📣 Help Shape the Future of UKRI's Gateway to Research (GtR)

We're improving UKRI's Gateway to Research and are seeking your input! If you would be interested in being interviewed about the improvements we're making and to have your say about how we can make GtR more user-friendly, impactful, and effective for the Research and Innovation community, please email gateway@ukri.org.

RELIEF 2

Lead Research Organisation: UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: UCL Institute for Global Prosperity

Abstract

Since 2017, the RELIEF Centre has worked with citizens, NGOs, and other stakeholders to deliver a programme of research and action towards social inclusion, sustainability and better quality of life for communities in Lebanon. During this time, however, Lebanon experienced a number of radical changes and tragedies: destabilisation of government following the 2019 political protests; the horrendous blast in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020; an economic collapse and currency devaluation; widespread failure of public services and infrastructure; and a series of Covid-related lockdowns that have exerted further pressure on the economy.

In this context of compounded crises, RELIEF's work proceeds from the view that future recovery in Lebanon must follow principles of inclusive growth and prosperity, whereby the starting point and primary focus is not aggregate GDP-growth but the things that people need for better quality of life -secure livelihoods, clean and affordable services, good education, and safe, healthy and inclusive environments. In the Lebanese context of economic and political turmoil, however, 'bottom-up' initiatives are essential for developing solutions. RELIEF's work thus focuses on the sustained development of capabilities that can help citizens and communities acquire skills and organise into communities of practice that address emergent challenges. Over the next 5 years, the second phase of the RELIEF Centre (RELIEF II) will focus on strengthening existing capabilities for citizen-led research, action, and transformation. RELIEF II will build on five types of capability that were established in the first phase of the project (see Appendix Table 1):

- Partnerships for prosperity - a trans-disciplinary ecology of stakeholders, brought together by a shared commitment to research and action for positive change, underpinned by a citizen-led prosperity index (PI).

- Theories and concepts - conceptual frameworks for understanding prosperity in context, adapting new pedagogies for challenging environments, and making sense of the vitality of cities facing prolonged crises.

- Methods - new approaches to citizen-led research, data analysis, MOOC development, and urban intervention design.

- Data - quantitative and qualitative data sets, including household surveys on quality of life, surveys on quality of housing and neighbourhood infrastructures (energy, water, waste, food and transport), and interviews and focus groups about priority areas for prosperity.

- Funding - streams of additional funding to support research and interventions on the key themes of infrastructure, livelihoods, education, entrepreneurship and liveable and inclusive cities.

RELIEF II will continue to expand these capabilities and use them to create impact activities/outputs, including publications, capacity building, urban interventions, creation of educational resources, and innovative policy initiatives. These outputs will be disseminated to wider audiences both in Lebanon and internationally through outreach events and activities, and by a prosperity platform. Impact will be delivered and embedded through five work packages (WPs), each with its objectives, deliverables, and beneficiaries: (WP1) development, visualization, and application of a Prosperity Index for Lebanon; (WP2) the continuation, updating, and expansion of RELIEF's online courses, as well as its research and policy work on participatory approaches to online education; (WP3) the use of participatory mechanisms for public service design as the basis for advancing a Green New Deal for Lebanon; (WP4) the creation of a Citizen Science Academy, which will be a global leader in methodological innovation for citizen-led research and training; and (WP5) the creation of an online platform to deliver innovative knowledge sharing, policy design and pathways to policy change on key challenges of livelihoods, public services, health and education in Lebanon.
 
Title Bliss Street Parklet intervention 
Description This intervention is a permanent installation of a seating area on a busy street in Beirut which has a shortage of resting spaces. The Bliss Street parklet provides seating and an opportunity to rest and socialise, while at the same time reducing traffic on the street. The intervention was co-designed with the community to ensure it first the needs of people who are most likely to use it. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact The intervention has provided a much-needed space for members of public to rest and socialise. This is in a context of an area with high pedestrian traffic but very few seating areas apart from cafes and restaurants that many members of the public cannot afford. 
 
Title Camp-space: The exceptional duality of the Palestine refugee camp 
Description In this animated film 'Camp-space: The exceptional duality of the Palestine refugee camp', the exceptional nature of the Palestine refugee camp is revealed through the foundational state of dualism the camp spaces arose from and continue to grow in relation to. It's a violently enduring state whereby the Palestine refugee is equally committed to the camp life alongside his/her liberation from it. Indeed, a camp life of both inhabitation and return. One which is formed through a generational passing down of a Palestinian subjectivity rooted in the lived and lingering experience of violent uprooting and displacement; attachment to a landscape and way of life once deemed truly Palestinian; a past livelihood of cultivation dependent on and interconnected with the land-the actual soil they inhabited; a socialized culture of collective survival, and a psychology of an attainable right to return. The impact of this passed down subjectivity on the lived out state of dualism inside the camp is undeniable. We can say that the camp life is both in opposition and in harmony, constantly oscillating between a state of absolute agency and sudden death. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact After the publication of this film, I was approached by the curators of the Palestine film series at the Atlas Cinema in London for screening in September 2024. I was also approached by the Desobedoc 2024 in Portugal to screen my film as part of their documentary film festival in 2024. The theme was focused on Palestine, Colonization, and the Carnation Revolution, marking the 50th anniversary of Portugal's revolution. 
URL https://failedarchitecture.com/camp-space-the-exceptional-duality-of-the-palestine-refugee-camp/
 
Title Eco Hub playground construction 
Description Eco Hub is an initiative to transform a dilapidated and unused parking lot in the Hamra neighbourhodd of Beirut into an open and publically accessible playground built in a sustainable fashion. The playground, built exclusively from recycled materials such as bottle lids, car tyres, and metal barrels provides a much-needed space for children to play in a city where play spaces are extremely limited. The Eco Hub is part of the Green New Deal initiative of Procol Lebanon/RELEIF 2. The aim of its construction is to change public narratives and understandings on climate change adaptation while improving quality of life for members of the public. The design and organisation of the project was led by Co-I Mona Hallak. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact Children in Beirut have a new space for play and socialisation. 
 
