Get an inside look at Anera's work — in the past, we have hosted many of these webinars as exclusive benefits for different groups of donors: the Anera Leadership Circle, the Anera Visionaries, and the Anera Legacy Society. Join one of these groups of steadfast donors to receive access to live, exclusive updates on our programs and get a chance to ask questions of the participants.
2025
Recorded on Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Breaking the Silence: Addressing Early Marriage in Lebanon - Turning Data into Action
A discussion to analyze key findings from the Early Child Marriage Project (SAWA) over the past three years. In this session we present data-driven insights, highlight trends, and discuss the impact of early marriage in Lebanon to shape solutions that can chart the way forward.
Key Speakers:
Shatha Nakib | Assistant scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Maia Sieverding | Assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut
Hiba Dabliz | SAWA project manager at Anera
2024
Originally aired Tuesday, March 12th, 2024
Delivering Aid in Gaza in Wartime
Webinar hosted by DARPE, a leading development aid intelligence and tendering platform of the Middle East.
How Anera is navigating unprecedented impediments to delivering aid in Gaza during war
Gaza is, in the ‘best’ of times, a difficult place to work as a humanitarian aid organization. The blockade that has been in place since 2007 has made bringing items into the territory a great challenge and it has strangled the economy, forcing some 80% of the population to rely on outside aid. The war, however, has made things immeasurably worse in Gaza. Very little is getting in, at a time when people are starving, homeless and desperate.
Anera is one of the few organizations that has successfully and consistently delivered aid in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
Anera has delivered nearly 16 million meals and more, but every day brings new impediments and shortages. In this session, Anera President and CEO Sean Carroll will talk about how Anera has been able to deliver in Gaza and our plans for moving forward.
About the Speaker: Sean Carroll, President & CEO of Anera and CEO of Anera Ventures, LLC
2022
Originally aired Tuesday, October 4th, 2022
Restoring Hope Amid Crisis: Responses to the Economic Collapse in Lebanon
Three staff from Anera’s Lebanon team and members of the National Council on US-Arab Relations host a conversation on the current state of affairs in Lebanon and how Anera is filling the gaps in social services.
This October marks the three-year anniversary of large-scale protests and political unrest in Lebanon. During this time, Lebanon has experienced an unprecedented economic collapse and hyperinflation, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Port of Beirut explosion. These compounding crises have left most refugee and host families unable to meet their basic needs. Poverty rates only continue to climb as the Lebanese lira rapidly devalues.
Amidst the collapse, Anera continues to deliver life-affirming relief and development programs in Lebanon. From connecting vocational education students with employment opportunities to distributing chronic and emergency medical supplies, Anera’s programs cover all aspects of life.
Our Speakers
Originally aired Thursday, September 29th, 2022
The Widening Crackdown on Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and its Humanitarian and Political Implications
Recent weeks saw a major uptick in violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. What is behind the latest crackdown in the West Bank, and how does it relate to events in Gaza and Jerusalem? What impact is the escalating violence having on the lives of ordinary Palestinians in the occupied territories?
To shed light on these and other questions, Anera’s country director of Palestine, Sandra Rasheed, joined a group of panelists hosted by the Middle East Institute to explore the causes and consequences of the escalating violence as well as offer potential remedies.
Our Speakers
Originally aired Thursday, June 16th, 2022
Investing in Palestine's Future: Using Development Impact Bonds to Scale Early Childhood Development
Learn how Anera is scaling up our flagship early childhood development program in Palestine with new funding opportunities using development impact bonds.
In this webinar, we discuss exciting new opportunities to secure the future of Anera’s early childhood development programs in Palestine. Sulieman Mleahat, Anera’s education program manager in Palestine, is joined by Sean Carroll, Anera’s president and CEO, and strategy and finance professional, Brad Merchant, to discuss the unique benefits development impact bonds present for the future of Anera’s educational programing. Anera’s educational programs in Palestine have included constructing new schools to meet growing demand and renovating existing preschools in need of repairs. And Sulieman was directly involved in creating Palestine’s first national curriculum for preschools. As we look toward the future, we recognize that educational needs will continue to grow throughout the region. We hope to continue to scale our impact over the next five years to provide a vital resource to children, parents and communities throughout Palestine.
