Common Space Initiative

“ABOUT US
The Common Space Initiative for Shared Knowledge and Consensus Building is a Lebanese independent and inclusive initiative, registered under decree No. 1265. It facilitates structured dialogues among policy makers, intellectuals, experts, civil society actors, stakeholders, and individuals to create an environment that is conducive to national evolution. This is mainly achieved by enhancing public policy debates, building expertise and common knowledge resources on key issues, and collaborating among the concerned national parties.
OUR VISION
Strengthen the culture of dialogue and consensus building to reach common understanding on key national issues and interests among Lebanon’s diverse groups.
OUR AIMS
• Create a conducive environment for dialogue based on the creation of shared knowledge, the generation of options and providing access to knowledge resources.
• Respond to the needs and requests of concerned actors in specific sectors, by supporting public dialogue processes and consultations.
• Ensure an inclusive, participatory process and debate by creating links between top leadership and local communities.
• Collectively identify the roots of Lebanon’s constitutional challenges by bringing together all major players and concerned stakeholders.
• Support the development of a common understanding on reforms and public policies by assisting inclusive knowledge-based dialogue processes that focus on common national interests.
• Enable cooperation, mutual understanding, shared values and solidarity among different groups by creating common safety net spaces that address urgent challenges to Lebanon’s cohesion at the national and local levels.
• Support constitutional strengthening by nurturing a culture of shared responsibilities recognizing common national interests
OUR APPROACH
• Multi-layered: Establish links between different dialogues held at all levels of society to enable ongoing feedback and information sharing, and ensure an inclusive, participatory process and debate among policymakers and other stakeholders, including ministers, parliamentarians, advisers, party representatives, civil society actors, technical advisers, intellectuals, academics and other actors.
• Multi-Sectoral: Broaden current focus on the political dimension as the root of structural causes of conflict to include the socio-economic, cultural, judicial and external relations dimensions.
• Multi–Disciplinary: Develop multi-disciplinary shared knowledge and facilitation resources, as well as resource partnerships to support debates and discussions, policy formulation and parallel initiatives.”