El-Mina’s Cultural Committee had finished its 2008 activities by a lecture in Beit Al-Fan (Art’s House) about the history of the British ship Victoria that had been drowned in 1893 next to the city’s coast, because of an accident during its military maneuver. This accident happened at 140 m of depth, 10 km away from the coast and 6 km away from the Palms Island, and caused 350 sailors to drown, including the Ship’s Captain.

The lecture began by a welcoming speech for the Cultural Committee’s President, the lawyer Mr. Issam Sbat, praising Christian Francis who worked with his research team on prospecting Victoria’s damages, and the fisherman Georges Metri who helped also in discovering the ship. Then, the Municipality’s President pronounced a speech where he mentioned the cemetery’s territory offered by the Ottoman Empire, through the Municipality, to the British government for burying Victoria’s sailors in 1893. Moreover, he thanked the diver Christian Francis for his efforts, and Ibrahim Touma for having organized this meeting and for his continual work to show El-Mina’s history.

Three films were exposed around Victoria: the first was an introduction of “El-Mina in image and melody: Victoria 1893” film, prepared by Ibrahim Touma. The second was a report from “With Passion” program, exposed on Future TV, realized by Maria Haddad and narrating Christian Francis’ story and his relation with the drowned ship. As for the third film, it was “Finding Victoria”, a short film taken under the water and at British Museum, filmed and prepared by Christian Francis, and it was run at London in 2005.

At the end of the event, Christian Francis made a slide show on the ship’s architecture, and on maps about its location and accident, in addition to old and new images. This was followed by a debate among the audience.

Dr. Zahida Darwish Jabbour offered more than 500 books, as collections, encyclopedias, resources, and references, to form a cultural department for her dead father, Adnane Darwish, in the new Municipal Library at the El-Mina’s Municipal Palace.

This donation was received by the President of El-Mina Municipality, Abdulkader Alameddine, in the presence of Darwish family, and some members of the Municipal Council in the Municipal Library. Alameddine mentioned that this cultural donation would be the starting point of many similar cultural donations in order to increase the amount of the library’s books which are now counted by thousands. Moreover, he thanked the writer Darwish for her interest in both cultural and educational domains.

Later on, Dr. Zahida praised the work of the Municipal Council that is supporting cultural and artistic activities, and following up every progress in all domains. In addition, she affirmed that this donation represents Adnane Darwish’s devotion for El-Mina and its citizens.

In the occasion of reaching his 64 years old, Abdallah Momtaz Kabbara was honored by the Municipality of El-Mina, during a ceremony in Beit Al-Fan, attended by the President and the members of the Municipality, in addition to some of his family members and friends.

The ceremony started with a welcoming speech by the Municipality’s President Abdulkader Alameddine, who praised Kabbara through talking about his different works, his patience in working, his performance in accomplishing his tasks and his legal revision in the Police department and other ones.

Then the honored exposed his professional life spent in the municipality, assuring that he will be always available to the public service and the active local associations.

Moreover, the policeman Abdelrazzak Al-Sawda pronounced a speech in the noun of many employees in the Municipality and the Municipal Police, who offered him many gifts, in addition to a commemorative armor presented by the president of the Municipality. The ceremony was followed by a cocktail.

Under the patronage of El-Mina Municipality, the Chess Club organized the Independence Chess Tournament on Sunday November 23, 2008, with the presence Abdul Kader Alameddine, the Municipality’s President, and the international judge Hani Mikati, representing the Lebanese Union. The tournament took place in Beit Al-Fan (Art’s House), where participants were divided into 3 categories, and the game was directed by Hani Mikati and his assistant Elie Bandali. The tournament began with a speech pronounced by the Municipality’s President who insisted on both physical and intellectual sport’s importance in developing youth personalities, and pushed public and private committees to “promote all kinds of youth sport activities, in order to build a youthful society with good health provided by sport life”.

Cups and medals were distributed to the winners as follows:
-University participants: Elias Khoury, Bashir Mansour, Diaa Antoun
-High school participants: Boys: Joseph Bandaly, Abdul Rahman Iali, Yasser Shehadeh
Girls: Farah Murad, Ivanna Bandaly, Rania Maroun
-Younger participants: Georges Bandaly, Fadi Dawra, Marc Antoun

Beit Al-Fan’s Association and the Swiss Embassy in Lebanon organized Lebanese-Swiss Week in cooperation with El-Mina Municipality. On Saturday November 22, there were theater shows in the street, where the Theater Swiss Group presented two shows, one in front of “City Complex” in Tripoli and the other in the Dr. Yaacoub Lebnan Street in El-Mina.

