SafirLab - The Laboratory for Change
The MENA region is facing some deep changes on the social, ecological, and economic levels.
These sudden advancements have paved the way towards better education levels across members of society, increased awareness to healthcare issues, realizing the importance of citizen-led media, and women’s rights advocacy.
All over the Arab world, entrepreneurs have become proactive towards creating change in their societies, by improving their daily lives and promoting freedom of expression.
Since 2012, the “SafirLab” program has been assisting such young actors from societies undergoing change.
The program consists of:
- One acceleration week in Paris (workshops, meeting professionals, etc.), which should happen around the end of October.
- 10 months of mentoring.
- Final session to be held in Beirut, June 2018.
SafirLab is a true laboratory, a ‘‘catalyst’’ for social innovation and an outlet for those committed youth. The program enables its participants to benefit, both in Paris and locally, from the expertise of eminent actors from the French civil society, to share their local successes and design new stages for their entrepreneurial or community projects.
The program will support young entrepreneurs (20-30 years old) with social innovation projects emanating from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen. SafirLab provides workshops, personalized mentoring and professional meetings with companies, associations and institutions. Through such a customized program, participants are able to further enhance their skills, make their initiatives known and broaden their network of contacts and partners.
Because it fully reflects the intrinsic values of the program, social innovation will be at the heart of this edition. The projects must therefore propose a social innovation and meet all or part of these criterias:
- Responding to a social or societal need
- Involvement of stakeholders
- Collective appropriation of value
- Strong link with the territory
- Innovation through the business model
To submit your project, please fill this form in Arabic, French or English.
Also, there will be 3 info-sessions to be moderated by alumnus from each of the following countries: Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon
For more information: http://www.institutfrancais.com/en/safirlab
