Youth4Governance

Project profile 

Introduction 

Youth4Governance is an internship program that engages students, universities, and public administrations in the drive for more accountable, transparent and effective governance in Lebanon. Two years into the program, 70 of Lebanon’s brightest young talents have now worked on practical projects to this end, gaining valuable skills and experience, and proving that the country’s youth have a key role to play in reforming and revitalising Lebanon’s beleaguered public sector.

Background 

There is a widespread belief today among the Lebanese population and particularly among youth that the “state” has failed and that civil society can bring about needed solutions. However, lessons learned from Haiti, Iraq, Yemen and others prove that relying on civil society organisations for recovery and redevelopment post-crisis can disrupt society, deepen existing fractures, weaken the social contract and widen the societal gap. Public administration is the bedrock of government and the central instrument through which national policies and programmes are designed and implemented to serve “all” the people. Rebuilding sustainable governance is dependent on re-capturing the state from the current “captors” and reinvesting in the capacity to govern. 

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Updated September 2022

The programme supports students to use their academic knowledge to help rebuild Lebanon’s public sector. The program’s multidisciplinary nature (tech, social sciences, communication) fosters a diverse network of future champions for reform, while connecting students with existing reformists within the state who are struggling to curb corrupt practices, enhance the performance of the Lebanese public sector and provide better services to taxpayers. The students are paid and gain ECTS university credits, while the participating public institutions benefit from the research carried out by students and new modules developed by the software development stream.

In the 2022 edition, students from various backgrounds worked as consultants in the following areas:

  • Monitoring, evaluation and research – supported by Siren’s team, the students designed and implemented quantitative and qualitative research initiatives. The research subjects were chosen collaboratively with students, and contribute to their understanding of the public sector.
  • Communication and awareness raising – students were mentored to develop communications plans engaging Lebanese audiences around public sector reform and e-governance, and were supported to conduct outreach to civil society and local government actors on behalf of and in support of public administration programs.
  • Software development – students learnt to use different tools (Springboot, Angular, Flutter, Kibana, Java etc.) to develop mobile apps, websites and interactive dashboards that facilitate the digital transformation of public administrations and services.
  • Trainings and capacity building – additional training opportunities were made available to students throughout the program, such as workplace skills including teamwork, public speaking and critical thinking, in addition to tech skills training like UI/UX and digital marketing.

The internships are designed and planned by Siren Associates and Siren Analytics, in collaboration with Saint Joseph University faculty members and Central Inspection.  

Lebanon

The first iteration ran June – Sept. 2021, and the second through June – Sept. 2022.

Carole Alsharabati, Project Director