Title Music Concert by Mayssa Jallad at Folklore, London 
Description Mayssa Jallad performed songs from her concept album, "Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels," released in March 2023 by Ruptured Records. The album stands as a testament to Mayssa's talent in providing a captivating and thought-provoking musical experience. All lyrics are penned by Mayssa Jallad, and the music is a collaborative effort with Fadi Tabbal. Divided into two parts, "Dahaliz" and "Maaraka," the album vividly captures the historical events of the 1975 "Battle of the Hotels" during the Lebanese Civil War and its aftermath, presenting a sonic journey through Beirut's urban landscape. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact The concert engage a public audience with the themes of war, violence, trauma, memory and healing through a deep and touching musical performance. 
URL https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/1031120718n-mayssa-jallad
 
Title Vital Lebanon: Capacities of people, capacities of cities 
Description The exhibition aims to experientially showcase the work and outputs of the first phase of the RELIEF centre, and will offer insights into the localised scales of livelihood and prosperity various Lebanese communities construct in times of uncertainty. The exhibition will make use of audio, visual, and interactive spatial design elements to showcase the research outputs, and will have immersive components to engage attendees. There will also be two performances (a music piece, and a sound immersion performance). 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact It showcases the research activities of the first phase of RELIEF and their impact in an artistic way, making them more accessible The design and curation allows for a self-reflective exercise, and the continuous questioning of central notions of our work, and the need to adapt them to the time, and the space (in this case, a physical space of a gallery) Engage and provoke the audience on common notions, and less common ones Receive feedback from the audience (through a feedback wall which is part of the exhibition design) on the exhibition, as well as the work we do, and other thoughts they have on any of the projects/topics displayed Promoting our work, particularly the citizen science methodology, the FF2030 network, the interventions, and the datasets, and encouraging people to engage with them, by joining the network, using the data to come up with an intervention, etc. 
URL https://www.relief-centre.org/events/vital-lebanon-capacities-of-people-capacities-of-cities
 
Description The core premise of the RELIEF Centre/PROCOL Lebanon is that effective solutions to emerging challenges should be created through collaboration between different stakeholders in society, including members of the public, and developed in ways that are responsive to context-specific needs. Operationalising this vision of pathways to prosperity requires sustained capacity and capability building within communities - delivery of training in research and professional development, building of networks of academics and practitioners with diverse expertise, creation of community-based interventions for public services, and production of datasets and metrics that help stakeholders identify problems and innovate solutions. In a rapidly changing world of multiple crises, these capacities and capabilities are essential for adaptation to change because they enable people to mobilise effectively to create context-relevant solutions that work for them.
RELIEF 1 established a foundation for this vision of prosperity through several areas of impact, including the following:

(1) Developing a citizen science methodology and training multiple teams of citizen scientists across different sites in Lebanon (with over 80 citizen scientists trained in total).

(2) Implementing a portfolio of community-developed interventions - many of them co-created with citizen scientists - that deliver services for local needs identified through prosperity index data.

(3) Creating and running a series of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS), four in English and five in Arabic, with massive-scale engagement of over 90,000 participants globally. The themes of the MOOCS in RELIEF 1 were "Community Based Research," "Transforming Education in Challenging Environments," "Sustainable Energy Access for Communities," "Teaching Online" and "Blended and Online Learning Design Towards Better Education: Lessons Learned from Corona."

(4) Catalysing of new policy pathways to a Green New Deal for Lebanon, spearheaded by RELIEF 1's Citizens' Assembly on electricity in the Hamra neighbourhood of Beirut (the first Citizen's Assembly of its kind in the MENA region).

RELIEF 2/PROCOL Lebanon has disseminated, advanced, and adapted, the work of RELIEF 1 in several ways, while continuing to deliver impact on capacity building and solutions in Lebanon.

Citizen Science

Our work on citizen science has been advanced and expanded in several ways. First, the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) has established and launched the UCL Citizen Science academy in London, as well as a PROCOL-led citizen science academy in Lebanon. The academies offer rigorous training in research for citizen scientists, as well formal UCL certification for graduates of the training - a crucially important step toward formally recognising the value of citizen science. Second, we have continued training citizen scientists in Lebanon, with new data collection programmes and intervention designs being carried out by citizen scientists in the Mar Mikhael and Ras El Nabaa neighbourhoods of Beirut. Third, we have adapted our citizen science methodology to the radical geopolitical changes experienced in the region with Israel's war on Gaza and Lebanon. This has entailed creating networks of support and solidarity between PROCOL Lebanon citizen scientists in different sites, as well as between citizen scientists working on IGP projects in Lebanon, Palestine and the UK. Finally, we have worked on integrating citizen science teams into networks of other stakeholders, and including them in policy conversations, FF2030 events with entrepreneurs, and academic teams in which citizen scientists co-author published outputs to disseminate their research.

