Georges Haddad

I have been working in the sector for the past 8 years. From working individually or collectively, I have gathered enormous experience and expertise over the years from conducting fieldwork, monitoring the landscape, writing, managing projects or organizations, and organizing and taking part in seminars and conferences, but also, as ad-hoc events and situations, through which I observed and interacted with hundreds of stakeholders from the grassroots to the highest levels.

As a researcher and analyst, I have been closely monitoring the political, socio-economic, and security landscapes of Lebanon and the region overall. From meeting the concerned to being invited to discuss certain issues in private or publically, I have shared the knowledge I acquired concerning thematics related to human rights, humanitarian support, civil society, the criminal justice sector, the security sector, refugees, Palestinian camps, the youth, the diaspora, legal issues (rule of law, accountability, and transparency), policy changes, and many more. Over the years, I built a rich network of people orbiting within these ecosystems from state and security officials, to international organizations or donors' representatives, to experts, activists, journalists, humanitarian and human rights defenders, and random individuals all across the country who are willing to share their experience, information, and events they witness on the local, national, and regional levels on a daily basis.

From working with lead international and local NGOs such as ALEF - Act for Human Rights as a Programs Manager/acting Executive Director, and with ACTED as a MEAL Officer, or with the Project Development Team, I have worked across all aspects of NGO management such as project management, research and advocacy, communication, and visibility, strategizing and reporting, fundraising and grants management, MEAL, budgeting, financing, auditing, logistics and operations, HR and recruitment. I have also worked specifically in research when I joined Synaps as a Researcher and Analyst where I published several articles over the years on the Palestinian camps, the Lebanese detention sector, and the security sector reform.

I also published several articles on my own and conducted several studies, research, and evaluations to support local organizations reassessing their programming, raison-d'être, and direction. Finally, I conducted several trainings and capacity-building sessions on human rights, advocacy, research, Lebanon's current context, and NGO management.

Finally, I have been actively meeting several representatives from civil society since the start of the Lebanese protests in October 2019 to understand the various dynamics shaking the country. From meeting individuals running in the parliamentary elections, to activists, journalists, and emerging parties and media representatives protesting or organizing debates and seminars to raise awareness, advocate for change or simply share information and analysis, I always get out of my comfort zone to meet the new emerging forces to either support or at least listen to what they have to say and offer, while keeping an eye out and continue contacting traditional forces who are still having a major impact on various levels from politics to finance to the Lebanese socio-cultural sphere.