Paula Yacoubian, Albert Kostanian, Dr. Fadi El-Jardali, and Halim Shebaya weighed in on the future of Lebanese politics during a student-moderated panel at ACS Beirut.
BEIRUT, Lebanon: On April 26, the American Community School in Beirut hosted four speakers for their first-ever political panel to bring young people closer to the political process and empower them to be civically active. The 90-minute discussion, moderated by ACS Senior Said El-Kadi, featured Paula Yacoubian, a prospective incumbent MP, Albert Kostanian, host of LBCI Vision 2030, Dr. Fadi El-Jardali, Director of the AUB Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center, and Halim Shebaya, Director of the Arab Association of Constitutional Law. The panel was attended by 300 ACS students, parents, faculty, and staff.
Commenting on the panel — a part of a greater “High School Conversations” initiative — High School Principal Joseph Campana said that “it is imperative that we incorporate young people in discussing political developments in intellectual environments, and not ones that are emotionally or even politically-charged”.
Reflecting on Lebanon’s longstanding history of independent journalism, student-moderator El-Kadi opened the discussion by asking panelists to weigh in on Lebanese media in the context of politicized journalism and the recent rise of alternative media. “After 25 years of being a journalist I realized that people were not listening anymore” Paula Yacoubian commented. Agreeing with Yacoubian and commenting on the current state of Lebanese media, Dr. Fadi El-Jardali added: “Almost 78% of the media in Lebanon is owned by a politician, or a former politician, or a parliamentarian.”
While reflecting on youth engagement in politics — or the lack thereof — Albert Kostanian then asked to zoom out and reflect on Lebanon as a whole: “What’s really different about this country is the gap; there is a huge gap between what this country is meant to be, what this country could be, what this country is designed to be, and what this country is. This gap is where you can make an impact”.
The discussion then moved into the role of the Parliament and kicked off with Political Analyst Halim Shebaya who remarked that the Parliament in Lebanon was “irrelevant” because no decision made was ever surprising. Yacoubian agreed, noting that Parliament rarely actually voted on policies. “This country needs opposition”, she said, “We don’t have a government, we have ruling parties, and all these ruling parties pretend to be that opposition”. Asked about why he is not running for Parliament, Kostanian responded that it presented a clear conflict of interest with his media role. Yacoubian enthusiastically added that she had, in fact, asked him to run on her electoral list, Li Watani.
After the discussion, El-Kadi entertained a few questions from the audience. A Grade 10 student asked Albert Kostanian how she could “get safely involved in the Lebanese political landscape”, to which he answered that she should be ready to change: “I changed personally in my political journey. You should not be stuck in a place. You evolve. You read. You mature.” Another student asked Paula Yacoubian about how and where she fundraises, to which she responded that she does notfundraise formally because she receives all necessary financial support from her husband.
Even amidst immense political uncertainty and turnover, this political panel served as a window into the diverse and often divergent perspectives that make up the Lebanese political landscape, empowering young people to be civically engaged in this environment.
Kostanian delivered the final remark of the panel: “It is very dangerous to grow up [in Lebanon] without knowledge, especially when it comes to good governance.”
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL BEIRUT
Founded in 1905, ACS Beirut is an accredited, not-for-profit, independent and secular American College Preparatory School serving a multicultural international student body. ACS provides internationally-enriched, standard-based curricula, preparing students for the International Baccalaureate, the Lebanese Baccalaureate, and the American College Preparatory Diplomas.
ABOUT ACS BEIRUT HIGH SCHOOL CONVERSATIONS
“High School Conversations” is an initiative where relevant figures shared their insights on issues of relevance to Lebanon and the region with students in Grades 9-12. Recent speakers have included environmental engineer Ziad Abi Chaker and Analytical Chemistry Professor Najat Saliba, both prospective MPs.