Abdul Nasser Yassin, director of Beit Al-Fan Association explained that “the program contains also a conference for the Swiss Embassy and a film exposition about laws promulgation in the Swiss Parliament, in addition to many varied artistic activities”.

The Cultural Committee in El-Mina organized a cultural lecture in Beit Al-Fan (Art House) theater, about the non-communitarianism and the non-violence. Walid Salibi and Ougarite Younan were the present lecturers coming from Chaml Association (Global). With the presence of the Municipality’s President and members, lawyer Issam Sbat, President of the Cultural Committee, pronounced the welcoming speech which was followed by a documentary about the non-violence history in Lebanon, through exposing afflicting scenes from the Lebanese War. Both lecturers discussed the non-violence from two points of view: No for self violence and No for Other’s violence, Yes for life, for identity retrieval and for influencing on life. The lecture was followed by a debate.

Dr. Samer Annous had exposed to the Municipal Council, during its last meeting, the different steps achieved by Archimedes’s project that is common between El-Mina’s Municipality and many European municipalities. He discussed also the details of internet topics, tourists’ income and expected services from the project’s results. All the project details are available on the webpage mentioned next to this page.

Tuesday morning, October 7, 2008, works for Municipal Palace construction began in El-Mina. It’s known that the new owner of the real estate is the Lebanese republic, the Ministry of Interior and Municipal Affairs, El-Mina Municipality. In addition, the Association of Determination and Happiness was delegated by the president Najib Mikati to finance the project of construction.

N.M. Construction Company is directing the project under the supervision of the architectural office, Archico, for the architect Spirou Rouhana. The civil engineer is Amine Marhaba, and the electrical engineer is Abdelmonhem Alameddine. All of these three persons are freely working and offering their experience. The contractor is the Company of Arab World for the commitments, and the direction is from SOTEC. It’s expected that all works will be achieved within a period of six months.

President Najib Mikati celebrated for the inauguration of the construction of El-Mina’s Municipal Castle, as being a donation from him for El-Mina citizens. This ceremony was assisted by the Municipality’s Mayor and members, Muslim and Christian religious men, presidents of free professions’ syndicates and El-Mina citizens.
The Municipality’s Mayor, Abdul Kader Alameddine, pronounced a speech in which he thanked Taha and Najib Mikati, and the Association of Determination and Happiness for their donation, hoping that the works will end in six months. Also, he thanked the Syndicate of Engineers, and the executive engineer Espiridon Rouhana.

In addition, President Najib Mikati focused on El-Mina city which present a sample of common life, dialog and open-mindedness, hoping that El-Mina Municipal Castle will be an essential element in the way of development and construction that Tripoli and El-Mina will witness after the reconciliation for a secure and safe country.

The Mayor and the members of El-Mina Municipality honored Fr. Antoine Daou, in the occasion of moving his ecclesiastic service from El-Mina to the parish of Shamlan in Aley. The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Malek Al-Shaar - Mufti of Tripoli and the North, Nassif Qalush - mayor of the North and Beirut, Abdul Kader Alameddine - El-Mina Municipality's Mayor, Nasser Al-Saleh - former president of the Sunnite Legal Tribunals, Bishop Elias Qorban represented by Archimandrite Youhanna Batash, Bishop Georges Abu Jawdeh, Asaad Harmoush - former depute, Nassim Khoriaty - President of the Syndicate of Doctors, Fadi Karam, President of the Syndicate of dentists, Rashid Derbas - President of the Syndicate of Lawyers, Abdul Menhem Alameddine, former President of the Syndicate of Engineers, local associations' presidents, schools principals, media man and friends of the honored father.