Interventions

The PROOCOL Lebanon team has continued to design and implement community-based interventions (see Research Fish entries in "Engagement"). Established interventions such as the Jouwan Community Centre - a project that offers teaching to young people with limited access to decent quality schooling - have continued to run, and, in some cases, they have also expanded their user base (Jouwan now offers teaching to 20 students and plans to take 30 for the next cohort). Additionally, however, we have created new interventions such as "the Bliss Street parklet", "EcoHub", "Mayyel" and "Central Kitchen Emergency Response" (see relevant Research Fish entries). Following the escalation of Israeli bombing in Lebanon in September 2024, several of these interventions were adapted to support civilians affected by the war. The Jouwan Community Centre offered a network for support and sharing of basic resources for the families of affected young people. The Ecohub - originally an initiative to transform a dilapidated and unused parking lot into an open and publicly accessible playground and recycling depot - became a shelter for internally displaced people and a hub for distribution of basic necessities such as food, water, and personal hygiene products. The Mayyel interventions - originally designed to provide engagement activities for elderly people in the community - provided a social support network to help members deal with the distress caused by the war. The Central Kitchen Emergency Response was a new intervention created to collect the high volume of organic waste generated by kitchens supporting displaced people, with the aim of turning waste into compost for farmers whose land has been affected by the war. The next phase of this work on interventions will include a focus on policy change and understanding if and how, the evidence provided by community-based intervention can lead to new discourses and policies about how to invest in effective solutions to emerging challenges, especially in a context of economic crisis.

MOOCs

Since the beginning of RELIEF 2, our team has worked on reconceptualising the notion of MOOCs by highlighting the value of co-creation with communities of users and stakeholders, leading to what we now call CoMOOCs. Since the beginning of RELIEF 2, we have co-designed a new version of the "Teaching Online" MOOC (initially developed in RELIEF 1, and launched to respond to the pandemic), and reconceptualised the MOOC for post-pandemic teaching in collaboration with people from the region. This work, organised and led by Professor Samar Zeytoun, involved consultations with, and contributions from, regional stakeholders in Egypt, Morocco, and Iraq, among other countries. Another significant outcome has been the creation of the CoMOOC "New Era for Teaching and Learning" (see Research Fish entry in "Technical Products" heading). This CoMOOC was run during the war in Lebanon in response to the closure of schools and the need to return to online education. Currently, our team is adapting the idea of CoMOOC developed in the Lebanese context to another context of displacement in Thailand, which is hosting displaced people from neighbouring Myanmar. In 2024-25, we conducted a series of workshops with refugees as the basis for co-creating a new CoMOOC on "Understanding education in crisis and conflict settings". This MOOC has now been launched and run in multiple modalities, including a fully online version and a blended version for teachers who work in different languages. Two more CoMOOCs are planned for the next phase of RELIEF 2, with the expectation that the completion of three core MOOCs will provide an a pathway for teachers to enter advanced stages of university education and obtained formal qualification. Our team has already made significant progress towards this plan by successfully securing an agreement with the University of London to offer graduates of three CoMOOCs entry to the University's Professional Graduate Certificate in Education programme (a 60-credit programme at level 6), as a pathway to qualification for teachers in context of crisis and displacement.


Green New Deal (GND)

RELIEF 2's development of a GND for Lebanon has focused on combining narratives of sustainability with practices that contribute solutions, especially with regard to community-based interventions. The EcoHub intervention has been a flagship project in this regard. The EcoHub contains a playground (built exclusively from recycled materials such as bottle lids, car tyres, and metal barrels), a teaching area and a recycling depot, all aiming to promote recycling and upcycling, while improving public space and supporting vulnerable residents. The Ecohub runs regular events, including recycling/upcycling workshops for children and adults, children's parties, and other leisure activities, and it also has a programme for collecting recyclables which are then sold for money to purchase food for vulnerable residents. The EcoHub is part of the Green New Deal initiative of Procol Lebanon/RELEIF 2, and its aim is to change public narratives and understandings on climate change adaptation while improving quality of life. Another important intervention has been the "Central Kitchen Emergency Response", which has promoted the reuse of organic waste as a key strategy of waste management and sustainable production of fertilisers to be offered to farmers at a low cost. In addition to practical interventions, Procol Lebanon's FastForward 2030 network - a group of Lebanon-based entrepreneurs working on challenges related to the sustainable development goals - is a driving force behind the advancement of GND concepts, solutions and policy proposals in Lebanon. The network frequently collaborates with citizen scientists, academics, and policymakers, aiming to advocate for sustainability across multiple sectors, while developing concrete entrepreneurial solutions.
Exploitation Route The activities of RELIEF 2/PROCOL Lebanon are based on a conceptual framework of prosperity as context-relevant and adaptable to different challenges and circumstances. As such, our approach to research, capacity-building and interventions is designed to be adaptable and transferable. The case of CoMOOC development in Thailand is an illustration of this adaptability. Furthermore, PROCOL Lebanon is one of three PROCOLs led by the IGP, the others being PROCOL UK and PROCOL Africa. Researchers, entrepreneurs and citizen scientists from the three PROCOLs are frequently in dialogue with one another to exchange ideas and collaborate on activities. This knowledge exchange between members of different PROCOLs has shown that the methods and concepts developed in Lebanon are relevant to other contexts. Beyond this knowledge exchange between PROCOLs, the concept of prosperity and the methods for operationalising it are relevant globally, and applicable to any country and community where there is a need for democratically created, responsive, and evidence-based solutions.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Education

Environment

Government

Democracy and Justice

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections
URL https://www.relief-centre.org/
 
Description The nature of our work combines research and practice, ensuring that they inform each other in an iterative way. Rather than producing findings and implementing them into practice in a linear fashion, our work integrates tangible impacts from its early phases and uses interventions as experiments that generate evidence about what works and why. Findings and experiences from early iterations of interventions and MOOCs have been used to inform subsequent iterations in order to implement lessons learned, widen reach and maximise benefit to users. Our intention is to continue and expand this iterative approach until the end of RELIEF 2 and beyond.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Economic

