Youth Innovators Program
The campaign aims to empower 50 youths from the Beirut area, aged between 15 and 25 years old, in Lebanon's disadvantaged communities with essential climate change skills. In turn, these 50 youths will train another 500 peers in essential climate change skills, forming a youth committee dedicated to climate change from among interested individuals, and projects to fight climate change.
The "Empowering Youth Green-Innovator" campaign is designed to equip young individuals, specifically 50 youths aged 15-25 from disadvantaged communities in Beirut, with essential skills to combat climate change. These disadvantaged communities face challenges stemming from financial constraints and the devastating impacts of the Beirut Blast, which have left lingering psychological and physical issues. Youth will use a peer-to-peer strategy to train an additional 500 youths across Beirut in essential climate change life skills.
Beirut recently faced unprecedented high temperatures and clear signs of escalating climate change impacts; The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2024 was reported by the Houche Al Oumara weather station. In September 2020, the record temperature of 44.3 °C was reported. from extreme heatwaves causing outdoor burns to the reduction of green spaces and inadequate public guidance on environmental practices like recycling and waste management. Amidst these environmental challenges, a significant gap in climate change awareness and practical skills among the youth has been identified.
The urgency of addressing this educational gap is underscored by predictions from the Ministry of Environment, which forecast a stark decline in Lebanon's GDP by 14% by 2040 and 32% by 2080 due to climate change effects. Highlighting this urgency, Nour Naccache a volunteer at Lebanese Spotlight (LSL) aged 22 years old and head of the activity department recently for youth at LSL noted during a Lebanese spotlight activity, “We, the youth in Lebanon, lack the real skills to fight climate change and awareness. The programs we have are superficial. We need profound skills and in-depth knowledge to take real action in our city, Beirut.”
To counter this, the proposal is to start with a focused campaign: small-scale, targeted training sessions. These sessions will consist of 5 groups, each with 10 participants, meeting weekly for two months. Each two-hour session will be interactive, led by a facilitator, and aimed at fostering project ideas related to climate change from the youths. The initiative aims not only to educate but also to empower participants to create tangible solutions, potentially illustrated through infographics. Facilitators, each possessing a unique set of skills, will guide the youths in developing impactful climate action projects.
join us in expanding this initiative to reach an additional 500 youths across Beirut. Your contribution can make a significant impact on our community’s climate resilience.
