Through the Generation of Innovation Leaders (GIL) Program, several community leaders are brought to support the youth by helping them identify the opportunities of growth for their development and career.
Part of the activities GIL is providing is community-building with a mission to inspire, support, and empower the youth. Fadi Mikati, Nada Sweidan, Yorgui Teryouz, and Humam Dweik joined the events and shared their experience and advice in creating youth communities, with GIL lab managers and coordinators.
During the event, Fadi Mikati talked about the story and the challenges of founding Tripoli Entrepreneurs Club, and how to overcome difficulties while empowering the youth in this region. Fadi is a purpose driven startup ecosystem builder and the co-founder of Tripoli Entrepreneurs Club, a social enterprise that inspires and empowers talents and businesses to build value-driven innovation through a sustainable startup ecosystem. Fadi is co-leading an entrepreneurial community of entrepreneurs, freelancers, mentors, and active volunteers providing them with a communication and networking platform.
Nada Sweidan explained to the GIL managers and coordinators about entrepreneurship and youth support, aid and development, capacity building, institutional development, and social stability. Nada is a program officer at UNDP, leading the established Youth Leadership Program (YLP) program in 2016 and has been successfully growing it ever since, partnering with Injaz, DOT and many other NGOs to decentralize and empower youth from all over Lebanon to innovate and start their own startup.
Yorgui Teryouz , founder and president of Donner Sang Compter (DSC), talked about the personal story behind Donner Sang Compter, the impact DSC has in all the regions of Lebanon, the power of setting a vision and values, the growth of DSC over the years, and the power of volunteering from an early age.
Humam Dweik, a serial entrepreneur, explained about entrepreneurship and startup support. He also focused on how to lead local and regional societies towards a better future through knowledge, actions, innovation, and guidance, Youth support and innovative startups.
About the GIL Program
The Generation of Innovation Leaders (GIL – جيل) is a program by UNICEF designed to address the high unemployment rates among youth in Lebanon & their lack of access to the knowledge economy. GIL helps the youth gain access to the digital economy and its many employments and educational resources, providing them with the skills needed to develop innovative, income-generating solutions to problems in their communities. The objective is to build on the digital and entrepreneurial capacities of disadvantaged youth in Lebanon to enable them to attain better career opportunities and become self-sustaining, income-generating members of society.