Policy & public services
 
Description Membership of Board of Trustees
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact 36% graduates from the programme are accepted in tertiary education within 6 months 69% use the skills they learn within 6 weeks 95% would recommend the programme to other youth
URL https://mosaik.ngo/
 
Description Livelihoods Networks and Political Experience in Beirut, Lebanon (MENA Social Policy Network scheme)
Amount £50,000 (GBP)
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2022 
End 08/2023
 
Description Quality Blended Learning in Lebanon - a Symposium for Impact
Amount £4,630 (GBP)
Organisation University College London 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2024 
End 03/2025
 
Title Livelihoods and Governance interview data set 
Description - 14 semi-structured interviews with Ras Beirut residents on the themes of the changing nature of livelihoods and governance in Lebanon. - 5 semi-structured interviews about the value and impact about two citizen-led interventions for improved quality of life in Ras Beirut. These interventions were created by a previous research initiative on which the project team worked, and the data from the evaluation interviews will be used to create policy proposals and policy solutions for improved livelihoods that simultaneously contribute to conflict prevention in the community. - A series of ethnographic observations and reflections about the 2022 Lebanese general election, including political speeches from key party leaders, social media posts, observations of campaign strategies such as strategic placement of political billboards, and accounts of public behaviour and public attitudes related to the election. These observations will be published as a working paper at the beginning of 2023. - 1 interview (with four more planned before the end of January) with Lebanon-based policy experts about the current negotiations between the IMF and the Lebanese government about structural reforms requested by the IMF as a condition for releasing a $3 billion assistance loan. The interviews have important implications for the future of Lebanon's economic policy and its ability to achieve decent social security, good quality livelihoods, and political stability. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The data set has provided new and up-to-date insights about the changing landscape of livelihoods and political identification in the context of Lebanon's economic crisis, as well as the value of small scale citizen-led interventions for improved quality of life. 
 
Description A citizen science methodology collaboration between Lebanon and Palestine for social policy creation 
Organisation University College London
Department Institute for Global Prosperity
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We collaborated with Dr. Christopher Harker to design a project that would connect the research teams in Lebanon and Palestine working with the citizen science methodology for social policy change. We co-wrote the grant's application. In case the grant is won, our team based in Lebanon would contribute with training on the citizen science methodology.
Collaborator Contribution Dr. Christopher Harker, Co-I on the Palestine research team, co-wrote the proposal for the grant with us.
Impact The writing and the submission of the proposal to the funders is the main outcome for this collaboration.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Collaboration with Education Research Laboratory, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth 
Organisation Saint Joseph University
Country Lebanon 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Eileen Kennedy has been working with researchers within the Education Research Laboratory, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth to establish collaborative support for early career researchers in digital learning. This nascent collaboration has been funded by UCL IOE International Funds to support a cross-institutional hybrid conference for PhD students at UCL Knowledge Lab and Education Research Laboratory, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth. In addition, the collaboration will also support a new student journal at UCL Press which will be a vehicle for publishing early career research in digital learning in Lebanon and internationally.
Collaborator Contribution Partners will organise PhD students in digital learning to present at the conference and help to establish an enduring collaboration. Partners will form part of the international advisory board of the new journal, Reflecting Digital Learning (UCL Press).
Impact Outputs so far include international advisory board membership of the journal Reflecting Digital Learning and a date for the cross-institution hybrid seminar/conference (May 2023).
Start Year 2022
 
Description Mar Mikhael CS-led Intervention - "Mayyel" the elderly community group 
Organisation CatalyticAction
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution RELIEF Centre has funded, evaluated and advised a group of Citizen Scientists affiliated to 2 Lebanese NGOs, to found and execute a 6 month project: joining isolated and lonely elderly in a community affected by the August 4th 2020 Beirut Blast. The advising was done in collaboration with charity CatalyticAction. In January 2023, RELIEF handed the project over to the elderly community, installing a structure for electing a representative, a treasurer, and for any member of the community to propose a project based on the community's needs.
Collaborator Contribution The Citizen Scientists managed the project for the 1st 6 months. They organized events and activities for the elderly on their public stair and in various public spaces arounf Lebanon. CatalyticAction helped advise them and organized one activity for them.
Impact Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/mayyel_community/ Evaluations by the RELIEF team and Catalytic action in interview form. Evaluations by the Citizen Scientists in interview form. Both evaluations are to be analyzed in a report by RELIEF.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Social values of public spaces across time and culture 
Organisation CatalyticAction
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Lead the design of the research exercise and lead on the project.
Collaborator Contribution collaborated in the design of the exercise as well as the workplan. Lead on citizen scientist involvement in the project
Impact Two workshops; one internal and another community wide Publication Art Sound piece
Start Year 2024
 
Title New Era of Teaching and Learning CoMOOC 
Description CoMOOC to support educators in the MENA region after the Covid pandemic lockdown. The CoMOOC aims to develop teachers' digital skills more deeply for changed times and includes advice for teacher networking and working with parents. The CoMOOC was co-designed with staff and students from Lebanese University and educators across the MENA region. It was relaunched during the hostilities in Lebanon to support teachers who once again were required to teach online. 
Type Of Technology Webtool/Application 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact There have been over 20,000 enrolments and teachers continue to share insights from their own teaching with other using the collaborative online spaces provided by the CoMOOC. 
URL https://www.edraak.org/en/programs/course/ucl-mooc1-v1/
 
