TFL and Injaz Lebanon (a non-profit organization that aims to educate and prepare Lebanon's youth to become successful entrepreneurs and qualified employees) have joined forces where Fellows delivered INJAZ programs in their schools and classes, in order to introduce entrepreneurial concepts to students at a young age. 

The partnership included 15 Fellows spread throughout 11 schools in Lebanon and focused on entrepreneurship and leadership, targeting both the Fellows and their students. The Fellows implemented two types of programs with their students, with one consisting of 4-5 in-class sessions called “It’s My Future” and a second program called the Innovation Camp (ICAMP). 

On June 15, 2022, Injaz and TFL Fellows Ahmad El Baghdadi and Asmahan Iskandar developed and implemented an Innovation Camp (ICAMP) for around 30 participating students at the Sahaguian College and was hosted by TFL mentors, staff, and guest speakers from Recycler Donation. The program’s goal is to encourage students to think outside the box and introduce them to business readiness, climate awareness, proof of environmental setbacks, and the opportunity for green amelioration.

Designed around the concept of green entrepreneurship, the ICAMP challenged students to create their own green businesses through a series of processes. They were asked to pick a waste problem in their communities that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and find an innovative solution to it. Students were divided into seven groups and had 90 minutes to create, construct, and put together their ideas. 

Each group of 7 students, guided by their mentors, presented practical and innovative concepts and created new green ideas that can be effectively adopted. Then the appointed jury selected three winning projects: 

1- Re-Tote (1st place), which produces tote bags from textile waste and encourages housewives to be financially independent by creating an online page to sell their products. 

2- Green Supplies (2nd place), which collects paper and plastic waste from schools to produce copybooks and reusable water bottles that can be sold at a lower price; 

3- RecyClick (3rd place), which is an app where people can sell their unwanted items online; 

All the students felt engaged and cooperated swimmingly with their teammates and mentors, and some even discovered new hobbies and career paths. Overall, the ICAMP was a real success!

As a result, our Fellow Ahmad El Baghdadi will present the ICAMP in the United Arab Emirates on 5-6 July 2022. He was invited to a consultation workshop on Educating the Educators on Renewable Energy as part of the Energy Transition Education Network (ETEN), where he will engage in renewable energy education and work with other teachers in developing teaching resources.