The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), has organized a regional completion in arts in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based-Violence. This competition encouraged young people from all over the Arab region to address the theme “#HearMeToo: Speak up against violence against women and girls” through arts. Ali Awada, the active youth leader in Baalbeck and a member of the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) family, spoke with us and told us about how he won this competition, and how UNICEF and LOST helped him reach where he is today.
“Eight years ago, when I was in grade 9, I really didn’t care much about music, until I heard about Hip-Hop and Rap music, especially Eminem, I used to dream to be someone as great as he is one day”, stated Ali. “During that period, I came across a post on Facebook about someone singing rap. I communicated with that guy and asked him how he can sing, and is it a talent or was it acquired. He told me it’s about talent and being able to use it in the process of writing music about the specific topic you’re trying to sing about”. This was the beginning, where Ali started writing and listening to music samples, and was able to combine them. “I noticed that I was able to communicate my ideas through the music”, explained Ali.
Ali participated in one of LOST’s programs called “Better Together”, which was a hub for artists, and included theater, drawing, and music. He was the youngest one in the group at that time. The coach was able to help everyone know more about their capabilities and talents, and how to showcase them in front of an audience. “This program helped me overcome more and more of my stage fright, and at the end of the program I performed in Chmestar, Bedneyel, Hermel… and finally I performed live on OTV”, Ali excitedly stated. Ali performed in various university festivals and occasions, and in front of the former minister Abdulrahim Mrad, who actually cried when he listened to his song about his friend’s deceased mother. Ali continued volunteering with LOST and performing in almost all their occasions and celebrations, and thus more people started to know and appreciate his music.
Ali registered as a volunteer at the Lebanese Organization for Studies & Training (LOST) and graduated through stages of the “Youth” programs supported by UNICEF, which he says taught him all about life skills, how to communicate, how to perform, how to reach out to dreams and most importantly how to lead. At that time, Ali the once shy introvert, was reaching out to other youth, mobilizing them and leading youth initiatives that aimed to enhance communities approach to the role of active youth. Ali was also selected among a group of other top youth to participate in the participatory action research (PAR) project, which involves young people aged 14-24 years old in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
One month ago, Ali among several other active youths received an email from LOST, inviting them to participate in the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” competition. Ali decided to write a song about women’s rights. It took him one week to finish it, and he tried his best to include all the struggles Arab women are facing, such as: giving nationality to their children, equality, employment, and role in politics. After finishing recording, Ali sent the song to the team at LAU. Later, he was invited to attend the round table discussion on December 6th, which featured actress and artist Natasha Choufani, and artist Michelle Keserwany, where the winners were announced.
During the discussion, topics relating to women’s rights were discussed. At the end of discussion, a video was shown about contestants who received 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd places. Then, the lights went off and they revealed Ali’s name as the winner for the song “Hakek”(your rights), and he was asked to perform it as volunteers distributed the lyrics to the audience. A representative from ESCWA talked to him and said that she is willing to fund a video clip for this song, and IWSAW told him that they will also work to publish it on TV.
“I was really shocked and overwhelmed as this happened, and I believe this is my chance to showcase my talent, I was very glad that I was able to communicate this topic in the Arab world through Rap. My future plan includes writing about other topics, highlighting problems that are faced by society in order to find solutions, and to inspire other youth in my community”, Ali stated. He wrapped up saying “Thank you my LOST family as through my volunteer experience, I gained tremendous experience that helped me reach full potential”.
