Friday, January 20th, 2017, the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST), in partnership with UNICEF, launched its 4th year of the Life and Skills program, which aims to promote empowerment and engagement for Lebanese and Syrian adolescents and youth in Baalbeck-Hermel region.
The twelve-month project is divided into three cycles and targets 16,600 beneficiaries at 60 training hubs. The wide outreach of the project adds up to its value in which ten intervention areas will be covered: Hermel, Ein, Chaat, Ersal, Deir El Ahmar, Bouday, Baalbeck, Chmestar, Bedneyel, and Brital.
The Life and Skills Program will be composed of several sub-programs, which include: Basic Literacy and Numeracy (BLN), Competency Based Skills training (CBS), Social and Individual Skills Training (SIT), Peace Culture Training (PCT), Youth-Led Initiatives (YLI), Innovation Lab, and Employment and Entrepreneurship Bureau (EEB). These programs will be available for the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach youth, based on needs assessments that will be conducted by LOST staff. Each of these programs will offer a unique set of skills to beneficiaries, which they will be able to carry with them for life.
The main purpose of this project is to train young individuals on life skills that prepare them to respond to significant life events, as well as enabling them to live in an interdependent society. Furthermore, these life skills enable youth to function effectively in a changing world. The program focuses on four main dimensions of learning: to be, to know, to do, and to live together. Most importantly, it will be a chance to prepare youth for employment, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities. Through one of the trainings, youth will be trained on the 12 core skills set by UNICEF for the MENA region, which include: problem solving, communication, cooperation, critical thinking, creativity, empathy, negotiation, self-awareness, self-control, self-efficacy, respect for diversity, and resilience.
As LOST’s partnership with UNICEF strengthens over the years, Lebanese and Syrian individuals are given greater opportunities for acquiring the skills they need to lead satisfying lives, and to contribute to society. Mr. Assem Chreif, the program director, concluded with an important note to LOST staff, stating that we are all here to give a hand to these youth and capacitate them to not only survive, but to succeed in the future as well.