LEBANON - As Lebanon navigates a rapidly changing digital landscape, building the skills to understand and use new technologies is becoming increasingly important. Artificial intelligence, in particular, is creating new opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship while raising new questions about how people use and understand the technology.
For young people especially, digital and AI literacy can help turn access to new tools into practical skills, from understanding how AI systems work and using them effectively to recognizing their limitations and potential risks.
It is against this backdrop that the UAE-Lebanon initiative to train one million Lebanese in AI over two years is taking shape, with a programme designed to introduce participants to practical AI skills and prompt engineering.
In an exclusive conversation with Enmaeya, Ramzi Abdulwahab, Deputy Chief of Staff at Lebanon’s Ministry of Technology, explained how the initiative will work, what participants will learn, and how people across Lebanon will be able to access the training.
Building Practical AI Skills
The initiative will provide participants with four one-hour courses, for a total of four hours of training. According to Abdulwahab, the programme is designed as an accessible introduction to using AI, rather than requiring previous technical knowledge.
A key component is prompt engineering, which involves learning how to give AI systems clear and effective instructions to produce more useful results.
Abdulwahab said the training will help participants understand how to use AI efficiently, including how to provide the right information and formulate prompts that can improve the quality of the output.
The aim, he said, is to give people a starting point from which they can explore the opportunities created by AI.
Who Can Participate?
The program is intended to be open to Lebanese people regardless of their age or professional background.
Abdulwahab said there are currently no specific eligibility requirements, meaning participation is not limited to students, technology professionals or people with previous experience using AI.
The broad approach reflects the growing importance of digital literacy. As AI tools become more common across education, employment, communication and everyday activities, understanding how they work and how to use them responsibly is becoming an increasingly important skill.
For young people in particular, digital and AI literacy can help them navigate new technologies while understanding both their opportunities and potential risks. Practical knowledge can also help them adapt to a labour market in which digital tools are expected to play an increasingly significant role.
How Will People Enroll?
Although the initiative has already been launched, the training platform is still being developed.
Abdulwahab said the platform is being built jointly by Lebanon’s Ministry of Technology and the UAE Government Experience Exchange Programme office and is expected to become available within approximately one month.
The ministry has not yet announced the full registration procedure. Once the platform is ready, participants will receive information on how to register and access the courses.
The ministry is also preparing an outreach plan to make the information available through its social media accounts, government channels, and mainstream media platforms.
Further details on registration and access are expected to be shared as the platform becomes operational.
Reaching People Across Lebanon
The ministry is also working on how to ensure the initiative reaches people beyond Beirut.
Abdulwahab said the ministry plans to use different government and media channels to distribute information about the program, while the broader outreach strategy is still being developed.
The objective is to make the training accessible to people across Lebanon, including those who may not already be connected to the technology sector.
Part of Lebanon’s Digital Transformation
The AI initiative is also linked to the Ministry of Technology’s broader work on digital transformation, including efforts related to digital infrastructure and the adoption of technology across the public and private sectors.
For Abdulwahab, developing people's ability to use these technologies is an important part of that process.
The program's target is to reach one million Lebanese over two years, although the ministry has not yet finalized how its longer-term impact will be measured.
For now, the focus is on making the training platform available and giving people the practical knowledge needed to begin using AI tools more effectively.
As AI continues to reshape education, employment and everyday life, initiatives that expand digital literacy can help ensure that people are not simply exposed to new technologies, but are equipped with the skills to understand, use and adapt to them.