The ceremony started by a welcoming word pronounced by Dr. Jean Touma, a member in the municipality, followed by a word to the president Alameddine: "the Fr. Daou is leaving us to serve in another Lebanese region, and I am completely sure that he will carry the noun of El-Mina and the North in all regions in Lebanon that gathers all its citizens with equity, justice and balance". Then Fr. Antoine Daou insisted on the ra2es face of Tripoli in the dialog and the Other's acceptance, mentioning the role of the Mufti of Tripoli Malek Al-Shaar for his approach of the country's general status, and thanking the El-Mina Municipality for this honoring event. At the end, the Mufti of Tripoli Malek Al-Chaar mentioned the loyal role of Fr. Daou towards El-Mina and the North, who "was the messenger of love and Other's acceptance in a conscious approach for the faith of others and the respect of their doctrines, their traditions and their habits. The Fr. Daou loved his religion, thus he loved his brothers from all beliefs and communities, representing thus the perseverance of the good sincere believers".

After that, the Mufti Malek Al-Shaar and the president Alameddine offered the appreciation armor to the Fr. Antoine Daou in the noun of El-Mina citizens.

As a disapprobation for slowly and badly executing the works of the water installation’s project in El-Mina city, the Mayor and the Members of the Municipal Council, religious people, El-Mina Mayors, local association’s presidents and environment concerned people had all gathered in front of El-Mina Municipality, where the El-Mina Municipality’s mayor, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, declared, in their name, a speech of which:

“I carry the scream of El-Mina’s Municipal Council and the Civil Community in the city of waves and horizon, the city actually dominated by excavations, dust, moving red sand and scattered stones,

I carry the scream of the Municipal Council whose members’ voices got hoarse in asking the concerned people in the society for establishing the water installations, cooperating with each other and getting the harm away from the citizens,

Also, I carry the scream of El-Mina’s citizens, associations and committees, and of the Civil Community which got tired from this terrible situation in El-Mina’s streets,

I declare, in your name, that El-Mina City is afflicted in its streets, its tourism and its commercial and economic situation.”

In addition, the Sheikh Nasser Al-Saleh and the Fr. Samira Hajjar insisted, in this solidarity gathering disapproving the artistic violations in El-Mina’s streets and places, on the issue that the concerned people must work to get the harm away from the citizens and quickly achieve this project hindering the citizens’ circulation and harming people and the tourism season, especially that Ramadan Month is nearly to arrive.

In the occasion of her retirement, the El-Mina Municipal Council honored Mrs. Ghada Ghazi, president of the department of administrative affairs. The ceremony was held in Beit Al-Fan (Art House) in the presence of the President of the EL-Mina's Municipality, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, and the member of the Municipal Council, in addition to her colleagues, employees of the Municipality, and some of her family's members.

In this occasion, the Mayor of the Municipality pronounced a speech of which: "Mrs. Ghada Ghazi will always be an important memory in the memory of El-Mina. She walked along with El-Mina's path, in its happy and sad occasions, in the daily requests of its citizens. She worked always for the service of everyone, without any distinction or discrimination. Mrs. Ghada is actually joining the elite who served totally the society; therefore, we're honoring her in the name of all El-Mina's citizens expressing so the grateful feelings and appreciation towards her, for the essential role she played all along her work. All the words about employee's sacrifices are always unable to express his veritable work. The successful employee is the one who has a good reputation among the people. Mrs. Ghada was always considered an employee always aspirating for people's comfort and loyally working in their service and the service of their interests.

The honored replied by a speech thanking the Mayor and the members of the Municipal Council for their "initiative going from the love and the appreciation that the employees express towards her". Moreover, she mentioned her work in the Municipal Department with the Mayor Abdul Kader Alameddine since 1973, insisting on the cooperation established between the employees in the service of El-Mina and its citizens.

Then, Alameddine gave the honored an appreciation armor, before going to the cocktail consecrated for this occasion.

In the frame of the Archimedes' project financed by the European Group, a delegation of the Genes's Municipality, in Italy, including Roberto Marini, director of the economic progress, accompanied by the director of the responsible on the works in the ancient city of Genes, has visited the El-Mina's city to see its tourist, cultural and economic status. The delegation has held many meetings with the Mayor of the El-Mina's Municipality, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, in the presence of the President of the Tourist Committee, Captain Abdullah Jabr. The Municipality's Mayor has insisted on the importance and the European and Italian support for the El-Mina's city and its vital projects. Moreover, the delegation has also visited Khan Al-Tamasili and the ancient city, in addition to the artisan centers, the Center of the Tourist's Information and Beit Al-Fan.

