CLS aims to promote, facilitate, and carry out high-quality research in the subjects of social justice, inclusivity and the rights of vulnerable persons, education, and social movements in Lebanon, Jordan, and neighboring countries.
Activist Research
The importance of activist research in these times of global pandemic, capitalist crisis, inequalities, anti-immigrant attacks, and social movements is the engagement it provides towards more humane and egalitarian social alternatives. CLS has a role to play today by elevating the discussion in Lebanon, as it goes through one of the most trying periods in its recent history, by providing a platform for activists, thinkers and reformists to dialogue and influence the general discourse within our networks, among the Lebanese diaspora and international community, and in Lebanon.
Building a Community
Community-building is a process which originates in the experience of people who accomplish more together than any one of them could if acting alone. Planning for and organizing for community members to accomplish their goals is a job we take seriously. Community-research can contribute to improve our junior researchers’ competencies and connectedness; develop their organisational capacity and leadership potential, and foster a healthy rapport with the larger community. We are particularly interested to bring together teams of different competencies, academic backgrounds, and priorities. We believe the outcome to be so much more enriching and universally relatable.
Developing Knowledge
Research is a process for developing knowledge. Researchers formulate theories, gather information, confirm facts, and solve problems about which they care. They synthesize existing studies, explain why things happen the way they do, or interpret the significance of findings for further thought and action.