Lebanese Women Make Technology Work for Them With Help from the U.S.

September 25, 2009

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michele Sison congratulates Women in Technology program graduates in El-Abadieh on September 22...

On September 22, 80 Lebanese women graduated from the Women in Technology (WIT) training program, funded by the Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).  The two-month training program, located in El-Abadieh in the Shouf, qualified trainees in Microsoft Office, Outlook and the internet through Microsoft’s “Unlimited Potential” program.  Since 2008, the WIT program has trained over 500 Lebanese women to maximize these important and marketable technology skills.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, U.S. Ambassador Michele J. Sison congratulated the graduates, saying that, “Empowered women with mastery of the right IT skills will generate new entrepreneurial ventures and increase women’s participation in the new global market economy.  Your success in completing this program, your dedication to new knowledge, will open exciting, new opportunities both today and in the future.”

Since 2007, MEPI has empowered Lebanon’s women through projects totaling over $42 million.  MEPI was created in 2002 to provide direct support to non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and academic institutions, as well as governments in the Near East and North Africa.  MEPI aims to expand political participation, strengthen civil society and the rule of law, empower women and youth, create educational opportunities, and foster economic reform throughout the region.