MECC
Video - Leaders and Positions
His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Ignatius Joseph III Younan: The Call to Imitate Jesus
St. Joseph Al-Mansour Church - Iraq
November 1, 2025
The Middle East Council of Churches Issues Recommendations for Building Fair and Rational Educational Policies
A Seminar on Education in Lebanon and Human Dignity Emphasizes the Need to Guarantee Equal Opportunities for All
The Secretary General Professor Michel Abs: "Between education and dignity, a society in crisis"
As part of raising awareness about many current social and educational issues, and their relation with human dignity, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) organized a seminar entitled "Education in Lebanon and Human Dignity" on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut. It was attended by specialists and researchers from various fields.
The seminar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook page (Part 1 - Part 2), began with a welcoming word by Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the "Dialogue, Social Cohesion and Preservation of Human Dignity" projects at MECC, in which she said: "Protecting education in Lebanon is not a financial issue… it is a matter of values. It is a societal battle that no one can fight alone."
She continued, "I present to you three fundamental messages from which we need to proceed: First, education is the cornerstone of human dignity and an inalienable right. Second, the school is not a service company… but a national project for building a cohesive society. Third, the teacher is the focal point – and education will not flourish without the teacher's advancement…"
Then, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, delivered a speech entitled "Between Education and Dignity: A Society in Crisis," in which he pointed out that today "there is a race between the forces that want to make education a mean of equal opportunities for all segments of society, and consequently a mean of human dignity, and the forces that are indifferent to this issue."
He added, "If science and education, followed by vocational specialization, do not provide equal opportunities for Lebanese citizens to learn and build their future, and consequently, if education does not become a mean of social mobility, then it is certainly not a mean of ensuring human dignity."
His Grace Bishop Ermia Receives the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs
His Grace Bishop Ermia, General Bishop and Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center, received the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, on Friday, October 31, 2025, in Cairo.
The meeting focused on various social issues of concern to the people of the region, particularly in light of the difficult circumstances it is passing through. They also discussed many topics related to dialogue, human values, and ways to strengthen the bonds of love and fraternity among all components of the society.