DOT Lebanon Transforms Marginalized Youth into Social Innovators and Leaders with MIT App Inventor

In a country where opportunities are not equally available to everyone, and digital literacy is almost non-existent for those who live in marginalized areas, DOT (Digital Opportunity Trust) Lebanon outreaches to youth to enhance their digital skills and prepare them for the future of jobs. DOT Lebanon is a Lebanese NGO, with headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, established in Lebanon since 2010. Aiming to support youth, DOT Lebanon breaks digital divides by providing marginalized communities with access to information and communications technologies (ICT) through several digital paths, and empowers them to create and apply solutions that make a positive social impact.

Thanks to its partnership with Cisco Systems, the Government of Canada, USAID, UNICEF, EU, Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, and multiple other partners and donors, DOT Lebanon implements digital training programs ranging from Digital and Media Literacy and Social Media Marketing to more advanced topics such as Robotics and Mobile Application Development, targeting local and refugee beneficiaries who wish to create their own opportunities.

Graduates of digital training programs acquire 21st century skills that allow them to become more employable and work on freelance jobs and generate income through Bridge.Outsource.Transform (B.O.T), Lebanon’s first impact sourcing platform powered by UNICEF and DOT Lebanon and aiming to connect marginalized and skillful freelancers to companies in need of quality yet affordable data related services.

MIT App Inventor is one of the most effective learning tools used in the Mobile Application Development workshop delivered by DOT Lebanon. Through this user friendly platform, youth with no coding prerequisites are able to easily create applications that help in solving social challenges. Proof is the success noticed in vulnerable communities where beneficiaries submitted outstanding digital applications with tangible social impact.

A group of 4 friends from Tripoli, in the North of Lebanon, took it upon themselves to help the hearing impaired. They created the Hand Alphabet Application, through which anyone can effortlessly learn sign language to create a smoother and better communication with those who have lost, or were born without, their auditory capabilities.

Another group of 4 Syrian refugees, with very little educational background, came together to create an application that would prevent bullying in schools and other educational establishments.

DOT Lebanon and B.O.T aim to maintain the increasing number of enthusiastic social innovators and entrepreneurs who previously had little to no ambition in participating in the digital economy. Together they will work on exposing the younger generations to infinite opportunities with the help of digital platforms such as the MIT App Inventor.

PS: You can find the projects which made it to the play store here : https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Digital+Opportunity+Trust+Lebanon&hl=en