On the 22nd of November at 9 pm, roughly five hundred thousand Lebanese citizens across sixty-four cities were synchronized worldwide through an online broadcasting platform to chant the Lebanese national anthem. The melody echoed in all corners of the globe on a day that was marked in history, celebrating Lebanon Independence Day like never before.
Little light has been shed on the social movements which have taken place in Lebanon since the uprisings swept the country, as the mainstream media prefers to portray the on-ground action taking place on the streets. Despite this, profound efforts have been made behind the scenes to revolutionize Lebanon.
Responsible for broadcasting the Lebanese national anthem across an impressive sixty-four cities is ARD, a social entrepreneurship movement aiming to create an innovative environment that would become the entrepreneurial hub of the revolution, from the people to the people.
The team behind this social movement believes in the right of transparency, the value of technology, and the importance of modernization as a means to work towards improving the circumstances in Lebanon. For the team, it is “a revolution turning into an evolution.”
Based in Beirut, ARD grew in sync with the Lebanese Revolution, aligning its future vision with the voices of the revolution. In doing so, ARD has built key partnerships, collaborating with a variety of professionals who were able to network during the uprisings, sharing the same values behind the Revolution.
Today, the group is run by a diverse group of professionals, including technology specialists, financial advisers, academic researchers, public relations specialists and more.
ARD has impressively utilized technology in several social projects to support the revolution. Such projects include Sawretna, an online platform that archives all public artworks that have emerged during the revolution.
Another is Takad, a group of volunteers who fight fake news by fact-checking information circulating in the press and on the internet.
ARD has also expanded beyond its headquarters in Beirut, supporting a three-day hackathon in Tripoli this month in collaboration with Tripoli Entrepreneurs Club.
Activists from Tripoli regrouped to understand the challenges behind decentralized social change and the tools required to reach their goals and objectives. From this initiative, several startups were formed and currently working in progress.