The President of the El-Mina Municipality Abdul Kader Alameddine welcomed the Vice-President of the 16th district in Paris, Mme I'jab Khoury who showed her admiration towards the El-Mina city, its monuments and its civilization, the amiability of the citizens and the activity of the Municipal Council. In the meeting, they discussed local municipal affairs and the way of exchanging expertise between both cities. Moreover, Mme Khoury, whose origins are from Tripoli, showed a big interest towards the affairs of both Tripoli and El-Mina cities, explaining so her desire of establishing a cooperation between the El-Mina Municipality and the French municipalities.
The El-Mina Municipality's Mayor, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine expressed his strong interest in the discussed topics and promised to continue the execution of the points of the cooperation considered necessary to the profit of both cities.

In addition, the Municipality's Mayor received a group delegated from the Association of Embellishing Lebanon, including Ms. Yolla Antoun and Mr. Gihad Younes. The group members expressed their desire to put a strategy to embellish the El-Mina's piazzas and gardens following a scientific mechanism and according to artistic and architectural specific studies. Alameddine thanked the members of the Association for taking care of the El-Mina city, transmitting to them the salutations of the El-Mina citizens and thanking them for this special environmental initiative.

The El-Mina Municipality’s President, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, came back from the French city, Marseille, where he had participated in the works of the euro-mediterranean conference, through an invitation from the Marseille Municipality’s President, as a preparation to the project of the “Union for the Mediterranean Area” to be launched in mid-July 2008.

The Municipality’s President had an intervention in the name of the Municipalities’ Federation of Al-Fayhaa region, on the water and its strategic importance for the mediterranean cities, exposing also the vital projects to be realized in the Federation’s cities, and related to drinking water, to used water treatment and to the refining stations. At the end of the conference, Alameddine has pronounced the word of Roma Municipality’s President, the President of Mediterranean Cities’ Network.

Moreover, Alameddine met with many European Municipality’s Presidents, out of the Conference works’ frame.

On Monday June 30, 2008, the Prime Minister, Mr. Fouad Siniora, patronized the official launching ceremony organized at the Quality Inn, to the project of preparing the strategic plan for the development of the cities in the Al-Fayhaa Municipalities.

Many words were pronounced by the municipal federations and the international participating organizations. Dr. Mohamed Amine, representing the El-Mina Municipality’s President and the members, Abdallah Jaber, Mohamed Fawzi, Salah Sidawi, Nabil Qatra and Jean Touma were also present.

The Municipal Council

On Tuesday, July 17, the Council held its usual meeting, in the evening, through which the members studied the projects presented to them. Moreover, they dealt with the issue of finishing the first steps of the water installation project in order to facilitate the daily life and the transportation of the citizens. In addition, they discussed the organization of tourist sites in El-Mina according to applied laws.

Sports Race

With the cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and the Environment Care Committee and the Institution of Heinz Ziddle and El-Mina’s Municipality, there was organized a race of bicycles and aquatic boards, on Saturday June 21, 2008. Competitors started from the bridge of Abdul-Wahab’s Island heading for the Olympic Stadium.

A New Association in El-Mina

A new association was established in El-Mina under the name of “Association of Brotherhood and Human Complementarity” according to the declaration 656, in May 27, 2008. Its goal is to protect orphans, widows and needy people ; its founders are Mohamed Al-Qarhani, Alaa Al-Qarhani, Ahmad Saïd Al-Omar, Imane Mohamed Chaqra, Ziad Al-Haddad ; and its location: Al-Zira’a Street- El Mina.

Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, the municipality’s mayor, visited the European Commissary in Brussels and met there directors to show them the developmental projects in El-Mina city which are financed by the World Bank and the European Commissary. Alameddine assisted to the meetings held by the euro-Mediterranean cities beneficiating from MEDCAPT's projects. Moreover he made an intervention concerning the strategic plan of El-Mina and its vital importance.

The French Cultural Center sent an invitation to a poetic session held by the following poets: Nabila Al-Zoubeir (Al-Yémen), Abbas Baydoun (Lebanon), Nathalie Bontame (France), Alidoro Catoshi (Italy), Bassam Hajjar (Lebanon), and Nabil Sebee (Al-Yémen). The session was held on Saturday May 31st, 2008 in Via Mina Hotel.

