The LAU-MEPI
Leaders for Democracy Fellowship
Arabic Program

Sylvana Lakkis

Awarded by the US embassy in Beirut for her renowned efforts toward the recognition of women’s rights and advancement (2009), Ms. Sylvana Lakkis is one of the key leaders in the Lebanese disability movement. In the 1980s, joining the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU), a nationwide grassroots disability organization (recently became a member of Disabled People International), Ms. Lakkis has been playing a significant advocacy role toward promoting the rights of persons with disabilities to equal opportunities of socio economic inclusion in Lebanon. Through her work at LPHU and with the Lebanese civil society, Ms. Lakkis is considered today, on the country and regional level, an expert in the fields of disability rights, inclusive development, and gender and disability. Such experience of Ms. Lakkis made her become a reference for many policy initiatives undertaken by local, regional, and international organizations on accessibility, socio-economic inclusion and employment, political participation and inclusive electoral systems, and budgets and transparency. Today, in addition to her position as the executive director of LPHU, Ms. Lakkis sits on different national committees and advisory boards, and she acts as an international associate for Employers Forum on Disability, and the regional focal point for the campaign on Disability and World Bank Safeguards.