Celebration in the “Serail” to motivate the youth integrating the labor market

An event was held at the Grand Serail as part of the program “A Rendezvous in the Serial”, to commemorate the start-up of the youth initiative to motivate students to pursue their job dream. The event which was sponsored by Prime Minister Tamam Salam’s wife, Luma Salam, was attended by Minister of Communications, Butros Harb, and a number of social and political figures. Salam said the event represented an opportunity for the young generation concerned about and fearful of an uncertain future and of unemployment. She described it as an opportunity to meet with associations and local and international NGOs working in the framework of this national initiative which aims to prepare the Lebanese youth to enter the labor market. For his part, Minister Harb hailed the initiative for it helps “promote the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth, particularly among the highly talented and skilled students.” He went on to say that the project, seeks to reverse joblessness, supports young people, especially women, and will help them in developing start-up enterprises. He pointed out the the project which requires wide and close partnership with Lebanese universities, the business sector, and civil society, will upgrade the youth's skills to meet international standards in IT and communication. Harb said he hoped that the initiative could turn Lebanon from an IT consuming country to a leader in the IT industry through the setting up of a favorable eco- system for the development of mobile software. (Al Diyar, 27 February, 2015)