Bridging Circles began with a contradiction. Palestinian and Lebanese young people in and around Tyre live only minutes apart, yet nationality, geography, faith, political background and unequal access to institutions can keep them socially and economically divided. Many youth programmes create temporary interaction, but when the sessions end, participants often return to the same fragmented environment.

We wanted to test whether structured dialogue could produce something more durable: people capable of cooperating across differences, solving shared problems and creating opportunities together.

In Borj Al Shamali, dialogue and debate enabled young people to identify common concerns around drugs, weapons and community safety. Discussion moved to collective action through the Sawater campaign, including awareness activities, a youth workshop, and community outreach. Participants distributed awareness materials and engaged Borj Al Shamali Municipality, the Union of Tyre Municipalities and other stakeholders.

These initiatives were not separate activities. Each tested whether relationships formed through dialogue could withstand contact with a real community problem.

Hamoudi’s experience demonstrates the transformative potential of this process. Before joining Bridging Circles, he was known locally as a troublemaker and had been involved in behaviours connected to the same drug- and weapons-related insecurity the group later chose to address. Through the dialogue sessions, he did not remain an observer. He helped deliver the Sawater awareness sessions, conducted outreach and distributed campaign posters within the community.

His role gradually shifted from contributing to insecurity to becoming a trusted community node: a volunteer in a community centre focused on safety and security, and an outreach volunteer for Bridging Circles. His story matters because transformation is not simply changing what someone believes. It is changing the role that person occupies within the community and enabling them to use their relationships and influence differently.

When war disrupted the original plan, the project faced a more serious test. The work adapted toward emergency response, including food and dignity-kit distributions, community cleaning and psychosocial activities. Dialogue had developed a capacity for cooperation that remained useful during conflict.

This is also where Bridging Circles becomes relevant to Lebanon’s business environment. Daniel, an entrepreneur and founder of T-Chips, recognized that the NewGen Peacebuilders process strengthened the capacities his business depends on: listening, negotiation, trust, leadership, and solving problems with people who do not think alike.

Lebanese businesses operate within the same fragmented society as everyone else. Division affects teams, recruitment, access to talent and relationships with communities. A sound business environment therefore requires more than investment and technical skills. It requires people and institutions capable of navigating differences productively.

Bridging Circles is developing a methodology for building that capacity. We are now establishing an initial cohort of 60 Palestinian and Lebanese youth across Borj Al Shamali, Al Rashidiyeh and Sour. Al Shorouq is adopting the methodology institutionally, with support from NewGen Peacebuilders and ForumZFD, alongside organizational development processes conducted by CBT Company and Initiate–Westford.

Our next step is to demonstrate, measure, and replicate this process. Emerging structures such as the Service Center and Any Service could connect cooperation with services, contracts, employment and enterprise. A company such as Fattal could help test the methodology’s contribution to stronger teams, wider access to talent and more constructive relationships between businesses and diverse communities.

The first 60 youth are not the endpoint. Our purpose is to equip more communities to cross divisions, act collectively and create social and economic value together.