Title Understanding Education in Conflict and Crisis Settings CoMOOC 
Description This CoMOOC (Co-designed Massive Open Online Collaboration) was co-designed with educators from displaced communities on the Thai-Myanmar border and aims to support teachers of migrant and refugee children both there and globally. 
Type Of Technology Webtool/Application 
Year Produced 2025 
Impact Currently over 450 participants have enrolled online, and a further 100 teachers have accessed the content in a blended format in Thailand. In the post-course online survey 100% of participants state that the course met or exceeded their expectations, with 72% saying that they are applying what they learnt to their practice. One participant said: "This course conveys knowledge and information and ideas more than I expected. I wish this course will be reached teachers and educators in Myanmar. This is very useful and resourceful course for me. I would like to say thank you team and educators who prepare this curriculum and course." 
URL https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-education-in-conflict-and-crisis-settings/1
 
Description Activating the EcoHub during the war as a safe space for families and children as a humanitarian centre . 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In September 2024, Lebanon saw a large wave of internal displacement as a result of the escalation of Israeli bombing in the south of Lebanon, the southern suburb of Beirut, and elsewhere. Estimates of the number of displaced civilians vary, but all reliable accounts agree that the number is in the hundreds of thousands. In response to this displacement PROCOL Lebanon's adapted its EcoHub intervention into a safe space for displaced families and children, as well as to act as a point of distribution of basics necessities such as food, water, and hygiene products.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description An invited presentation on "Realising the potential of digital learning at scale" at Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, Lebanon 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy was invited to present her research on "Realising the potential of digital learning at scale: research approaches" at the Education Research Laboratory, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth (USJ) on 9 December 2022. The audience was composed of faculty and early career researchers studying for PhD in Education at USJ.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description BIOVALO - Organic Waste Coalition 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Online meeting led by PROCOL Lebanon's FastForward 2030 network. The event was led by FF2030 board member Marc Aoun (Compost Baladi). It focus was on innovations in management of organic waste. Participants included representatives from organisations in Jordan, Ethiopia, Colombia, Malawi, Senegal, and South Africa.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Book Launch 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The event was a book launch event forthe book titled 'The Politics of Crisis-Making. Forced Displacement and Cultures of Assistance in Lebanon'; author Dr Estella Carpi (University College London, Inst for Risk & Disaster Reduction). The launch was designed as a conversation with Dr Yulia Ioffe UCL-IRDR, Ms Hanadi Samhan UCL-DPU, and Dr Samar Maqusi UCL-RELIEF II (PROCOL Lebanon). I was able to reflect on my specific work and reserach in Lebanon through RELIEF II, and draw connections with the book subject matter and larger context of displacement and aid culture, and how this affects different reserachers and their works in Lebanon differently, alongside the ways we each approach the chllaenges these subjects pose for tour work and the communities we work with. It was also an opportunity to discuss a rather largely institutional topic through personal and communal narrations the author had gathered.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of-advanced-studies/events/2023/oct/ias-book-launch-politics-crisis-...
 
Description Catalysts of Hope: Online Panel on Social Impact in Lebanon's Emergency Efforts 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This online event brought together social entrepreneurs and associations to discuss emergency efforts during the war on Lebanon and the challenges faced in the war.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Central Kitchens Emergency Response 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Central Kitchens Emergency Response is PROCOL Lebanon intervention led by collaborator Compost Baladi. The intervention started during the war, when it consisted in the collection of organic waste from kitchens cooking meals for internally displaced people in Beirut. The intervention continued after war with same kitchens who are now only serving their regular customers. The compost will be converted into fertiliser and distributed to South Lebanese farmers whose land was damaged during the war.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024,2025
 
Description Co-design workshops in Thailand 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Tejendra Pherali, Elaine Chase, Eileen Kennedy and Gabi Witthaus led two co-design workshops with partner Inclusive Education Foundation in Mae Sot, Thailand, with teachers from migrant learning centres and refugee settings. The aim was to co-design a series of CoMOOCs to support teachers in these contexts and build a pathway to accreditation. Two sets of workshops lasting 3 days each were held in July 2023 and February 2024.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
 
Description Community Engagement: Decoding volunteering rights and social entrepreneurship terminology in Arabic 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A public event in Beirut run by PROCOL Lebanon's FastForward 2030 network to discuss possibilities and effects of volunteering and its relation to different forms of work such as employment and internships. The event also facilitated discussion for defining entrepreneurship, green entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Community-based programme of activities: Mayyel Ras El Nabaa Intervention 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Mayyel intervention is a citizen scientist-led programme of activities for elderly people experiencing social isolation. Activities include community dinners, field trips, and arts and crafts classes through which elderly people in the neighbourhood are able to socialise with others in meaningful ways.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Convened Conference: "Vital Lebanon: Uncertainty, Solidarity, Activism and Energetics" conference (9, 10, 11 March, 2023) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact "Vital Lebanon: Uncertainty, Solidarity, Activism and Energetics" was a three-day conference convened by PROCOL Lebanon at the American University of Beirut with 7 panels and 2 keynotes, hosting 28 local and international speakers of diverse backgrounds and various disciplines. The conference focused on the intersections of the experience of crisis in Lebanon, political activism, and management of public services. The conference has led to a book proposal for an edited volume which is currently under review with UCL Press.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.relief-centre.org/events/vital-lebanon-uncertainty-solidarity-activism-amp-energetics
 
Description Convened Exhibition: Capacities of People; Capacities of Cities Exhibition (12-17 March, 2023) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This exhibition presented a range of graphics, photographs, videos, data visualisations, and interactive artworks on key themes related to prosperity in Lebanon, from livelihoods and education, to electricity and environmental degradation. The exhibition offered visitors to gain insights and reflect on local challenges, as well as to learn about how communities in Lebanon engage with such problems in times of uncertainty.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JTqdlBrfr40&ab_channel=UCLInstituteforGlobalProsperity
 
Description Convened Workshop: The Role of Research in Policy Change 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The half-day workshop 'The role of research in policy change' brought together policy stakeholders and academics to discuss ideas, experiences, and research findings about what Lebanon's current policy priorities are, what kinds of research and solutions are needed, and what it takes for positive policy change to take place.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://seriouslydifferent.org/igp-stories/creating-synergy-between-research-and-policymaking-in-leb...
 
