‘Young leaders of tomorrow in Lebanon’ in its third phase

In collaboration with the German Friedrich Eibert- Stiftung FES, Nahar al Shabab association launched last May the third phase of the ‘Young leaders of tomorrow in Lebanon’ project (Lylot 3) aimed at promoting the participation of youth in social, political and economic life of the country. The initiative, kicked off back in 2012 and has achieved in its first stage a project for solar energy lighting in the public park of the northern town of Rashana, and organized during the second phase eight conflict resolution related workshops targeting some 100 beneficiaries. The coordinator of Nahar al Shabab, Ayad Wakim, told An Nahar newspaper that the third phase will be completed by the end of summer 2017 and will shortlist 35 out of 60 young men and women from five private universities outside the capital and from the state-run Lebanese University based on a test and evaluation by a competent jury. Wakim stressed that the selection of participants is very complicated as it has to take into consideration territorial and sectarian diversity. Similarly, FES director of programs, Pierre Saadeh, expressed hope in changing the mentality of the young generation in terms of respect and understanding of the ‘other’, emphasizing the impact of training to achieve this aim, especially amongst those affiliated with political parties. Saadeh noted that through the implementation of such projects one can clearly identity the levels of development of youth skills and capacities based on the review of the suggested priorities and needs. He disclosed that a committee formed from the two sides will choose the best two out of five or six ventures to be implemented, provided the cost of each project does not exceed USD 6 thousand. (An Nahar, August 9, 2016)