On September 14, 2017, the Lebanese Wheelchair Union, in partnership with the Municipality of Tyre, launched the first pilot experiment in Lebanon that allows all people with different needs to access the sea and enjoy marine tourism services, entitled “Tyre Beach for All”, in an official ceremony at tent number 19 on the beach of the Tyre Nature Reserve.
The equipped tent was filled with a large audience headed by the President of the Union of Tyre Municipalities, Hassan Dabouk, members of the municipal council, the municipal committee in charge of equipping the tent, the representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Mohammed Hammoud, the office of the Minister of Administrative Development, Najwa Al-Qassifi, representatives of civil society organizations in Tyre and the South, and a number of disabled people.
Tent investor Ibrahim Sharafuddin’s speech
After the national anthem, the tent’s investor Ibrahim Sharafeddine spoke about the importance of making tourist facilities friendly to people with disabilities, expressing his pride that his tent was the first in Lebanon to facilitate accessibility for people with disabilities in terms of space and services.
Message from the President of the Lebanese Wheelchair Union Silvana Al-Laqqis
The President of the Lebanese Wheelchair Union, Silvana Al-Laqis, spoke about “the necessity of enshrining the right of persons with disabilities to inclusive tourism in Lebanon under the framework of human rights,” pointing out the size of the economic benefits of this, and opening the door to employment for persons with disabilities. She highly appreciated the cooperation with the municipality of Tyre, which was the first in Lebanon to adopt inclusive standards. The tent is a small part of a plan that targets the piers, hotels and the port, in addition to training sea lifeguards and other investors to deal with the additional needs of people with disabilities and the elderly.”
Message from the President of the Union of Tyre Municipalities and Mayor of Tyre Hassan Dabouk
Hassan Dabouk, President of the Union of Tyre Municipalities and Mayor of Tyre, said, “Engineering equipment and adapting services is a right for about one-sixth of Lebanon’s population with disabilities, and he appreciated the cooperation with the Union,” pointing out that “many steps are taking place in the shadows to facilitate access to public places in the city for people with disabilities. He revealed that the new public park in Tyre will be equipped for people with disabilities in cooperation with the Federation.”
A word from occupational therapist Farah Sheikh Ali Bassem
Busy therapist Farah Sheikh Ali spoke on behalf of the project team, “detailing the executive steps that have been taken and are planned to be followed up in the coming period to reach all tourist facilities in the city.”
It is noteworthy that the launch ceremony came after the Tyre Municipality adopted an executive action plan and implemented it with its funding, and with the follow-up of the project team, where the 19th tent was equipped in terms of spatial environment, access to information and services, and became friendly to people with disabilities, within the framework of the “Tourism for All in Lebanon” project within the “Afkar 3” program funded by the European Union, managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs, and implemented by the Wheelchair Union.
