IREX IN LEBANON

Essential Factors for Youth
Programming: Lessons
Learned
• Allowing youth to have ownership over
solutions to their problems:
Designing and implementing their own initiatives
gives youth the opportunity to find their own solutions
to pressing issues facing Lebanon’s communities.
The feeling of ownership ultimately
makes youth more invested in the outcomes and
the success of their projects.
• Identifying leadership opportunities for
youth within their own communities:
By successfully implementing their own initiatives,
youth prove to themselves and to others that they
can be leaders in their communities and positively
influence the future of their societies.
• Giving youth opportunities for positive
involvement in their societies:
Youth programs have the ability to challenge
youth to take positive action in their communities
to deal with critical issues. Giving youth the tools
to develop concrete steps to resolving their problems
motivates them to do more and also gives
them the confidence to be leaders in rebuilding
their communities.
• Creating support systems for like-minded
youth:
Fostering networks of like-minded youth encourages
youth to continue their work and to collaborate
on initiatives, maximizing projects’ reach
and impact.
• Engaging communities in youth-centered
activities:
Giving youth the chance to demonstrate to their
communities that they can implement successful
projects is important for youth’s ability to continue
their efforts and to ensure that they remain
leaders. Community support, engagement, and
buy-in for youth’s initiatives give legitimacy to
their work and motivate youth to continue to invest
in their societies.
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