Description Convened Wrokshop: Ras El Nabaa Citizen Social Science training 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This training and engagement event provided citizen scocial scientists with training in essential research skills and knowledge of key principles for ethical in the Ras El Nabaa community. The workshop included a guest appearance by Lebanese Member of Parliament Ibrahim Mneimneh.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Democratising collaborative professional development on UN SDGs: From MOOC to CoMOOC 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy gave a presentation at the EMOOCs conference about the CoMOOC model. Audience members were involved in developing and evaluating MOOCs mostly for professional audiences e.g. in collaboration with World Health Organisation, private companies, universities, with an international reach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://emoocs.hpi.de/index.php/program/
 
Description Designing Learning with Technology to address Global Challenges 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy gave an invited presentation about learning design and the CoMOOC model for the Malaysian webinar series, Social Scientist Series 2023, run by the Faculty of Social Sciences, Quest International University, Malaysia, on August 26, 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Designing learning for recognition: case study from a context of conflict and mass displacement 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy and Gabi Witthaus gave a presentation on our research on CoMOOCs to the Recognizing micro-credentials: from theory to practice webinar (Nuffic)
26 September 2024, with the aim of contributing to and advancing the debate about the recognition of micro-credentials.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.nuffic.nl/en/events/recognizing-micro-credentials-from-theory-to-practice
 
Description Discovery Day meeting and workshop (September 2023) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was a full-day workshop with members of the Procol Lebanon team and FastForward 2030 network, discussing latest social, economic and political changes in Lebanon and the need for future research activitees to address pressing challenges.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description EcoHub plastic and glass upcycling student workshops with Ahla Fawda organisation to promote zero waste practices (8 workshops) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The Procol Ecohub based in Beirut carried out 8 workshops in January and February, 2025 for school students with 10-15 students per workshop totaling around 120 students. The workshops focused on upcycling of glass and plastic materials as a way of reducing waste. These workshops have been part of an assemblage of activities for sustainability, provision of basic services, and exemplification of community based projects for addressing critical challenges. They have demonstrated the relationship between sustainability and quality of life in the context of a waste crisis, climate change, and economic decline.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description EcoPlay activities on the importance of green practices in urban settings for groups of disadvantaged children (10 Events) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This engagement project consisted of 10 play activities at PROCOL Lebanon's EcoHub/EcoPlay intervention in Beirut. Each activity took place on a Saturday in December, January and February, engaging 20-30 children per activity. The activities focused using play to convey the importance of green practices in urban settings for groups of disadvantaged children (including children from Ghassan Abu Sittah's Children's Fund, American University of Beirut Medical Centre patients, and children with special needs from Step Together and Drosos NGOs).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024,2025
 
Description From Community to Planet: Professionals on the Frontlines of Climate Change 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This event was an online session convened by the Geneva Learning Convention for a global audience of health professionals concerned with the intersections of climate and health. The audience included multiple types of health professionals, from community health workers to public health specialists. During the session Mayssa Jallad presented on Procol Lebanon's approach to Citizen Science methodology, discussing how our work enhances data collection, leads to capacity building, and presents opportunities for innovative design and implementation of interventions for improved quality of life, with a focus on health and environment. The presentation is part of the activities of Procol Lebanon's Citizen Science Academy, which launched in 2023.

The event consisted of two sessions, one in English and one in French. The recording of the sessions is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypZgak6At94&ab_channel=TheGenevaLearningFoundation (English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNMo7hPshs&ab_channel=TheGenevaLearningFoundation (French)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://seriouslydifferent.org/igp-stories/how-can-citizen-science-help-us-research-the-intersection...
 
Description From MOOCs to Co-MOOCs: how new open educational practices are transforming teacher professional development in contexts of mass displacement 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy and Gabi Witthaus gave a presentation on their CoMOOC research called "From MOOCs to Co-MOOCs: how new open educational practices are transforming teacher professional development in contexts of mass displacement" at the OER24 conference on Digital Transformation in Open Education held in Cork on 28th March 2024. The aim was to demonstrate how our CoMOOC model could be an impactful example of digital transformation in the context of open education in conflict and crisis settings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://blokks.co/schedules/oer24/#/2024-03-27
 
Description How does citizen science change us? Exploring the impacts on 'citizens', 'researchers', 'policymakers', and social action 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Mayssa Jallad presented on Lebanon Citizen Science Activities in the section Presentations: Pathways to change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-open-science-conference-how-does-citizen-science-change-us-ticket...
 
