Concept Note: Workshop on Enhancing NGOs and Media engagement on MDWs issues "Promoting the Rights of Women Migrant Domestic Workers' in Lebanon"

14 June 2012

Background

Over the last 6 years, civil society organizations (CSOs) have launched campaigns to sensitize the Lebanese public to the working and living conditions of women migrant domestic workers (WMDWs) in Lebanon. These campaigns have portrayed WMDWs as victims in need of protection and their employers as tormentors in need of self-restraint. Few of these campaigns have employed the framework of international labour standards to stress the right of WMDWs to social and legal protections and to place the employer under the obligation of respecting and actively safeguarding these protections.
CSOs are generally underfunded and understaffed and hence few of their resources are dedicated to integrating WMDW related reporting and outreach communication in their strategic framework. On the other hand, the media is not addressing reports about migrant workers from the workers’ rights perspective and are not aware of the work targeting them at the national level.

Rationale

To build capacities in networking over WMDWs issues with a special focus on engaging the media and building stronger and targeted partnerships between media and NGOs on WMDW rights and in the context of the EU-funded PROWD project, ILO is convening a six day training program which will include a three-day workshop for NGOs , a two day workshop targeting the media and one round table discussions targeting both NGOs and Media.

Methodology:

  1. Three-day workshop targeting an approximate number of 25 participants representing NGOs servicing WMDWs in Lebanon, as well as women and human rights organizations.
  2. Two-day workshop targeting an approximate number of 25 participants representing media
  3. One round table discussions targeting an approximate number of 25 participants representing both NGOs and media
  4. ILO specialists will introduce participants to international labour standards of relevance to WMDWs
  5. Arabic is the working language of the workshop.