Under the patronage of Mrs. Nazek Al-Hariri and after achieving Al-Hajj Akram El-Helou’s building – Islamic Association of Ethical Generosity, El-Mina Social Health Center was opened on Saturday May 31st, 2008 in the popular residences region. Speeches were pronounced in the ceremony by the mayor Rabih Al-Ayoub; Mohamed El-Helou, primer president of El-Mina Municipality; Sheikh Nasser Al-Saleh; Abdul Kader Alameddine, the Municipality’s Mayor; Mr. Abdul Ghani Kabbara representing the ceremony’s patron Sheikh Saad Al-Hariri and Dr. Noureddine Al-Kosh representing Mrs. Nazek Al-Hariri.

The president of El-Mina Municipality Abdul Kader Alameddine has met (welcomed) the Australian Ambassador Mrs. Lyndall Sachs in the Municipality where they discussed the situations of the Australian who are living in Lebanon in general, and in El-Mina and the North in particular, in addition to the status of the Municipality and the ways of cooperation among El-Mina and the Australian cities.

Alameddine thanked the Ambassador for her visit, which will not be the first time, as she promised, to see the ancient and modern monuments in the city of waves and horizon.

In the frame of the Days of Reading organized by the Ministry of Culture, the writer Emilie Nasrallah accepted the invitation of the Lebanese Association for Promoting Reading and Culture of Dialog, in cooperation with the Public Municipal Library, for an interview with university students to discuss literary subjects whose goal was to highlight her stories and their role in developing new generations.

Later on Dr. Zahida Darwich Jabbour spoke about the importance of Nasrallah's stories addressed to students and pushing them to be attached to their country, through exposing the moral values, the traditions and the Lebanese patrimony.

After that, Nasrallah answered the students' questions, who dealt with the human issues happening in the Lebanese and Arab society, especially during these current world changes in terms of globalization and technological progress. Moreover, she profited by this interview to stress on being attached to our society's ethical values and appreciating the cooperation and the relation between the citizens, in addition to the importance of reading, maintaining a dialog between each other and accepting the Other, in order to build for everyone, an ideal city able to realize the young's ambitions and gather their hobbies and creative capacities.

Signature of « Qanadil El-Bahr » (Sea Jellyfishes) by Touma

In the occasion of the Days of Reading, the Public Municipal Library invited the young to the signature of Dr. Jean Touma's « Qanadil El-Bahr » (Sea Jellyfishes). A number of students met to discuss the story, showing the importance of the literary style in writing the cities’ history, which motivates them to read their city's history and its characters, in addition to the citizens' capacity in following up recent changes such as intern and extern migration. Students mentioned the originality of this story that focuses on the city's detailed history, whether concerning its monuments and tourist places, or its social and national structure which confronted difficulties and had been revealed, through its union and progress in terms of construction and humanity, on the map of the marine cities opened to the waves and horizon

The president and the members of El-Mina Municipality welcomed the Sheikh Malek Al-Shaar in the Municipality in a visit of acquaintance after his election as Mufti of Tripoli and the North.

During this visit, they discussed the general situation in Tripoli, the North and Lebanon. The visit started with a welcoming speech pronounced by Mr. Alameddine who insisted on the love and the harmony among Tripoli's citizens and on the role of Dar Al-Fatwa as being openhearted to everyone and reflecting the civilized image of Tripoli. He also mentioned that the reality of El-Mina gets its power from the united citizens aiming to the city's rebirth on a constructional and cultural level.

Later on, the Mufti discussed the horizons of the future step, and his support to the religious and social dialog, insisting on the importance of understanding Others without discrimination except for their actions in the service of the society. He also insisted on the important role that the city plays in this respect, through its open-minded people and their patrimonial deep-rootedness which reflects the city's nature in gathering all the hobbies and supporting an advanced and progressed society.

At the end, the president and the members of the Municipality thanked the Mufti for his visit, being the first to happen from other upcoming visits in order to communicate with all institutions and active associations for dialog and work coordination in the service of Tripoli, the North and Lebanon.

