On March 22, 2010, invited by the Progressive Club at NDU-SC, Mr. Rayan Al Ashkar, the head of the Progressive Youth Organization and a member of the head office of the Progressive Socialist Party, lectured at NDU-SC on Kamal Joumblat and the current political events in Lebanon and the region.

The conference started with the Lebanese National Anthem, followed by a welcoming word by the president of the Progressive Club, Makram Walieddine. Mr. Al Ashkar then started his lecture by speaking about the martyred teacher Kamal Joumblat and his thoughts, life, the political stages he passed through until he founded the party and, finally, his death. He also spoke about March 14, its circumstances, conditions, the reasons that made the PSP president leave the alliance, and how leaving it has made many people criticize him. He differentiated between March 14 the entity and March 14 the revolution. He emphasized the fact that the party was one of the main revolts who established the March 14 revolution. After that, he analyzed the present political situation and its effects on the Lebanese situation and shared his fears that the sects in Lebanon are a reason for the division among the Lebanese. Then he spoke about the foundation of the PYO and the effects of the current political situation on the members, discussing the reasons for becoming a member of this organization, which shouldn’t only be political or sectarian but also to spread the thoughts of Kamal Joumblat.

After that, Mr. Al Ashkar openly discussed the visit of the president of the PSP to Syria and the wrong belief that if Walid Joumblat visited Syria, he would be humiliating himself and the party. As an answer to that, Mr. Al Ashkar spoke about the historical amity between the progressive party and Syria, explaining that Israel is the only enemy of Lebanon. Towards the end of his lecture, he talked about the youth going astray towards drugs, and the campaign the PYO is making to stop this perversion. Last but not least, he answered questions asked by the attendees. Some questions were about Taymour’s taking over the party after Walid Joumblat. To that, Mr. Al Ashkar answered that if Taymour will be the next president, it is something to be decided by the members of the party. Other questions were about welcoming the members of Hizbollah in “our” homes after “May 7”. The answer was that we should and will welcome them because “during a war, there is no third option”.