A project that aims to bring computer and Internet access to young people in Lebanon’s most neglected and battle-scarred region is being supported by Inmarsat.
The E-Caravan is travelling between a cluster of 12 remote villages, starting in the Sour district, where illiteracy and unemployment rates are significantly higher than the national average.
The project offers two to four-month computer training courses for users of all levels, with the aim of training more than 1,600 people in 208 days.
Inmarsat is supporting the initiative with its unique high-speed data BGAN service, which provides always-on connectivity to the Internet in areas where the terrestrial network is poor or non-existent.
E-Caravan was launched in the capital Beirut by the United Nations- Economic and Social Council for Western Asia (UN ESCWA) in partnership with the Lebanese non-governmental organization Fondation Saradar, which helps disadvantaged communities.
It is part of the ESCWA Assistance for South Lebanon (EASL) programme, the UN’s first post-conflict reconstruction initiative launched by ESCWA executive secretary Mervat Tallawy in October 2001 after regional hostilities ceased.
Tallawy said that although E-Caravan is a small project, it is an important development indicator that addresses what he described as “the weakest link” – the youth generation in rural areas.
