Digital Youth Leaders International Forum 2024

Some people are obstinate, unwavering, stubborn. I know one such person - Jihad El Hokayem. With Lebanon facing, once more, uncharted territories, what does the man who spearheads Rethinking Labanon do? He goes on and organizes the Digital Youth Leaders International Forum for this year. Is this resilience as the ad goes? (here). No it is far more, it is a belief - an unshakable belief - of forging on no matter the hurdles, the circumstances, and the problems. This is not just resilience, it is faith. A deeply rooted faith in the youth, Lebanese youth and how far they can go.

It's Lebanese Youth Day! Rethinking Lebanon does great copy

Yes, I learned it like you did last year (here). But it's Lebanese Youth Day again, as per Rethinking Lebanon. The novelty this year? Some kick-ass copywriting. Apparently it is Jihad El Hokayem who helms Rethinking Lebanon who came up with the line "chajjer w tjazzar" (which means "plant trees and grow roots") and it seems he knows - not just copywriting, but Arabic copywriting. A much rarer variety I can assure you. Yet this is a great line for a nice initiative - with Rethinking Lebanon trying to focus on the youth as well as other economic issues (here). I just spoke to Jihad and we both agreed that apart from trying little else can be done. So, voila, happy Lebanese Youth Day!

On why I envy Jihad El Hokayem

I envy Jihad El Hokayem....

There I said it.

All right, a small disclosure, I know Jihad personally. On a certain Wednesday night, in the middle of the pandemic, I wrote him a message "you are not my favorite human being tonight" - you see I was helping him fill some very complicated funding papers. But details aside, my admiration for him is boundless. Am serious.

In this wreckage that is Lebanon today, here he is a beacon of positivity - not of naivete - but of hard work, belief, support for the youngsters, and motivation for a new generation. All this anchored in an incredible humility and deep-encrusted values.

It all amazes me. And here he is again, as president of "Rethinking Lebanon" an NGO rooted in the country and focused on the youth, out with a new campaign. Sure, the country is bleeding young people immigrating either for study, or work, or establishing themselves in new cultures and countries throughout the globe. Actually a running joke is that Lebanon's biggest export is "26 year old educated people", and the sad bit is that it is true. 

And he still sees it with a positive eye. He still entices those who left to go "with a mission". Again, what's with all the crises and agitation and issues of the land, he still sees the good thing in anything. Even this, even the mass immigration of the youth of the country, he is still able to spin it under a good light, and make sure they have a "mission" to spread.

I envy Jihad.

8% of Lebanese youth are in political parties: Statistics, bias and errors

Try as I might to find the original link to the story above which appeared in Annahar newspaper and which was relayed by Daleel Thawra I could not.So I magnified the image and tried to read the text as best as I could. I think the main flaw and the sensationalized headline of this study lies in a simple word: Statistical bias. The study seeks to find how many youth are officially in political parties. Yay 8%! Obviously this disregards the reality on the ground, which is the clientage system. Meaning you are "mahsoub 3ala" (assumed to be voting for) so an so family/political party (as they are interlinked) without being officially in the said party (which, without subscribers can still draw a bucket load of money from international sources). I seriously think the above study and results are flawed and biased.