Description How to fast forward impact through volunteering: Perspectives from Lebanon and the UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was an event held in London on international perspectives on entrepreneurship. The event included presentations from Ali Omar Ali (Lebanese Spotlight) and Laura Dempsey (Volunteers for Future), and was Chaired by Selin Yigitbasi-Ducker (Goodsted). The aim of the event was to bring community-building start-ups and stakeholders together to speed up inclusive and sustainable growth and promote the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Imagining Futures Gathering II Strategic use of Archives in contexts of Displacement and Post-Conflict 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The gathering is jointly organised by IF - the Imaging Futures Through Un/Archived Pasts Network (based at the University of Exeter) and the British Institute at Ankara and is aimed at bringing together different stakeholders including policymakers, knowledge holders and specialists through participation in a series of tailored conversations and practice sessions on archiving and the negotiations of everyday life in post-conflict and/or displaced contexts.

Considering this event took place after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, it was of exceptional value to come together and collectively discuss the impact and vital considerations to address in the aftermath. It was a unique event in that it brought together people from various disciplines ransing from urbanis, architecture, archaeology, social sciences, political science and artists, around a brainstorming of what it is we need to archive and preserve when disaster hits communities and geographies at a large scale, as well as, how do you mediate between victims' wishes and decision-makers in time of emergency.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://imaginingfutures.world/projects/
 
Description Invited presentation "A pedagogy of care for online teaching and learning", Lebanese University Faculty of Pedagogy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy was invited to share her research on a caring approach to digital learning with faculty and postgraduate students from Lebanese University's Faculty of Pedagogy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL http://luwebxx.ul.edu.lb/en/faculty-pedagogy-organizes-webinar-online-teaching-and-learning
 
Description Is Collaborative Professional Development the Future of Online Education? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy gave an invited plenary presentation about the CoMOOC model at the 6th International Conference on Future Education 2023, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 6-7, 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://futureofedu.co/future-education-2023/
 
Description Jouwan Community Centre educational intervention 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Jouwan Community Centre is an educational intervention based in Lebanon that aims to support the learning of young people who are either out of school or not receiving adequate educational provision. The centre was founded by PROCOL Lebanon citizen scientists following data collection on quality of life in Hamra, Beirut in 2021. Since its creation, the management and running of the centre has been taken up by Lebanon-based NGO Lebanese Spotlight, whose founder and lead is a citizen scientist at PROCOL Lebanon. Over the past two years, Jouwan has expanded its reach beyond Hamra to other neighbourhoods in Beirut. The centre works with volunteer teachers to offer its students online lessons in Arabic, English, and Maths, as well as to organise community activities such as field trips to the city library. In 2024-2025, there were twenty students enrolled in Jouwan's programme.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024,2025
 
Description Lebanon Week, 2024 (Institute for Global Prosperity 10 year anniversary celebration) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Institute for Global Prosperity's Lebanon Week (March 18-24, 2024) was a series of public academic and artistic events convened to celabrate the IGP's tenth anniversary. The events were designed to recognise the work of PROCOL Lebanon and its partners, and to highlight the possibilities this work opens for new social, economic, and environmental solutions. The events highlighted the importance of starting with lived realities on the ground and the challenges they pose to colonial structures of domination and global epistemic injustice. The events further explored the kinds of ethical forms of knowledge production and social solidarity that must drive action towards better social, economic and environmental futures.

The theme of the week was 'The politics of decolonial investigations and the ethics of solidarity'.

The main events of the week included the following:

- Academic workshop: "The politics of decolonial investigations and the ethics of solidarity" with guest speaker Professor Ilan Pappé, University of Exeter.
- Arts exhibition: "Don't stop drawing: Visual diaries of solidarity with Gaza" curated by Mona Hallak and Mayssa Jallad at P21 art gallery, London.
- Academic and policy workshop: "Green New Deal for Lebanon and MENA: A Transformative Approach"
- Public Lecture: "A Just Transition or Just a Transition? Energy and Climate Policy in the in the Middle East and North Africa." Lecture by Dr Manal Shehabi, University of Oxford
- Public Lecture: "Building democracy and accountability through labour movements in Lebanon." ?Lecture by Dr Anne-Kirstine Rønn, ?London School of Economics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/igp/events/2024/mar/igp-10th-anniversary-lebanon-week
 
Description Lebanon-UK Citizen Science Exchange Workshop in London 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact An exchange between London Citizen Scientists and Lebanon Citizen Scientists. All CSs presented their work, and a Q and A between the two groups ensued.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description London Prosperity Board briefing - Sharing Citizen Science Experiences - RELIEF CENTRE 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presentation given by Mayssa Jallad on our Citizen Science activities and interventions, to the London Prosperity Board
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Mayyel social intervention for elderly residents in Beirut 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Mayyel is a social intervention based in Beirut created and led by PROCOL Lebanon citizen scientists. The purpose of the intervention is to support community building, sociality, and wellbeing for elderly residents by organising social activities with them. The Mayyel intervention was a response to prolonged period of isolation during Covid and Covid-related lockdowns, and the growing need for social activities during covid. Events organised by Mayyel have included community dinners, arts classes, coffee mornings, and field trips to tourist sites outside of Beirut. Currently Mayyel operates in two neighbourhoods in Beirut - Mar Mikhael and Ras El Nabaa - each with its own local group. In 2024, PROCOL Lebanon citizen scientists began organising site exchanges where the groups from the two sites would exchange visits to each other's neighbourhoods and engage in collective activities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024,2025
 
Description McGraw-Hill Higher Education Advisory Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact McGraw-Hill has a digital transformation group that has appointed an Advisory Group for its work on developing a digital textbook platform, worldwide.
My role is to advise on the use and value of such platforms for both students and teachers, based on the extensive years of research on learning design, student learning, teaching as a design science, and large-scale digital platforms for education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023,2024
URL https://www.mheducation.com/highered/home-guest.html
 
