Three Lebanese individuals have been selected among 20 finalists for the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Award.
Sponsored by the NGO Junior Chamber International (JCI), the TOYP program recognizes and honors young individuals who excel in their respective fields and provide exceptional examples of young leadership.
After making it to the finals out of a pool of thousands of nominees, Christopher Arida, Hala Najm, and Maya Terro now need your votes to make it to the final list of ten honorees.
Voting is open starting Friday, August 6th, until August 12th, via the dedicated JCI webpage, here.
Here’s some information about the Lebanese finalists.
Christopher Arida
Christopher Arida is the CEO and co-founder of the Diwama waste management company.
An entrepreneur and a passionate environmental activist, Arida was able to develop a modern concept to automate activities within the waste management sector by utilizing Artificial Intelligence.
In 2020, he worked with three municipalities and more than 750 households and invested in a small waste-sorting facility, providing door-to-door waste collection services for more than a year.
His innovative Diwama concept has been supported and funded by various organizations around the world, including Berytech, the Alliance to End Public Waste, Plug and Play, AstroLabs, and many others.
Hala Najm
Driven by a passion for adolescent health, Hala Najm left her career as a pharmacist to dedicate herself to the public health field as an expert in health promotion and adolescent and youth health in Lebanon and the region.
She is currently Senior Programs Associate at Mentor Arabia, the leading NGO working to promote healthy lifestyles among youth in the Arab World.
Her READY to Overcome online psychosocial support program targets children between the ages of 7 and 12 years who have experienced stressful events, such as the Beirut Port Explosion and the ongoing pandemic.
WHO appointed her to the committee of Non-communicable Diseases & the Next Generation.
She is also a trainer on several UNICEF and UNODC programs targeting youth in fields that include leadership and employability.
Maya Terro
Co-founder and executive director of Lebanon’s FoodBlessed NGO, Maya Terro has received international recognition for volunteering with hundreds of organizations in Lebanon and around the world.
Since its launch, FoodBlessed, which simultaneously tackles the problems of food waste and food insecurity in Lebanon, has served over 1.8 million meals and rescued more than 2.5 million tons of food from being wasted.
Earlier in 2021, she was named as a Trailblazing Activist by 50 Next for People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy.
Terro has also been recognized among the United Nations’ Top 7 Women Leaders of Change and received the 2019 Woman Humanitarian of the Year by the U.N. OCHA, among other awards.
Public voting for the TOYP Award is ongoing.
Benefits that winners of the TOYP Award receive include gaining international recognition for their accomplishments, boosting their credibility and reputation, expanding their reach and business networks, and becoming international ambassadors for their country’s abilities.
You can show your support to the Lebanese finalists by voting for them here.