El-Mina Municipality resumed its poetic sessions in cooperation with Lebanese Association for Promoting Reading and Culture Dialog. This experience proved through the big number of auditors, that the cultural activity in El-Mina is able to progress, especially that its sessions are taken place in See and Sea Restaurant. Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, the Mayor, insisted on the importance of cultural and intellectual activities which contribute in promoting both El Mina and Tripoli cities in particular, and the North in general.

This session is the beginning of this association’s activities, as mentioned by the president Dr. Zahida Darwish who cited the activities of these two coming months April and May: a meeting for university students with the writer Emilie Nasrallah on Saturday April 19th; a poetic session for the university students on May 2nd; a contest for secondary students concerning the works of both poets Andrée Chédid and Khalil Hawi on May 11th.

The sessions started with a welcoming speech by Dr. Said El Wali, then the declamation of poems by Shawqi Sasseen, a poet and a lawyer-member in the Lawyers Syndicate in North. His poems’ themes varied between Baghdad, Beirut, Love and finally the city of waves El-Mina. Afterwards, the writer Amal Dibo read texts that she translated from French into Arabic, for the poet Ethyl Adnan. The poems treated of universal cities, changing the world into a small village through words and technology. At the end, Dibo sang with her guitar many touching songs, transmitting so, with her melodious voice, to every listener, her engagement to human causes.

Under the patronage of the leader of Al-Mustaqbal Parliamentary Bloc, the depute Sheikh Saadeddine Al-Hariri, the Cultural Artistic Committee and El-Mina Municipality celebrated the results of the Annual Artistic Award of Martyr Rafic Al-Hariri – 2008 in Rawdat Al-Fayhaa School.

The ceremony was attended by Hajj Abdul Ghani Kabbara, the General Coordinator of Al-Mustaqbal Bloc in North Lebanon representing the ceremony's patron, many representatives of the ministers and deputies, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, El-Mina Mayor, Fr. Samir Hajjar, in addition to many cultural, artistic and educational fans and representatives of society.

The ceremony started by the National Anthem followed by a minute of silence then a welcoming speech by Dr. Jean Touma and a speech by Mrs. Hoda Al-Sabbagh, the President of the Artistic Cultural Committee, who mentioned the committee's goals and the cause of nominating this award and thanked Sheikh Al-Hariri and all who contributed this project's realization.

As for Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, he mentioned the cooperation between municipalities and local associations. Then there was a poetic session by the poet Mohamed Rashad Awad followed by the speech of the Patron Sheikh Al-Hariri pronounced by Hajj Abdul Ghani Kabbara who insisted on the continuing communication in spite of all the constraining conditions hindering his presence today.
After that, Appreciation Armors were distributed to the participating schools and medals to the participating students.
Later on, Mrs. Sabbagh distributed:
• Encouraging prices to all the winners
• The 1st award to the student Sara Jaber from the Public Ideal School for Girls.
• The Annual Artistic Award of Martyr Rafic Al-Hariri – 2008 to the student Rida Abdul Menhem Al- Naghi from the Islamic Schools of Faith.
• An Armor of Acknowledgment and Appreciation to Hajj Abdul Ghani Kabbara.
At the end pictures were taken in memory of the ceremony followed by a cocktail.

The local traditional festival of El-Mina Cuisine, which was organized to present Lebanese traditional platters, was the center of attraction to a large number of participants. El-Mina Municipality launched a public invitation under the direction of Souk Al-Ared (Shop of the Earth) – Souk Al-Tayeb (Shop of Delicious Food) for this festival held on Sunday, March 30 2008 during all day in Al-Sheikh Affan's Garden. Many citizens from El-Mina and the neighborhood attended to expose homemade food and agricultural products free of any toxic manure.

Dr. Jean Touma, the coordinator between the Municipality of El-Mina and the Arab Cities' Organization, saluted the participants in the name of Mr. Abdel Aziz Al- Adassani, the Organization's General Secretary. Moreover, he insisted on the importance of presenting traditional aspects of the Arab City.

A Garden for Children were inaugurated in the Al-Sheikh Affan's Garden on El-Mina Cornish, after restituting the toys for the children and procuring them green zones to play. In this occasion, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine, El-Mina Mayor, insisted on the emblem of the Arab Cities Organization for this year "Human’s priority in Development, Equality and Poverty Lessening".

