Leading Lebanese Newspaper, Al-Akhbar,  Features a Fantastic Review of our Magazine, Bekhsoos
In its October 31, 2008 edition, Al-Akhbar newspaper featured a very positive review of our online Arab Lesbian Magazine, Bekhsoos, by Layal Haddad, Youth Editor. The article highlighted the different reports, opinion pieces, and personal stories of the magazine's latest issue Bekhsoos il Pride, as well as the Meem blog, applauding the courage and insight of the writers. Read the article here.
 

Meem Wins an International LGBTI Human Rights Award!
Austrian Member of Parliament, Ulrike Lunacek, presented Meem with a special award recognizing Meem's courage, creativity, and commitment in the struggle for equal rights (i.e. for our awesomeness!) A Meem member was presented with the €500 award in Vienna to the standing ovation of over 200 LGBT activists from around the world. Lesbian group Labrys from Kyrgyzstan also received an award for their outstanding work, as did Aswat, Palestinian Gay Women, who won the Go Visible award.
 

Bring-A-Friend Meeting A Great Success!
In an initiative to reach out to our straight allies and share our issues with our friends and family, Meem organized the first of monthly Bring-A-Friend meetings at the Safe House. Member brought their trusted friends and family members and gave them a tour of our house, services, and programs. The group of 30-something people then sat all together and had a 2-hour discussion about coming out and the struggle for equality in Lebanon.
 

Meem Gives a Panel on Feminism at the ILGA World Conference
Meem received a scholarship from the ILGA World Conference to attend and give a panel on feminism. Our panel consisted of a 7-point presentation on how to incorporate feminism into the LGBTI movement. Meem also participated in the women's pre-conference, networked with different LGBTI organizations from around the world, and joined ILGA Asia taking on the responsibility to empower LGBT groups in West Asia.
 

Collaborative Writing
In October, Meem launched and held weekly collaborative writing sessions during which members got together in small groups to discuss a topic and write it out into an article in English or Arabic. These articles will then appear in Bekhsoos as part of our "We Must Write" mania.
 

Bekhsoos in Le Commerce Du Levant
A small article about Bekhsoos also appeared in the November issue of the Lebanese business magazine "Le Commerce Du Levant." The article was very positive and highlighted the important topics covered in Bekhsoos by a team of volunteers with a zero-budget.
 

إقرئي هذه النشرة باللغة العربية
 

News Bits

► We would like to thank our generous donors this month: Joanna from Germany who donated DVDs to our library and Joana from Lebanon who donated equipment to our house. Thank you very much!

► Meem members have launched a petition at the American University of Beirut in protest of strongly homophobic remarks directed by a Professor at two students in his class. The petition, currently being signed by AUB students, calls on the administration to take strict measures to maintain a campus life and university education that is non-discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation.

► Our discussion groups are back in action! In October, we held the first of what will be a series of discussions on the topic: "My Ex's Ex Likes Your Ex Ya Ex" which aims to demystify the taboos and unhealthy dynamics often taken to be characteristic of lesbian organizing. We discussed love, dating, relationships, break-ups, the "ex" factor, and other personal challenges particular to maintaining a healthy and supportive lesbian community.

► Our Activist Development workshops attracted large audiences in October. Meem members held interactive workshops on Script-Writing, How to Lead a Meeting, and Stenciling, among others.

► A Meem member visited Belgium for 5 days in October as part of a team preparing a youth awareness project in schools and youth centers in the Flanders. She also visited the offices of ILGA Europe (the International Lesbian & Gay Association) and met with Patricia Cruzi, Women's Program Coordinator.

► Two of our Meem members joined a one-week workshop called "Take That Gender!" in Bologna, Italy. The workshop included gay and straight participants from the Euro-Mediterranean and dealt with issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, diversity, and equality.

Selections from the Meem Blog

► Inno Eh L Movements
► Fellow Women
 

Website Statistics for Oct. 08
www.meemgroup.org

Total Unique Visits in May: 5,402
Decrease from last month: -2%

Over the past 6 months, the Meem website has soared through the alexa.com rankings from 8.4million in April to 1.7million in October!