When we launched Youth4Governance five years ago, it was rooted in a simple but ambitious belief: that Lebanon’s young people could be the driving force behind a new kind of public sector.  

It was not an easy moment to take that bet. Since then, Lebanon has experienced political paralysis, financial collapse, war, and the ongoing erosion of public trust in state institutions. Yet amid it all, one thing has kept us inspired: the determination of a new generation to create meaningful change from within. 

This week, we brought together those change-makers alongside government partners, civil society leaders, and project supporters to reflect on what they’ve achieved over the past five years, and to look ahead at what’s next. What we celebrated was less a series of projects than a sustained effort to let Lebanon’s youth reimagine – and realise - a public sector that’s more effective, accountable, and responsive to the people it serves. 

Reimagining public services

Effective governance starts with the basics: services that meet people’s needs efficiently and transparently. Many of the young change-makers we’ve worked with have focused on precisely that, using digital tools, data, and user-centred design to modernise state functions and improve citizen experience. 

• At the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, Youth4Governance fellows helped deliver the 2025 municipal elections with an approach that put accessibility and information at the forefront. By digitising complaints management and improving information flows, the call centre answered 95% of more than 5,000 calls, with an average wait time of just nine seconds. Real-time dashboards and media monitoring tools enabled rapid response to misinformation and better coordination between staff and security forces at polling stations. This built confidence in the electoral process at a critical moment for the country’s democracy.

• At the Directorate of Road Traffic, an online booking system designed through the programme is transforming how people interact with public services. In its first month, it handled more than 7,000 bookings, cutting waiting times by three hours. The platform — now deployed nationwide — improved citizen satisfaction by 70 percentage points, and staff say the new workflows are fairer and more efficient.  

Strengthening accountability and transparency

Improving service delivery is only part of the story. Equally critical is building the tools and mechanisms that allow institutions to hold themselves and those they regulate accountable. Here, Youth4Governance projects have combined emerging technologies with institutional collaboration to create new forms of oversight and enforcement. 

• At the Ministry of Environment, satellite imagery and AI are helping track illegal quarry expansion, which has scarred Lebanon’s natural environment for decades. A new digital platform helps order and track reparations for environmental damage, while an AI chatbot accelerates legal research to support public defenders fighting appeals. 

• At the Police of Beirut, Y4G is helping lay the foundation for real-time inspection. By digitising inspections and enabling dynamic analysis of operational data, Y4G fellows are building a new system that will allow authorities to identify issues more quickly, take corrective action, and strengthen internal accountability.

Listening to citizens and informing policy 

Governance is as much about listening, learning, and adapting as it is delivering services and enforcing regulations. Over the past five years, Youth4Governance has placed significant emphasis on research and citizen engagement, generating the evidence needed to shape policy and guide reform. 

• With Central Inspection, Y4G fellows spoke with over 1,000 citizens to understand their views of the state and what they most wanted to see change. They also interviewed 466 public servants to identify ways to improve public administration. Together, these findings informed a comprehensive set of policy recommendations helping shape Lebanon’s reform roadmap. 

• At the Ministry of Social Affairs, the DAEM social safety net program was launched to support the country’s poorest. In the depth of the crisis in 2022, Y4G fellows surveyed more than 1,300 people nationwide to assess how they were coping and whether support was reaching the most vulnerable. While targeting was found to be generally good, the fellows found gaps in awareness and coverage, particularly among older populations. These findings prompted revisions to state assessment models and outreach strategies, helping ensure that support reaches those who need it most. 

Changing mindsets, building institutions 

Beyond the numbers, the most profound transformation may be the shift in how young people see their role in shaping the future. For many participants, working inside ministries and agencies has fundamentally changed their understanding of what is possible. It has shown that government can innovate, that public servants are eager for new tools and approaches, and that young people have a critical role to play in driving reform. It has also challenged entrenched assumptions within institutions, demonstrating the value of fresh perspectives, new skill sets, and evidence-based decision-making. 

This shift is captured in the words of Karen Njeim, a fellow from the summer 2025 cohort: 

“What makes Y4G different is that, at one point, you’re conducting research on various subjects within the public administration, and then at another, you’re getting to implement [solutions based on that research]. You go on the ground and see the change happening.”  

Looking forward

Five years on, the results speak for themselves: thousands of citizens served more effectively, critical functions digitised, environmental crimes monitored, legal work accelerated, and policy shaped by real data. But even broader, Y4G has shown that reform is already happening, driven by a generation that refuses to accept the status quo.   

At Siren, we believe that technology, evidence, and institutional change must work hand-in-hand to build systems that serve people better. Youth4Governance embodies that philosophy and has demonstrated how powerful it can be when those elements align. Importantly, by working directly within public institutions, we are able to identify needs and prototype solutions — many of which evolve into full-scale products. These are increasingly being taken to market in the private sector, creating a sustainable cycle where commercial revenue helps us bring improved, scaled-up solutions to the public sector, often at little to no cost. 

The challenges ahead are enormous, but five years in, we have proof of concept: young people can transform public institutions from within. And together with government partners, civil society, and international supporters, we are ready to scale that impact even further.