Azm University organized on its campus a dialogue seminar on “Citizenship and the civil state,” with the partnership of the University Youth Forum. The seminar brought together host speakers Dr. Muhammad Nadim al-Jisr, Dr. Shawqi Attieh and Mr. Tarek Mobayed, in the presence of the University president Dr. Ramez Maluf, Deputy Dr. Ali Darwish, Dr. Abdel Ilah Mikati, Dr. Walid al-Ayoubi, university instructors, students from Azm and the Lebanese University.
Mrs. Nesrin Dannawi, the PR Director, conducted the debate.
Particular areas of interest included the need to educate young people on citizenship and the rule of law, in addition to national affiliation with a focus on justice, equality and communal living; moreover, the fostering of national integration and national identity was addressed.
Also, one key perspective that was debated is that the state of political sectarianism has prevented the creation of a capable and effective state, which necessitates the adoption of citizenship as the sole criterion for determining the rights and duties and the separation of powers and the establishment of equality between citizens regardless of gender, sect and color. This model, if adopted, does not mean that we should give up on our cultural and civic values.