Beirut, February, 2015:Mashrou3 l Jil l Jdid was launched for the fifthconsecutive year with the support of multi-talented Lebanese actor Georges Khabbaz. Khabbaz, who is known for his attachment to his country and his roots and his encouragement of the youth in Lebanon, participated on a pro bono basisin a short promotional film to launch the project on the Internet. This innovativesocio-educational project was launched by Bel group for the Near and MiddleEast, represented by Picon, and is sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and in cooperation with local NGO Arcenciel.
The projectconsistsofsixphases, the first of whichhas been completed.It consists ofeducating childrenand helping them deviseideasthat will improvethe countryand make ita better place.Lebanonwasdivided intofiveprovinces:Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa, the South, the North, and aworkshopbrought together all theparticipating schools ineach region.Childrentook partin discussionsand listened tomotivationalspeeches, workingon the development ofinnovative ideaswith the help ofprofessional counselors. At the end ofthe workshop,the proposedideaswere presentedtothe judging panel, whichchosethe threebestideasin each region, leading to a total of15 ideasin all the regions.
Theimplementation of the secondphase of the projectis currently underway.Itaims to givechildrenan opportunity torefinetheir ideasand finalizethemwiththeir schools. In fact,after workingfor a monthinschoolon thethreeideasthat were selectedin their area, childrenwill participateina second workshopwithspecialists fromthe desiredsector to help them developtheir ideas. At the end ofthis phase, we will have fivegreatideas(one for each region). In thenextphases, the publicwill be able tovote forthe best ideathroughFacebook andPicon website. At the end ofthe voting period, there will beonewinningidea,whichwill be implementedin all five regions.It must be notedthatthe organizerswill work in closecoordination with municipalities and trained professionalsin order toprepare for theimplementation of the winning project.
This initiativehas contributedsince its launchin encouragingyoung people toservetheir communityand promotetheir sense of belongingto their homeland.Theproject representsthis yeara platformfor children topresent theircreativeideasanddemonstrateto the worldthe abilities of the new generation.