In Lebanon, the vast majority of the media is owned by political elites, allowing them to spin, alter, or invent news to protect and benefit themselves and their allies. This control over the flow of information has sped Lebanon’s slide into poverty and unrest. In response, Lebanese Institute for Market Studies has developed a plan to provide the people of Lebanon with accurate news, verified economic statistics, and free-market opinion articles. This material will be made available on the new Lebanon News and Opinion Website, or Lebanon NOW. The organization’s goal is for this website to be easily accessible, smartphone-compatible, and for its content to be attractive even to mainstream media outlets. The project’s potential to have regional impact, its scalability, and the expertise of the LIMS team won the confidence of investors and the event’s US$50,000 top prize.
Runners-up included Advocata Institute (Sri Lanka), Association Multi (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Better Cities Project (United States), Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo (Argentina), Fundación Eléutera (Honduras), Human Rights Foundation (United States), Nkafu Policy Institute (Cameroon), Pelican Institute for Public Policy (United States), and SecondStreet.org (Canada). These organizations each received a US$25,000 grant, with the opportunity to win an additional US$10,000 matching grant. Donors in attendance also pledged a total of US$80,000 to various organizations.
Read more about all ten projects here.
