MARCH is a Lebanese NGO working on peacebuilding and social cohesion in the neighborhoods of Tripoli and Beirut where sectarian violence, conflict and armed clashes have taken place, and where marginalization still shapes daily life.

We work with at-risk youth who were at the frontlines of conflict, including former fighters, formerly incarcerated individuals and others who have taken part in or been affected by sectarian violence and social exclusion, transforming them from instigators of conflict into peacebuilders through a holistic rehabilitation and peacebuilding approach.  Alongside them, we work with their families and wider communities, so that they become active changemakers who contribute to their communities and create a ripple effect across their families, social networks and neighbourhoods.

We work for positive peace: not only the absence of armed violence, but the presence of social cohesion, where former foes trust each other, work together and share responsibility for their communities.

MARCH was founded in 2011 to defend freedom of expression and intercommunal acceptance in Lebanon.

In 2015, after years of sectarian armed clashes between Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli, and amid rising polarization in parts of Beirut, we expanded our focus to peacebuilding and conflict transformation. We launched Theater for Reconciliation, bringing foes from conflicting, divided neighborhoods to perform on the same stage and produce the first-ever theatre play showcasing their stories.

This experience showed us that reconciliation needed a shared space to continue; something that did not exit between these neighborhoods. In Tripoli, we established Kahwetna, the first shared hub on the former demarcation lines of Jabal Mohsen and Beb El Tebbeneh, and in Beirut, we later launched Hona Beirut, a youth-led space hub for civic engagement, dialogue and capacity building.

We have seen that deep-rooted misconceptions of the other change when people meet, share their stories, and work, build and create together for the benefit of both their own community and the other’s; this is the heart of our work. Today, both hubs are safe, inclusive, cross-communal, and gender-mixed spaces where youth move from conflict-shaped environments into constructive roles within their communities.

Our mission is to foster reconciliation, long-term reintegration, and social cohesion in Lebanon’s conflict-affected neighborhoods by overcoming deep-rooted mistrust between communities and preventing radicalization and violent extremism.

Our approach is holistic and human-centered, and it works on two levels at the same time. With the individual, we address the psychological and structural drivers of radicalization through sustained rehabilitation and reintegration support, from wellbeing and skills to the legal and economic barriers that keep youth excluded. With the community, we create spaces and initiatives where youth from divided neighborhoods work side by side, across sectarian lines and with state institutions, to respond to local needs and rebuild trust. The two levels reinforce each other: as youth take on visible roles of responsibility and contribution, their communities start to see them as non-violent leaders, and that is the ripple effect we work for. These are not short-term aid interventions but sustained processes that reduce tensions and strengthen social cohesion.