An article appeared in Le Monde on 18 November about the foundation set up by our founder Michel Ghazal.
The human values underpinning the approach to negotiation and conflict management that he developed at the Centre Européen de la négociation continue in his philanthropic approach within the “Ghazal Foundation for Education, Research and Peace in Lebanon”.

We often talk about blood ties, but we must never forget those of the land… Proof of this is Michel Ghazal, who was born in Lebanon and arrived in Paris in 1973 to pursue a postgraduate degree in business management, thanks to a grant from the French government. With a doctorate in hand, he moved to Paris and set up his own consultancy firm, specialising in training in negotiation and conflict management, but his thoughts always remained with his country, which he supports through regular donations. In 2012, his career behind him, he sold his company and decided to carry out a project that was close to his heart: “My training was the key to my professional and personal development. I wanted to give back a little of what I have received…”.

He then set up the Ghazal Foundation for Education, Research and Peace in Lebanon, housed at the Fondation de France, with three specific aims. In conjunction with the social services of Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, the foundation awards a dozen scholarships a year (renewable for the duration of the course) to deserving students from modest backgrounds. Michel Ghazal travels to Beirut once a year to meet the students, discuss their projects and the possibility of continuing their studies in France… Keen to promote access to culture for all, the Ghazal Foundation also organises around ten outings a year, focusing on the arts and ecology, for pupils at the public school in Jezzine, the village where Michel Ghazal’s father was born. Visiting a museum or planting a tree… each time the experience is a breath of fresh air for these children, most of whom are under house arrest because of their extreme poverty.

But Michel didn’t want to stop there. “I’ve devoted my life to negotiation and conflict resolution. The subject was particularly sensitive in my country, after the years of civil war (1975-90) that destroyed it and left 250,000 dead”. Every year since 2012, the Ghazal Foundation has supported an association working on the ground to promote more harmonious coexistence between the Lebanese people. Winner of the 2019 award, the Chaml association has founded a university for non-violence in Beirut. The association regularly stages plays in which different communities perform together, and works to re-establish links between residents, some of whom were once forced to flee their villages.
Since the explosion on 4 August, Michel Ghazal has joined forces with the Fondation de France to raise funds for Lebanon. His foundation supports the teams on the ground looking after the most destitute families, and is taking part in the operation to save some 650 historic buildings damaged by the explosion. It also contributes to the France-Liban endowment fund, which helps Lebanese students in France whose parents can no longer support them.

Michel Ghazal also regularly makes his voice heard via his collaborative blog, where he comments on current affairs and tirelessly reminds us of the power of diplomacy and negotiation. In the face of the hatred and violence that are setting Lebanon, and the world, ablaze.