The meeting is prepared through the following activities :

• The publication on May 24th (in the first anniversary of the liberation of South Lebanon from Israeli occupation) of the first issue of "Majalat" (the Arabic review that the CCSL, supported by the FPH, will produce as an Arabic contribution to the alliance.

• In the issue, Ziad Majed has written an article on the continental meetings, on Porto Alegre, and on the African caravan.

• The preparation of the Alliance brochure in Arabic.

• The publication of two books containing all the papers presented in the previous two meetings in Beirut (December 1998 and November 1999) with the discussions that followed them and their final declaration. Summaries of these two books are prepared by Ziad Majed and will be ready end of May.

• Coordination with local activists in the South is taking place in order to prepare meetings with the participants in the encounter, and visits to some of the municipalities to discuss local governance issues.

• A group of volunteers is being gathered to support logistically the meeting and cooperate with Gustavo Marin, Nadia Aissaoui and Ziad Majed for translation during the working sessions, and link to other continental meetings through media, Internet and other communication channels.

A press conference will take place before the encounter to invite Lebanese and Arab journalists to cover the event.