EMPOWERING YOUTH TO DREAM “WILL CREATE A BETTER LEBANON”

Lebanese teen Jancett Jarkas has realized a lifelong creative dream, but only after facing her biggest fears. She is one of many emerging young leaders finding confidence to move forward through an innovative game called TWiLY Business that teaches business development, and which has been shared on the SAT-7 show Expert Advice.

“Financial education is part of the holistic learning we offer to improve young people’s chances in life,” says SAT-7 ACADEMY Brand Manager Juliana Sfeir. “Learning how to budget, manage their finances, and launch small enterprises reduces a young person’s chances of living in poverty and debt as an adult.

“TWiLY Business [creates a game] from the business learning young people will need…to help build a brighter future, and now SAT-7 viewers can benefit as they follow along with the episode of Expert Advice. Game participants learn to demonstrate a knowledge of essential business concepts,” Sfeir explains.

Jancett’s self-portrait, drawn for the book she created

Jancett, a teen writer and artist, finds her biggest insecurities coming to a head while playing the game. For years, she has disliked her own appearance, and even her own name, so much that she avoids public speaking at all costs. Now, her commitment to her dream of publishing a book has given her the bravery to play TWiLY Business on camera in front of millions of SAT-7 ACADEMY viewers on the SAT-7 ARABIC channel and online.

Jancett is proof of the game’s effective empowerment. Following the principles of TWiLY Business since filming, Jancett has now written, illustrated, and published her own book. The book contains her own drawings, true to form, right down to the name and hairstyle she had once disliked, but now embraces (pictured at right).

“It is important that we support teenagers to recognize and follow their own abilities and ideas, because the conditions around them may hold them back, making them feel they are capable of less than they are,” says Sfeir.

Almost one in three youth aged 15 to 24 are unemployed in the Middle East and North Africa,[1] making it even more important that young people are as equipped as possible to help take their region forward. Following Expert Advice, the next season of the education program My School will include further financial education opportunities for young people.

TWiLY Business founder Nora Berbery and business consultant Rabee Fares from IBEE (International Business Empowerment and Education), who guide the young people in the episode

[1] “Boosting Youth Employment in MENA.” November 2016. International Finance Corporation. World Bank Group.