I would like to record my special thanks to Dr. Amani Kandil, Executive Director of the Arab Network for NGOs, for approaching AMEL Association International to prepare a report about the “Volunteering Situation in Lebanon” on the occasion of the United Nations’ celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) which theme was the “Volunteering Situation in the Arab Region”. The regional report prepared by the Network will support the World Report and will highlight the distinctive features of the volunteering culture and the Arab initiatives that took place in the region in the past few years. I take this opportunity to praise Dr. Kandil’s pioneer role in coordinating with the different associations and her outstanding studies on the civil society organizations in the Arab World.
This report would not have been possible without the invaluable contribution of Dr. Hashem al-Husseini and Dr. Mohammad Yaghi, both researchers, with respect to the volunteering situation; and the remarkable input of Professor Ali Nassar, Dr. Abdullah Mohieddin and Professor Ali al-Moussawi, regarding the experience of “AMEL” as a model of volunteer work.
I would also like to thank my friend Dr. Ibrahim Beydoun for revising the contents of this work and for his valuable and enriching remarks. I am as well deeply indebted to every single person who had a part in this study, to Ms. Thuraiya Haidar for her help in documentation research, and lastly to the entire AMEL Association family.