Description Member of the Kortext Academic Advisory Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Kortext is a company that runs a digital textbook platform in collaboration with publishers across the world. My role is to advise on how students learn and teachers teach, and to help the company respond to customer needs as well as technology opportunities, drawing on extensive research on the use and value of large scale teaching and learning.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023,2024
URL https://www.kortext.com/about-kortext/
 
Description Mosaik Education Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Mosaik Education is an international charity that aims to empower a community of refugees to shape and lead programmes that improve access to university for students who are refugees.
My role is to advise on how to optimise online learning and ways of accessing university scholarship funding. The former role is based on many years of research in the field.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023,2024
URL https://mosaik.ngo/
 
Description Myanmar Teacher Educators Working Group (MTEWG) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Gabi Witthaus joined a presentation on the CoMOOC research in Thailand/Myanmar to the Myanmar Teacher Educators Working Group (MTEWG) on 31st January 2025 with the aim of gaining more support e.g. funding and interest in CoMOOC research and development.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description PROCOL Lebanon Conference: Vital Lebanon 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact the conference aims to bring together academic and non-academics to debate the uncertainty experienced in Lebanon and its effect on people's livelihoods, solidarity and activism as the processes of vitality in times of crises, and the energetics needed to re-imagine the way resources are used and shared using a whole system approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.relief-centre.org/events/vital-lebanon-uncertainty-solidarity-activism-amp-energetics
 
Description Participatory Design Summer School in Lebanon 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact In November 2023, Procol Lebanon partner CatalyticAction convened a participatory design summer school in Lebanon. The Institute for Global Prosperity provided travel costs, accommodation and subsistence expenses for two of its MSc students to join the school. The programme included a series of activities and field trips to multiple sites and interventions developed by Procol Lebanon/RELIEF Centre since 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://seriouslydifferent.org/igp-stories/from-struggles-to-strengths-building-a-prosperous-future-...
 
Description Presentation to the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis consortium on CoMOOCs 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy and Gabi Witthaus gave a presentation on CoMOOCs to the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis consortium, with the aim of securing funding for an implementation study on the CoMOOCs work being carried out in Thailand with Myanmar migrant and refugees learning communities. The presentation ultimately led to the decision to fund an implementation study.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Realising the potential of MOOCs as a decentred process for collaborative professional development 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Diana Laurillard and Eileen Kennedy presented a talk on "Realising the potential of MOOCs as a decentred process for collaborative professional development" (with Diana Laurillard) at the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) Annual Conference in May 25 2022.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.researchcghe.org/perch/resources/realising-the-potential-of-moocs-as-a-decentred-process...
 
Description School visits to EcoHub's waste sorting center to promotoe sustainabilty (4 visits) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The Beirut EcoHub organised a series of four school visits with Ahla Fawda organisation to the learn about the EcoHub's waste sorting centre. The aim of the visits was to educate students about sustainability and promote reducing single-use plastics and recycling. Each visit had approximately thirty students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
 
Description Symposium on Quality Standards for Distance and Blended Learning in the Middle East 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Eileen Kennedy, Diana Laurillard and Samar Zeitoun held at conference on Quality Standards for Distance and Blended Learning
in the Middle East on Thursday 23rd January 2025 with the co-operation of Lebanese University and St Josephs University. The aim of the conference is to influence the policy on recognition of online learning programmes by the Lebanese Government, and the presenters represented different sectors of education in Lebanon (e.g. public and private, schools and universities) who were able to communicate their views and research on quality blended and online learning. The conference was originally scheduled for November 10th 2024, but the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon meant it had to be rescheduled. The conference led to a decision to continue this work with the participants including government ministers who attended.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://lebapedia.com/?????-????-????-???-??????-????-??????/
 
Description Universal Design and Universal Access in Public Transport - South Africa 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact I was a keynote speaker at this event
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2010,2025
 
Description Urban Citizen Science and Community-based Knowledge Production (DSA Conference panel) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact This was a Development Studies Association conference panel convened by RELIEF II team members Nikolay Mintchev and Mariam Daher, in collaboration with IGP colleague Dr Saffron Woodcraft. The panel contained presentations and contributions from academics and practitioners from the UK and abroad. The theme was participatory research methods for urban research and action.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hloYM3oz20E&ab_channel=NomadIT
 
Description Webinar for new CoMOOC Understanding Education in Conflict and Crisis Settings 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The CoMOOCs team held a webinar on 31st January 2025 to launch the new CoMOOC on Understanding Education in Conflict and Crisis Settings. The aim was to engage participants in joining the CoMOOC.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2025
URL https://reflect.ucl.ac.uk/learning-and-education-for-transformation/2025/02/13/the-politics-of-diver...
 
Description Webinar series: Community Based Research 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In collaboration with Dr Samar Zeitoun from the Lebanese University, Eileen Kennedy ran a blended learning event around the Community Based Research: Getting Started as a series of webinars targeting research students at Lebanese University. In the current times of crisis, Lebanese University, Lebanon's only public university, is reduced to 3 hours' electricity per day. In such circumstances, students need more support. The blended course was run to support postgraduate students/ECRs with research methods training in community based research/citizen social science and create a community using community instigated research to explore ways of addressing challenges in Lebanon. 54 students attended and were awarded platform upgrades to be able to access the CoMOOC on the FutureLearn platfrom, enabling them to access the CoMOOC indefinitely and receive a certificate of participation. This event addresses the 'Sustain' stage of our Theory of Change, as the CoMOOC has become embedded in Lebanese University teaching.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
URL https://twitter.com/eileenkennedy01/status/1762487062911963201