“Family Empowerment: The Social Foundation of Human Civilization”

On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the activities of the Family Empowerment Conference “The Social Foundation of Human Civilization,” organized by Al Maaref University, were launched in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Labor, Professor Mustafa Bayram, His Excellency the Minister of Education and Higher Education, represented by the Director General of Higher Education, Dr. Mazen Al-Khatib, His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, represented by Monsignor Abdo Abu Kasem, Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, represented by Mr. Hussein Hejazi, His Eminence Sheikh Akl of the  Mouwahidoune Druze Sect, represented by Sheikh Daniel Saeed, His Excellency the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon, represented by Mr. Ali Reza Esmaili, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, represented by Mrs. Nour Al-Hashemi, His Excellency Representative Sheikh Hassan Ezzeddine, His Excellency Representative Mr. Ibrahim Al-Mousawi, Secretary General of the National Council for Scientific Research Dr. Tamara El-Zein, President of the University of Balamand, represented by Dr. Elias Halabi, President of the Arab Open University, represented by Dr. Ghadi Moukalled, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese University, represented by Dr. Sana Nemer, President of the Educational Center for Research and Development, represented by Dr. Elie Mikhael, representatives of  the heads of the security and military services, heads of organizations, and institutions, representatives of municipalities, educational, cultural, and social activists , the President and Board of Trustees of Al Maaref University, the President and members of the University Council, the academic and administrative bodies of the university, a crowd of graduates and those concerened, officials, diplomatic, social figures, and Arab and foreign researchers.

The Opening Ceremony

The ceremony started with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quraan, and the Lebanese national anthem, followed by welcoming remarks from the Director of Media and Communication Office, Dr. Talih Hamdan.

Speech of the President of Al Maaref University

Afterward, the President of Al Maaref University, Professor Ali Alaeddine, delivered a speech. He began by recalling the barbaric war on Gaza and its people for over six months and the continuing savage Zionist attacks on Lebanon and southern Lebanon. 

He added, " Many sincere salutes to all the martyrs of Palestine and Lebanon and to all those who defend the land and chart a future filled with pride for generations and the whole nation.” At the end of his speech, Alaeddine called for “joint work with all the sincere researchers and intellectuals worldwide to confront this immoral extremism, for which, they not only present their vision, but rather they want to impose it on other peoples and countries. In addition, he called for all “to contribute to enhancing awareness of the importance of family and its main role in society throughout the vision provided by the conference,” concluding by thanking all those who contributed to the preparation of this conference.

 He also pointed out, “The dismissal of the presidents of prestigious international universities, and the investigation and pressure on others, as well as on student activists, because they simply rejected and condemned this war, will remain a disgrace that will haunt the killers’ supporters for life.”  Furthermore, the president saluted the conscientious people, including professors, university students, and other free people throughout this world, who raised their voices against this injustice and this ongoing killing so far.”

Alaeddine stressed that “in our current era, we are witnessing a continuous assault on the conceptualization of the family, besides continuous efforts are being made to dismantle this social unit, which is the nucleus of building strong, normal, and stable societies,” yet, pointing out that "working to empower the family and support its stability lies at the core challenges facing us, and those are shared challenges with the countries and peoples who face Western hegemony and supremacy, by whom we only recognize one model of the family, a man, and a woman, this natural model that humanity has known for hundreds of thousands of years, and this model that opposes all types and forms of the family that is called for.”

At the end of his speech, Alaeddine called for “joint work with all the sincere researchers and intellectuals worldwide to confront this immoral extremism, for which, they not only present their vision, but rather they want to impose it on other peoples and countries. In addition, he called for all “to contribute to enhancing awareness of the importance of family and its main role in society throughout the vision provided by the conference,” concluding by thanking all those who contributed to the preparation of this conference.

Speech of the Conference's Coordinator

In his turn, the conference's coordinator, Professor Talal Atrissi, spoke about the social, cultural, psychological, humanitarian, and civilizational dimensions of the family, pointing out that “this topic in the past few years has begun to transform from a challenge into a threat after some Western countries have gone beyond the “soft war” to what could we call it the "impudent war" or the direct "immoral war", which made homosexuality a human right and obliged promoting for it including among children in their early school years.

Atrissi added, "Today, in different parts of the world, we are witnessing widespread criticism and calls for liberation, not only from Western policies, but also from its dominant cultures, and even from its Humanities theories. Not to mention that promoting homosexuality is a clear and unjustified coup against the natural family entity that all societies have known since the dawn of history until today,” pointing out that "the family system must pay the cost of this sanctification of individual freedoms because what is intuitive and logical is that this sanctification of individual freedoms leads to this for sure."

The conference coordinator stressed that “for us, the cultural-intellectual dimension through which we address the issue of the family is one of the most important duties of the university.

If the peoples today are waging their battles for liberation, rejecting hegemony, independence, restoring their identity, and making the most precious sacrifices on many fronts, just as Palestine's front is their model-  as it is the most prominent and strongest front today- the university must fight this cultural aspect of the battle for liberation and independence,” 

Atrrisi has explained that the term “empowerment” developed forth to the family in this conference was formulated from a position of self-confidence, as a clear and direct challenge, and an alternative to the calls to empower women, girls, and all forms of family and the oddity community.

Closing of the Opening Ceremony

At the end of the opening ceremony, the conference research sessions began and will proceed further on Thursday and Friday, April 25 and 26, 2024, by which an elite group of Arab and international lecturers and researchers will participate, taking place in the university building (Block C).

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