To join our exclusive webinars like this one as they happen to ask questions live and get an inside look at the development programs you support, consider joining our Leadership Circle!
Our Speakers
Originally aired Wednesday, May 25th, 2022
Gaza: 15 Years Under Siege
The blockade on Gaza is entering its 15th year. In that time, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to increasing restrictions on movement of people and goods, worsening economic conditions and four destructive bombardments. With a median age of 18, this is the only Gaza that half of the population has experienced.
When conversations about life in Gaza come up, they’re often filled with statistics. 97% of water is unfit for human consumption. Over 50% of the population is unemployed. Food insecurity impacts nearly 2/3rds of the population. While these numbers are important, they often detach the effects of the siege from the lived realities of families in Gaza. In order to understand what 15 years under blockade means, the human element needs to be the main focus.
In this webinar Anera’s communications manager in Palestine, Rania Elhilou, is joined by experts Jehad Abusalim, Dr. Yasser Abu-Jamei and Reem Abu Jaber to discuss what it means to live under siege on both the personal and community level. Moderated by Anera President & CEO Sean Carroll.
Our Speakers
Jehad Abusalim
2021
Originally aired Thursday, November 11th, 2021
The Pandemic's Toll on Women in Lebanon and Palestine
Nariman Othman, who coordinates Anera’s Women Can program in Palestine, and Serene Dardari, Anera Communications Manager in Lebanon provide an inside perspective on how Anera’s women’s empowerment programs are making a difference. While both Nariman and Serene will speak to the challenges the pandemic has caused across the region, Nariman elaborates on how occupation has added another layer of complication in Palestine and Serene explains the gender-based struggles Lebanon’s economic collapse has caused.
Although there will be many similarities between stories from each country, you will also learn about how your support allows Anera’s staff on the ground to be flexible and responsive in each unique context, providing educational, economic and psychosocial support and opportunities towards positive outcomes for women most in need.
Our Speakers
Originally aired Wednesday, August 25th, 2021
Anera Lebanon Emergency Update
Lebanon is in a deep crisis. Daily life has been completely upended for everyone living there, a result of continual economic degradation over the last two years. Anera’s work has become increasingly critical to ensure daily survival for the communities most affected by this crisis.
Dima Zayat and Lina Atat join us to share more about their work and experience on the ground in Lebanon.
Our Speakers
Originally aired Thursday, July 8th, 2021
Anera's Palestine Emergency Response Efforts - Part 2
A continuation of our update on Anera's response efforts in the wake of the May conflict. This week we are focusing the discussion on our agricultural and water, sanitation and hygiene program work.
Our Speakers
Rania Elhelo
Originally aired Thursday, July 1st, 2021
Anera's Palestine Emergency Response Efforts
In May, Palestine experienced its fourth bombardment in the last 13 years. Even though a ceasefire was declared a little over a month ago, it is still fragile. We are all anxiously holding our breath and responding to the immediate needs on the ground.
Five members of our Anera Palestine team share updates on Anera's work to help rebuild Gaza after this latest assault and address the growing need in the West Bank as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest. We are joined by Muhammad Atieh, Mostafa Al-Ghosain, Abeer Aqeel, Lana Al-Qedwa and Ahmad Najjar to talk about Anera’s immediate emergency response in Palestine.
Our Speakers
Abeer Aqeel
Originally aired Thursday, March 18th, 2021
Anera’s PLUS+Code Tech Career Accelerator Program in Palestine
Anera’s career accelerator program: PLUS+Code (People Leveling Up Skills with Coding) in Palestine program gives young people the technical and durable skills they need to begin and accelerate successful careers. Our PLUS+Code initiative produces professional software engineers, giving PLUS learners the market-ready, adaptable coding skills and essential durable, non-technical skills demanded by the industry. Graduates are placed into well-paying tech industry jobs.
We're joined by PLUS program staff, graduates and employers of these graduates.
