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Cultivating Peace through Social Entrepreneurship

  • DANA ABDEL KHALEK

A young artist once placed his painting in a public space with a note asking people to mark what needed improvement. When he returned, the canvas was filled with critiques. His mentor suggested repeating the exercise, but this time, with brushes and paint for people to fix what they criticized. The next day, no one had made a single change. The lesson? It's easy to point out flaws, but much harder to take action. 

 

This story reflects what many youth feel in our region: overwhelmed by social challenges but unsure how to help. My research and experience show that what young people need are tools and skills to be active citizens, not just awareness, practical skills that allow them to become changemakers in their communities.

 

 

In Lebanon, where I conducted my research, young people are full of energy and ideas. But our traditional education system often fails to prepare them to tackle real-world issues like inequality, division, and conflict. That’s where social entrepreneurship for peacebuilding comes in. It is an approach that equips youth with the mindset and methods to turn problems into opportunities for impact. 

 

 

I designed and led a program called Together We Rise to test this idea. Through workshops on design thinking, teamwork, and entrepreneurship, young participants learned to identify community challenges and create their own solutions.  

 

 

My thesis research, combining interviews and a survey of 101 practitioners, found strong support for integrating this approach into schools: 86.1% of respondents believe it’s extremely important to teach peacebuilding from a young age, 86.7% rated its impact as very high. Many respondents noted that the main barrier wasn’t resistance, but a lack of training among teachers and peacebuilders. This tells us that youth empowerment is not just desirable, it is urgent. And we already have models that work. What’s missing is the policy support to scale them. 

 

 

Youth in the Mediterranean region don’t lack passion; they lack the tools and skills to act. Let’s change that. If you're a policymaker, educator, NGO leader, or simply someone who believes in the next generation, ask yourself: Are we helping young people become critics or creators? 

 

By embedding social entrepreneurship into education, we move from complaints to creation, from helplessness to hope, and from words to action.  

 

Feedback & Impact: 

Videos: 
1- Team building activities 

2-Training session 

About Author

  • DANA ABDEL KHALEK
  • I am a passionate project manager and social entrepreneur, committed to empowering youth and driving positive social change through innovation, collaboration, and peacebuilding. With extensive experience in designing and leading initiatives that focus on social entrepreneurship, peacebuilding, and youth empowerment, I have worked across Lebanon and the MENA region, building bridges and creating sustainable solutions. Currently, I lead international projects that equip young women with physical computing skills and entrepreneurship tools, leveraging technology to foster community-driven change. Committed to the UN SDGs, I am always eager to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations working toward a better, more inclusive world.

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