With the whole world in lockdown, the YES alumni in Lebanon are finding creative ways to implement community projects. YES alumna Maya Bichtawi has always been passionate about empowering young women, and from that passion The Future is She project was born this past March.

The Future is She is an online simulation program that offers training sessions to 25 selected high school girls focusing on soft skills such as debate, conflict resolution, communication, negotiation and public speaking. Maya, along with her classmate Sanaa are facilitating the training sessions. After both successfully completed their positions as trainers in the Model European Union simulation, they created this program which ends with a graduation conference where all the participants will showcase their debate skills. The program includes online pre-recorded training sessions, interactive live chats with participants, and assignments. The goal of The Future is She is for all participants to present solutions to some of the challenges women face in the Middle East.

Maya shares, “As a young female myself, I felt the need to empower these young aspiring ladies to make a difference and become knowledgeable activists and advocate for a cause that is so personal to them.”

Like many other YES alumni, Maya is striving to turn what she is passionate about into community service projects; any idea that serves local communities is a good idea. Maya hopes her project could encourage all alumni to use the soft skills they have to come up with new ways to serve their communities.

Maya Bichtawi (YES 2017- 2018, Lebanon, hosted by PAX in Shreveport, LA)