Our Speakers
Denise Habash Hazboun
Dalia Awad
Mo’men Hanbali
Niveen Elkhozondar
Originally aired Thursday, February 11th, 2021
Rebuilding Beirut: 6 Months Later
Six months since the devastating explosion in Beirut, Anera continues to work on response, rebuilding and recovery, amid the ongoing COVID and economic and political crises. Sean Carroll, Anera's president and CEO, is joined by Dima Zayat, Anera Lebanon’s deputy country director, and Christine Zahm, Anera’s youth program manager. They share firsthand accounts of living in Beirut through a pandemic, ongoing political instability and economic collapse — and how Anera is helping to rebuild and strengthen communities.
Our Speakers
Dima oversees all of Anera’s program operations in Lebanon, including non-formal basic education, vocational skills training, solid waste management, sports for development and health.
Christine has been with Anera since 2017 and is currently a program manager at Anera. Along with managing the life skills for youth program, she is now also managing the shelter rehabilitation program following the Beirut Blast.2020
Originally aired December 17, 2020
Empowering Women in Gaza
Join fellow Visionary donors and Anera program staff in Gaza to learn about the ways Anera is working, despite the pandemic, to improve the economic situation of women in Gaza. Our local partner, the Cooperative Society for Savings and Lending, located in Beit Hanoun, focuses on women’s economic and social empowerment through skills-building activities and the formation of women’s cooperatives throughout Gaza.
In this webinar we will tour CSSL, meet the center’s director and some program participants, and talk with Anera program staff, Abeer Aqeel and Rania Elhilou, about Anera’s women’s empowerment programs in Gaza.
Our Speakers
Abeer Aqeel manages Anera’s Women’s Empowerment program in Gaza, supporting marginalized women-headed households to increase their economic autonomy, enabling them to better sustain their families. She has been with Anera since 2010 and prior to her current position, she worked as a contract administration and compliance engineer and office engineer with Anera on USAID-funded projects. She holds an MBA from the Islamic University of Gaza.
Rania Elhilou has been with Anera's communications team in Gaza since 2007. She is responsible for documenting Anera projects and beneficiaries in Gaza through human interest stories, photographs, films and press releases that illustrate the impact of Anera's programs. The content she produces is used in Anera’s website, print materials, social media channels and fundraising pieces. She has a master's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Originally aired Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Remembering the Forgotten: How Lebanon's Refugee and Other Vulnerable Communities are Coping in Increasingly Dire Circumstances
2020 has been a cascade of ever more severe crises in Lebanon — economic collapse, political paralysis, the refugee situation, COVID-19, and now the Beirut blast. Join our panel of voices from Lebanon to hear first-hand accounts about the deepening economic crisis, the aftermath of the explosion, and how vulnerable communities, particularly Palestinian and Syrian refugees, are coping and attempting to build a better future for themselves.
Adib Nehme is a consultant and expert on development and socio-economic policies and poverty. He is currently the senior policy advisor for the Arab NGO Network for Development and an independent consultant on development issues. From 2009 to 2018, Adib worked as a regional advisor on Agenda 2030 and SDGs, at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, based in Beirut. He published two books: The Neopatrimonial State and the Arab Spring and Arab Popular Solidarity: from the Nahda to the Arab Spring.
Abby Sewell is a freelance journalist based in Beirut, where much of her reporting focuses on refugee and migration issues. Her bylines have appeared in outlets including The New Humanitarian, Public Radio International, US News & World Report, Foreign Policy, WIRED, and other international and regional publications. Previously she was a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Star.
Elie Youssef is an entrepreneur and marketing specialist that manages several brands in the MENA region. His volunteering has earned him the opportunity to work with the Lebanese Food Bank since 2011. He has set up and established scores of local projects, enhanced the lives of hundreds of families, distributed thousands of food and non-food relief packages, helped set up several community kitchens, supported local farmers, and more. He has also worked on spreading awareness on the importance of urban farming and empowering home-based food businesses.
Samar El Yassir, as Anera’s country director, is responsible for all of Anera’s Lebanon operations including education and sports programs for vulnerable adolescents, health and relief access for impoverished families, and sustainable community development in refugee camps. Samar is a development professional with more than 20 years of experience working with civil society organizations to promote human rights, democracy, gender equality, and peace and conflict transformation.
Joe Saba (webinar moderator), chair of the Anera Board of Directors, is a senior advisor to the World Bank Conflict and Fragile States Practice. For 13 years prior to that, he was the director of World Bank programs for Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and West Bank/Gaza.