laxå municipality, shared their knowledge about the roles and experiences of the region and local authorities in cooperating with business to promote sustainable tourism and local entrepreneurship.
- Guided tour in Tiveden National Park with David Tverling, followed by a presentation about organizing sustainable events in the national park, held by the association OK Tiveden.
- In Hallsberg municipality Birgitta Rydén, security coordinator, gave the visitors valuable insight into the municipality´s role in crisis management and work with continuity plans.
- Björn Almroth, Adella Mawas, Miryame Malmquist, Annika Ohlsson and Tobias Wingemark from Eskilstuna municipality presented the Swedish system of crisis preparedness, the work and coordination of the rescue response and shared experiences of the municipality´s work with voluntary resource groups.
“We learned a lot about ‘real’ eco-tourism from Laxå municipality and how to preserve the nature while working with tourism and local economic development”, says Mr. Samih Abdul Hay about the visit. Mr. Abdul Ilah Zakaria adds “We will bring the learnings from Swedish municipal crisis management preparedness to our own planning and adapt it to our local context”.