A native of Tyre, in South Lebanon, Dr. Maha El-Khalil Chalabi grew up surrounded by the prestigious vestiges of this ancient city, on which eight successive civilizations have laid their imprint.
For almost twenty years, Dr. Maha El-Khalil Chalabi has dedicated herself to making Tyre, that Mecca of history and art, better known to the public. She has graduated in Social Sciences at the French Faculty of Medicine in Beirut, and in Political Sciences at the Faculty of Law of Saint-Joseph University in Beirut.
In a Resolution dated 19th December 1979, the U.N. Security Council declared that Tyre formed part of the "Patrimony of Humanity" and that it was imperative that it be safeguarded.
In 1975, with the outbreak of war, the Festival was discontinued; Tyre and her subsoil, six thousand-year-old witnesses of greatness became the scene of violence and depredation. Fearful of the danger facing this archaeological site, Dr. Maha El-Khalil Chalabi alerted various international organizations and, in particular, UNESCO, the League of Arab States and the United Nations. At her insistence, and with the support of the Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations, the Security Council included a paragraph in a Resolution dated 19th December 1979, declaring that Tyre formed part of the "Patrimony of Humanity" and that it was imperative that it be safeguarded.
Strengthened in her resolve by these decisions, emanating from the world's highest political body, Dr. Maha El-Khalil Chalabi decided, together with Lebanon's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, to create the
On 5th May 1980, the International Association to Save Tyre received official recognition from UNESCO and Dr. Maha El-Khalil Chalabi was elected Secretary General.
Launch of an International Campaign to save Tyre on 8th November 1983.
In 2009, the League of Canaanite, Phoenician and Punic Cities (LCCPP) was created to gather cities heiresses of the same past, sharing a culture and a set of common values.
