In Koura, North Lebanon, youth are already active — just not with each other. Dozens of committees and initiatives run in parallel across our villages, but political and ideological lines keep that energy fragmented. Our conflict analysis named the real issue: weak vertical social cohesion — citizens, youth, and municipalities who rarely interact, trust, or collaborate across those lines. We chose tourism as our entry point, not our goal. Youth In Action (YIA) built a year-round, inter-village tourism program that turns shared cultural and natural assets into neutral ground, where a shared experience can quietly do what politics cannot: rebuild trust.

Our team itself crosses the same lines this project is trying to bridge — different villages, different political backgrounds, one shared table. YIA grew out of Youth Council Koura (founded 2021, under the GIZ/DRI SPACE Project), which proved youth from different backgrounds could lead together — engaging 70+ young people through committees in education, social work, sports, and nature, with gender-equal leadership from day one. In May 2024, that same generation founded Youth In Action as an NGO, carrying the same conviction: youth belong at the center of community development.

It starts with connection. From a Koura where youth, communities, and municipalities rarely interact across ideological lines, to one where they regularly share neutral, tourism-based experiences — increasing trust, normalizing collaboration, and strengthening a shared local identity. Our yearly calendar delivers that logic through 10–15 recurring activities: Moune-making events across Bterram, Amioun, and Anfeh — neighboring villages, one kitchen. Nature and heritage hikes in Kelhat, blending trails with the storytelling of fahem-making and local heritage. Inter-village board-game tournaments — Catan, Monopoly, Risk — leading into regional championships. Coastal visits and heritage walks introducing residents to parts of their own region. Café dialogue sessions and reflection circles, where conversation is built into the activity itself. Each activity is designed to be cross-village and cross-line, so trust builds informally, one table or trail at a time.

From connection to collaboration. Months 3–6: participants begin interacting outside their usual social or ideological circles. Months 6–12: repeat participation, and more direct, informal contact between youth and municipalities. Year one and beyond: sustained trust reflected in collaboration beyond our events, and — most importantly — youth-led initiatives we did not design ourselves.

We are building partnerships with five or more municipalities across Koura, alongside community leaders, local businesses, producers, and tourism stakeholders. Trust built early with local government is what turns vertical disconnection into vertical cohesion. Our growing network includes cafés, local producers, community organizations, and young volunteers who no longer see their villages as competing destinations, but as one connected network with shared purpose.

We track delivered events, engaged participants, and municipalities actively participating — but our real indicator is qualitative: different sectors and backgrounds at the same table, neighbors from every political and community line sharing a single event. That is what vertical social cohesion looks like when it starts to work.