More than 7,700 children and young people in Lebanon have developed their digital skills to support the country\u2019s six-billion-dollar IT sector, as part of Code Week Lebanon, an innovative partnership between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, global technology company SAP and more than 15 local partners.<\/p>\n
In line with the vision of His Excellency Prime Minister Saad Hariri to support youth innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, and creativity, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education is working with public, private and academic partners to introduce coding skills and tools to thousands of Lebanese and refugee students in public schools.<\/p>\n
One of the largest and most innovative initiatives, the recent\u00a0Code Week Lebanon, taught scratch coding and web programming skills across more than 100 Lebanese public schools, totalling 7,785 Lebanese and refugee children and youth aged between eight and 24, as well as 147 coding trainers.<\/p>\n
Code Week Lebanon is part of the wider\u00a0Refugee Code Week, which works with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), SAP and partners to empower youth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with coding.<\/p>\n
Top participants can leverage the resources of the\u00a0One Million Arab Coders\u00a0initiative, which aims to support one million Arabs in becoming professional software developers.<\/p>\n
Participants can access career opportunities, internships, certifications and \u2018nano-degrees\u2019, entrepreneurship accelerators and cash prizes through the programme\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n
\u201cLebanon\u2019s youth are eager to make a difference in the digital economy. Our public, private and academic sectors are joining forces to provide youth with the skills foundation to become software engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs,\u201d said Fadi Yarak, Director General of Education, Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education. \u201cCode Week Lebanon\u2019s accomplishments show how global technology partnerships can integrate coding into schools and support youth development.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Lebanon\u2019s IT sector contributes US$ 6 billion in GDP,\u00a0according to the Investment Authority of Lebanon, there is a major skills gap. Career search\u00a0website Bayt.com shows\u00a0that 82% of regional employers say IT skills are \u2018critical\u2019 for senior roles in the next 10 years, but 63% of Lebanese professionals say they face a skills gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoding is widely viewed as the language of the future, serving as the foundation for careers ranging from government services to gaming applications,\u201d said Gergi Abboud, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Middle East South, SAP. \u201cCode Week Lebanon has helped to close the digital literacy gap and support job creation, economic growth, social change and ultimately a better future for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lebanon ranked as having the highest country participation among Refugee Code Week\u2019s nine participating countries. Altogether, Refugee Code Week engaged with more than 15,000 children and youth across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than one million Syrian refugees are living in Lebanon and one of the biggest challenges is accelerating the educational development of younger refugees,\u201d said Mohammed Abu Asaker, Senior Regional Public Information Officer for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). \u201cCode Week Lebanon has helped to develop refugee skills, provide sustainable education resources, and give refugees hope for a better life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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