Despite the unrelenting series of tragic events that peppered 2006, and the deteriorating political and economic situation that resulted from these events, IMTI was still able to; establish new partnerships with international capacity building organizations (the International NGO Training and Research Center, INTRAC) and with Lebanese governmental institutions (Institute of Finance at the Lebanese Ministry of Finance), play a pioneering role in founding a regional network (Governance Institutes Forum for Training, GIFT-MENA),  reach new sectors and broaden its scope of work to target higher education institutions (Notre Dame University, NDU) and establish working relationships with new donors (Embassy of Finland in Lebanon). Furthermore, IMTI focused on reinforcing its institutional and human capabilities thus making its services more and more up to the highest standards. Most of our achievements can be summarized under the following: 

Design and delivery of twenty four (24) training sessions – including thirty eight (38) training days:

• 1053 employees and volunteers from 730 business firms, governmental agencies, municipalities, cooperatives, local and international NGOs and civil society activists benefited from these sessions. Eleven trainers, active in different fields (development, capacity building, health, administration, good governance, etc.) participated in delivering the above mentioned sessions.

Design and implementation of six (6) workshops on:

• Practicing Democracy at the Civil Society Organizations in Lebanon.
• Women Empowerment
• The Media and the National Dialogue in Lebanon
• Civil Society Index in Lebanon
• Lebanese Women Participation in Public Life: Problems and Future Challenges

236 participants, from 195 organizations, participated in these workshops.

Design and implementation of seventeen (17) National Issues Forums sessions- NIF (Youth Town Meetings) on:

• Confessionalism
• Youth Unemployment
• Health Systems Crisis
• Volunteerism
• 362 youths have benefited from these sessions.

Community service

Offered through the Kesserwan Community Development Center (KCDC) and included the utilization of the training center, library and press articles research facility. The Frem Foundation has utilized the KCDC, as part of its University Students’ Assistance Program, to receive, interview and screen students and families that are eligible for assistance.
Private sector groups, such as Indevco, have utilized the training facility of KCDC for the implementation of their in-house training programs.
Additionally, CSOs such as Liqaa’ Al Ethnayn and Moubadarat have organized several events (meetings, penal discussions, lectures…) at KCDC.

Building bridges of national, regional and international partnerships

IMTI attained in 2006 new levels of cooperation and networking with national, regional and international organizations:

• Institute of Finance (IOF): IMTI signed a Partnership Agreement with the Institute of Finance at the Lebanese Ministry of Finance in order to enhance cooperation and exchange of expertise in areas such as capacity building, trainings and action-oriented research.
• GIFT-MENA: IMTI was a founding member in the Governance Institutes Forum for Training (GIFT-MENA network), a locally-owned initiative for knowledge-sharing on governance, launched in Beirut. The network brings together schools and institutes specialized in the training of government civil servants and other experts from international organizations in order to support capacity building and institutional development of its members, to share knowledge and disseminate information about best practices, to facilitate the exchange of trainers among members and to foster the development of training materials on governance.
• INTRAC and the British Council: IMTI widened its network to reach the U.K.-based International NGO Training and Research Center and the British Council. Consequently, a consortium was formed by the three organizations and it was shortlisted to present a bid on the provision of technical assistance to the Lebanese civil society under AFKAR2 Project funded by the EC.

Implementation of action-oriented research

IMTI produced the first Civil Society Index (CSI) Report on the state of civil society in Lebanon, a special action-oriented research tool developed by CIVICUS, aiming at enhancing the strength and sustainability of civil society and its contribution to positive social change.

Visibility

• Website: IMTI has constructed a new website whereby the basic information on IMTI profile, activities, tools and training packages are available through this link: www.imtilb.com
• Media coverage: Media coverage of IMTI activities contributed positively to promoting IMTI’s work and vision. The general information on our work increased our visibility in the community. The below listed websites also include valuable information on IMTI and our work:
  www.ngo-cbofinancialmanagement.org
  www.bunian.net
  www.ymca-leb.org.lb
  www.lebanesecivilsocietyandthepublicbudget.com
• Civicus World Assembly: IMTI organized an international workshop on “Strengthening CSOs Legitimacy and Accountability” at the CIVICUS World Assembly held in Glasgow, Scotland, in June 2006.

With this record, IMTI has shown, once again, that achieving demonstrated excellence and innovative services primarily relies on our continued commitment to distinction and the capability of our organization to transform its vision, mission and strategy into real projects and programs with the highest standards of performance.