In August 2008, and following two years of feasibility studies, Teach For Lebanon, a Lebanese non-governmental organization, was finally launched. The organization aims to eliminate educational inequality while fostering youth leadership and promoting civic engagement by working in three major phases. The first is the rigorous recruitment campaign of the top graduates coming from different academic backgrounds. To date, the organization has received more than 150 online applications and is still in the process of screening them. Following recruitment, the selected graduates will be trained at a six-week intensive summer institute, focusing on teaching methods and building skills to become full-time teachers or “TFL fellows.”

By the end of August 2009, Teach For Lebanon will be placing fellows to teach for two consecutive academic years in selected underprivileged schools in remote locations across the country. They will be integrated within the community and make sure that their students are receiving the best possible quality education. The Beeatoona organization, as part of itsBattery Recycling Awareness Programme,organized on March 12 its First Annual Conference aimed to praise the winners of the EcoBatt competition on raising awareness on battery recycling which mobilized around 12,000 students from 65schools across Lebanon. Some 600 students from across Lebanon flocked to The UNESCO Palace in Beirut, where the conference took place The conference kicked off with a speech by Beeatoona President Maroun Charabati, who launched the MEPI-funded project and its goal to promote battery recycling in 170 schools in Lebanon, Jordan and Teach for Lebanon Looks to Axe Educational Inequality The program does not stop at this stage but rather extends to a follow-up phase in which the organization will help Teach For Lebanon alumni to build their careers and/or achieve goals of higher education, with the help of business partners and academic institutions of higher education. Unlike the stereotypical NGO which functions in an informal atmosphere, Teach For Lebanon follows a business model, and this has been made possible with the help of a number of business partners.

It is worth noting that Teach For Lebanon is part of a global network, Teach For All, which includes 11 countries including Lebanon, that share the same mission. The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Chile, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, South Africa, India, Australia, and Lebanon are the members of the growing global network.

By Staff