Wael is Inspiring Youth by Identifying and Promoting "Local Heroes"

Country: Lebanon
Organization: IndyACT
Field of Work: Civic Engagement, Youth Development
Target Population: Youth
Year Elected: 2008
Website: www.indyact.org 

"Growing up, I was drawn to the idea of larger than life heroes that make personal sacrifices for the good of others. Now IndyAct is promoting local activists to inspire others like I was inspired"

The New Idea
Through his organization IndyACT, Wael is inspiring youth to become engaged in realizing social change and to learn to perceive "success" as more than just a monetary phenomenon. Wael is scouring Lebanon and the Arab world for committed individuals interested in creating real change and transforming deeply rooted concepts. He hopes to change conceptions of money and power as being the only standards of success, and instead, introduce new standards of individual commitment to self- and community-betterment.

To achieve his goal, Wael established IndyACT in 2007 to serve as a platform for "inspiring individuals" to serve as role models within a community. The "local heroes," who make it into IndyACT's league of members after a rigorous selection process are then provided with the space and resources to help them achieve their goals. Wael also promotes the efforts of these individuals to youth and the media as examples of an alternative model of success.

Weal is altering the material values of society by demonstrating how people can make a difference through social work and activism. Wael is "extracting the Gandhi" out of committed Arab individuals.

The Problem
Wael's idea addresses a number of structural and societal problems in the Arab World. The first problem has to do with the lack of incentives for youth to choose a career in social development and/or the citizen sector. In the last two decades, more appreciation and prestige have been afforded to careers in the private sector. With the spread of a consumer's mentality, parents and youth alike have shied away from non-monetary self-satisfaction. This has affected the growth of a vibrant and committed social sector. In addition, it has burdened the current citizen sector with a different breed of development workers who simply seek positions with donor-driven projects that ensure a sizable income and not sustainable results.

Secondly, with the increase in the rates of unemployment and economic decline, young Arabs lack an incentive to invest in society. The spread of corruption has also worked to reduce their pride in their identity. The absence of local heroes and positive role models has also affected how young Arabs view themselves and their region. As a result of this, Arab youth began to look elsewhere for inspiration, both to the West and their Islamic past thus, affecting their sense of self-worth, work ethic, and commitment to contributing to their communities.

Thirdly, inspiring and committed individuals, i.e. social entrepreneurs, who challenged the status quo were left to fend for themselves. They faced major challenges in establishing their CSOs due to a lack of access to information and resources. In addition, a considerable number of these new CSOs failed due to a lack of proper management, financial, and legal capacities.

Progress to Date
Wael is currently running four operating campaigns and the two activism projects. The campaigns include the: "Arab Climate Campaign," "Zero Waste," "Save our Seas" and a "No-Smoking campaign."

Since his launch, Wael has organized seven local, regional, and international campaigns with the league members and volunteers. He also hosted two media training sessions for university students, which promoted the concept of social activism through role models and encouraged students to become active social workers committed to affecting change in the region.

By 2008, the pool of IndyACT volunteers has already risen to over 200 active, young volunteers. While working with this group of volunteers, Wael noticed their enthusiasm for his idea. Encouraged by their interest, he has since developed Indy Youth, a group of young activists between the ages of 10 and 18, to further promote his "role model" concept within social activism.