The Near East regional portal is a place of virtual consultations to share knowledge, activities and experiences in order to mainstream communication for development in the region.
Communication for development (ComDev), according to FAO, is the systematic and participatory use of communication methods and tools to reach consensus and achieve common goals among the stakeholders of a given development initiative.
Communication for development is considered as a social process, emphasizing the role communication plays at all levels facilitating information sharing, training and participation of urban and rural people in policy/programme formulation, planning and implementation.

In this way communication for development clearly contributes to the building of local ownership in development processes that is generally seen as a pre-requisite for sustainable development. It is critical for development institutions to start a reflection about advancing communication for development in the Near East Region, to share experiences, build common understanding and agree on a strategy and joint initiatives for the Region.

Please visit and participate to our forum here.
Please visit and participate to the discussion groups here.
Please download our newsletters here (PDF format):
Newsletter 1 Newsletter 2

FAO - www.fao.org

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. This organization helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since its founding in 1945, FAO has focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. FAO's activities comprise four main areas: (i) Putting information within reach; (ii) Sharing policy expertise; (iii) Providing a meeting place for nations; (iv) Bringing knowledge to the field

FAFS (Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences)

Established in 1952, The FAFS Mission is to Discover, Integrate and Disseminate Knowledge about: Agriculture, Foods and Nutrition, Landscape, Environment, and Natural Resources, Community and rural development . We are committed to serve Lebanon and the Middle East region The vision of the FAFS is to be an institution committed to helping the Middle East region in improving agricultural practices with the aim of approaching self sufficiency in food production. It is an institution committed to research, development and the training of dedicated and highly selected men and women to fill the needs of human power resources of the Middle East. The FAFS conducts on-campus academic instruction, research through its on-campus facilities and the Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) in the Beqa'a, as well as outreach education, all patterned after the land-grant college system of the USA. The objective of the Faculty is to graduate well-qualified people who have received an education of the highest standard, and who also have an understanding of the food/nutrition and agricultural sectorial needs and problems of the area served by the Faculty.

ESDU  (Enviroment and Sustainable Development Unit)

ESDU is an interdisciplinary research and development unit specialized in sustainable rural livelihoods. It was established in 2001 at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at AUB to promote collaboration on sustainable development initiatives among departments at AUB and a wide variety of other institutions and organizations undertaking related activities. Notably, ESDU has implemented a number of large-scale services and development research contracts in Lebanon and the MENA region. Moreover ESDU has established a strong base in rural sustainable livelihoods and participatory resource management, and is involved in the creation of public-private partnerships in order to enhance the operation of community-based enterprises.