Many initiatives are set up in Lebanon to attract the interest of children and young adults in the field of technology, including conferences, summer and after-school engineering camps, workshops to build robots and robotics competitions. 

Lebanese children, like their counterparts around the world, are fascinated with robots, often made famous through popular TV shows. In March, 1,200 Lebanese children from 60 different schools participated in the annual National Education Robotics Day (NERD) competition. The competition was established in 2010.

The NERD organizers are the Education and Technology Center (ETC) and its international partners FIRST and LEGO Group. Together, they provide science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) workshops and activities throughout the academic year. “It is important to help [students] discover [technology] that is still considered in its early stages, to take part in its making and adapt to its existence in their daily lives in the near future,” Farah Mtaweh, the ETC project manager, told Al-Monitor.

“Technology is literally the application of science. It is important for young people to consider careers in STEAM because these skills are in high demand and considered the fastest growing job market globally. Technology pays a lot better than most jobs, and finally it has great entry-level opportunities,” he said.