For Gaelle Kibranian of Lebanon, the MEET program coincided with a very troublesome time for her country and the Lebanese Transparency Association, the civil society organization she works for.  

“Last summer's war in Lebanon had negative impacts on the organization as we lost staff members and programs were put on hold,” says Gaelle.  When she returned home after completing the MEET Civil Society Organization training program in September 2006, activities were resumed, new needs were identified, projects were launched or revived, and additional staff members were needed to meet increased needs and to replace those who had fled the country.  Many new positions were created, says Gaelle, mostly as a result of the strategic planning inspired by the MEET program. Today, the organization is continuously growing and has developed a new strategy.

As for developments in Gaelle’s career, she was promoted from Project Manager to Programs Manager. “This entails additional responsibilities and gives me the opportunity to apply the skills I acquired in San Diego to a wider array of projects, and to share it with a larger number of colleagues,” she says.

Gaelle has also been actively involved in other independent initiatives launched by her organization, such as the Arab Region Parliamentarians against Corruption and the Lebanon Corporate Governance Task Force. “I have been successful in transmitting the skills learned through the MEET program to the institutionalization of these two organizations as well,” she adds.

“Several of the concepts looked at during the MEET program have greatly helped the organization,” says Gaelle. “In our case, the most relevant topics were the strategic development, communication skills, marketing and branding, and fundraising sessions. The two-day exchange was also key.”

Gaelle says that she has applied the skills she learned through the MEET program to many projects she initiated upon her return to Lebanon:  the creation of new positions and departments, including a communications department; a strategy review retreat for the organization’s board members and executives; regular analysis and evaluation of programs; reassessment of communications and fundraising strategies; and the restructuring of the association’s internal organization. 

“MEET U.S. was above all a human experience,” says Gaelle. “I met great civil society activists from the Middle East last year thanks to the program, and the irony is that we had to go all the way to San Diego to meet each other. I have great memories of our discussions during the training, our different ways of interpreting the concepts, and our determination to apply them back home. We lived together for three weeks, and this also resulted in developing friendships.”

“Upon my return to Lebanon I have tried to keep links with the great people I met. These exchanges between participants are very beneficial to apply all that was acquired during the training. It helps us get through the challenges we are encountering, encourage each other, and share our successes.”

Gaelle says that the most important thing she learned from the MEET experience is this:  “As a social entrepreneur, I have the responsibility of making social change happen. But social change doesn't happen by itself and it doesn't happen overnight. There are a lot of little things to do and to apply to have a well-governed organization with clear strategies and the capacity to evaluate and improve itself. And it is only a well-governed organization that would trigger social change.”