El Mina Municipality’s Council organized, on Monday March, 24 2008 a ceremonial lunch in the "Silver Shore" Restaurant, to honor 32 teachers, from El Mina’s private and public schools, who retired during this current academic year, for their educational service in El-Mina.

The ceremony was attended by El-Mina Mayor and the Council Members, the Director of North Educational Zone, the El-Mina’s private and public Schools’ Principals and the honored teachers. The ceremony started by a welcoming speech by lawyer Issam Sbat, the president of the municipality’s cultural committee. Then the Mayor Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine mentioned that this ceremony coincides with the commemoration of the Arab Cities Organization’s foundation, under the slogan of “Human’s priority in Development, Equality and Poverty Lessening”. As did say Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Adassani, the Organization’s General Secretary, this slogan meets with the educational employees’ efforts deployed in order to reduce actual analphabetism that is hindering the cities’ progress. Therefore this honoring event today meets with sincere invitation of the General Secretary. “You’re the messengers of learning and knowledge” that the students acquire in order to get good job posts away from need and poverty.

Then spoke Mr. Fouad Dawra in the name of the honored teachers in order to thank the Mayor and the Council Members, hoping that teachers will continue in their devoting act for the society. Finally, Mr. Hussam Shahade, the Director of North Educational Zone, praised this event and pointed out on the complementary work existing between the educational committees and municipalities reflecting so positively on the communities’ rise and raise.

The ceremony was adjourned after giving the Appreciation Awards to the 32 retired teachers including: Widad El-Helou, Boushar Zok, Nada Agha, Rawa’a Abdul Kader, Mohamed El-Helwe, Maha Saleh, Hanaa Al-Jamal, Sarkis Sarkissian, Almaza Dawra, Ghrami Nouhaily, Mohamed Al-Beiruty, Saadallah Jamaleddine, Georges Wakim, Jamal Al-Hayek, Helene Debs, Micheline Nahas, Anaam Rifi, Georgette Riashi, Marie-Claire Fakhouri, Alice Ayya, Souhad Nashabe, Abdallah Bafitos, Robert Matta, Fouad Dawra, Salam El-Nemer, Isaac Sarkis, Hanna El-Dayah, Leonide Bafitos, Hoda Karam. At last, there were an appreciation and a commemoration for the following deceased teachers: Fatima Al-Wili, Aïsha Merheb and Francesca Batash.

EL-Mina municipality hosted a ceremonial lunch in the “Silver Shore Restaurant” to honor the Sheikh Dr. Malek Al-Chaar, Mufti of Tripoli and the North, in the occasion of holding the Ifta’a position. The lunch was attended by his Excellency Najib Mikati, Dr. Oussama Ouaïda who represented the Minister Mohamed Al-Safadi, the Governor of the North Nassif Qalouch, the Maronite Bishop of Tripoli Georges Aboujaoudé, the Catholic Bishop of Tripoli Georges Riashi, the Orthodox Bishop of Tripoli Elias Qorban, Security leaders from the North, Sheikh Oussama Rifaï Mufti of Akkar, representatives of Tripoli's actual and former deputies, presidents of municipalities federations, chiefs of free professions syndicates, presidents of national associations and schools' principals.

The ceremony started by the National Anthem followed by a welcoming speech of Dr. Jean Touma, El-Mina Council member. He addressed his speech to Dr. Al-Chaar asking him to be the source of charity and equity and the wise man who helps concerned and anxious people, when everyone is searching wisdom and ethics.

Then the Mayor, Mr. Abdul Kader Alameddine honored in his speech the Sheikh Al-Chaar for being elected for his region and its citizens coming from different cities and religions. He added that El-Mina, the city of waves and horizon, is characterized by its people rooted in its history and its faith opened towards the Other.

      Finally, Mufti Al-Chaar thanked the municipality for having organized this special lunch, insisting on the importance of being opened towards Others, and considering that Ifta’a and Islam must be openhearted to everyone and behave fraternally with Others. He continued that people must go back to their consciousness under these painful circumstances that the country is witnessing. In addition he engaged himself in being openhearted to everyone and forgiving Others, because the element unifying the Lebanese goes beyond the contents leading to the current conflicts. He finally stated that moderation and balance will be the only way for our dialog and discourse with Others