The Archdiocese of Zahle and Baalbek participates in the cultural meeting: “Together towards a cultural strategy for Zahle and its district (2027-2032)” Zahle, Wednesday, August 12, 2026translated

His Excellency, the most respected Metropolitan Antonios (Souri), represented by Dr. Shafiqa Kfoury, participated in the cultural meeting organized by the Zahle District Cultural Council at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Zahle and the Bekaa, under the title “Together towards a cultural strategy for Zahle and its district (2027-2032).” Participation came under the patronage and blessing of His Excellency, in a meeting that included four main axes: an opening welcome speech, an intervention on the importance of the five-year cultural strategy and its role in enhancing national identity and local development, and an open dialogue to define the vision and priorities, leading to extracting recommendations and launching the process of preparing the plan. In her intervention on behalf of the Archdiocese, Dr. Kfoury stressed several strategic axes, most notably: • Linking culture to local economic development, by preserving the tangible and intangible heritage of Zahle and its villages, and adopting financial governance and sustainable strategic planning for cultural projects. • Capacity building and institutional empowerment of youth, through specialized workshops in managing cultural events and projects, and networking educational institutions with the cultural strategy. • Digitization and management of cultural data, by creating a unified database (Cultural Mapping) and adopting annual performance indicators to follow up on the implementation of the plan.

• Cultural decentralization and social solidarity, by delivering activities to neighboring villages and towns, and promoting social integration programs for the elderly…