Beirut: UNICEF’s adolescents and youth programme, supported by the German Government through KfW Development Bank for more than a decade, is transforming the lives of young people across Lebanon, helping them move from learning to earning, driving community recovery, and becoming leaders. UNICEF’s Learning to Earning initiative has already equipped thousands of young people with practical and market-relevant skills, restoring their agency, dignity, and independence. Through literacy and numeracy, competency-based training, life skills, employment and business startup support, 7,397 youth have been able to generate income and access job opportunities despite the country’s challenging economic conditions.
According to National News Agency – Lebanon, Germany’s support through KfW has provided youth with opportunities to earn an income, launch businesses, and even contribute to emergency and post-war recovery. From producing winter kits for displaced families to repairing streets and launching small-scale enterprises, young people have been at the heart of both immediate crisis response and longer-term development initiatives.
‘Through its partnership with UNICEF, Germany has offered opportunities to thousands of youth in Lebanon over the past ten years,’ said Uta Simon, Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy. ‘Youth are Lebanon’s future. By investing in youth, we not only invest into the development of individuals but also into a better future in Lebanon.’
‘Investing in youth is not a luxury, it is central to UNICEF’s vision that every young person must have the agency, opportunity, and dignity to shape their own life,’ said Marcoluigi Corsi, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon. In Lebanon today, this means bridging the gap between learning and livelihood, ensuring no young person is left behind in our recovery. Our decade-long partnership with Germany enables us to do just that: empower youth to lead, to heal, and to transform their communities from the ground up.’
The partnership between UNICEF and the German Government for the empowerment of youth continues to grow, offering youth not just skills and income but also a voice. Platforms such as the Learning to Earning Youth Impact Event bring young people into dialogue with decision-makers and the private sector, making them active contributors to solutions for Lebanon’s future.