Dana Adnan, 25 years old, is a young graduate in biochemistry. Despite having pursued her studies in a scientific discipline, she has always sought to link sciences with humanities. As she says: 鈥樷漇ciences are at the service of the human life. Biochemistry, in particular, is inextricably linked to health. And when a person has a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle, he/she has a healthy mind鈥.
Putting her vision and belief into practice, Dana decided, after her graduation, to put her knowledge in biochemistry at the service of youth. After completing more than 1000 hours of volunteering within a period of two years, and after attending several trainings on sustainable development and entrepreneurship offered by international organizations (UNIDO, UNICEF, British Council), she came up with an innovative project to improve the welfare of her community, in particular the welfare of youth in Lebanon : creating an online platform that boosts youth鈥 s productivity and improves their welfare, despite the many setbacks and obstacles they face in their daily life, from unemployment, to limited engagement in the policymaking process. This is where her encounter with UNESCO acted as an accelerator of her career: following a 鈥淭raining of Trainers on Youth Entrepreneurship鈥, she acquired key technical skills that allowed her to launch her start-up.
Called 鈥淟ive Love Minds鈥, the online platform she launched in 2017 aims at raising awareness on youth鈥檚 health, and promoting healthy practices for youth to improve their well-being while at the same time boosting their productivity. It connects neuroscientists, psychologists, specialists in biochemistry, as well as youth, who share their expertise, research and trusted information on how to improve youth鈥檚 well-being through sciences. 鈥淚n the Arab region, because of the different problems and issues encountered in daily life, youth become less productive because they tend to feel depressed and socially distressed鈥, Dana says. 鈥淵et, latest research in biochemistry shows that being productive in the professional/academic life has nothing to do with the environment. Having limited productivity is first and foremost linked to hormones, blood circulation, and gland activity鈥.
Because of her engagement for youth causes and her creative mind, UNESCO Beirut Office nominated Dana to participate in UNESCO鈥檚 Expert Meeting on the UNESCO Strategy for Youth and Adult Literacy, held in Hamburg, Germany, on 28-29 May 2019. Dana was one of three young delegates from the Arab region, and the youngest participant at the meeting. Her feedback and suggestions on the draft review, as well as her recommendations on UNESCO鈥檚 priority areas in the field of youth and adult literacy, received high attention. Shortly after the meeting ended, she received a letter from UNESCO鈥檚 Institute for Lifelong Learning informing her that her remarks and suggestions will be incorporated in the next version of the strategy, to be submitted to the 2017th Session of UNESCO鈥檚 Executive Board in October 2019. 鈥淚n my various interventions at the meeting, I suggested that the Strategy devotes a special attention to reforming the education system, especially across the Arab region, to introduce in curricula knowledge about key scientific facts related to health. Youth should know how their body works to be able to feel well. They should connect to their body. When you are connected to your body, when you are mindful or your body, you develop a positive and healthy mindset鈥.
At this conference, Dana acquired first-hand experience of the work of international organizations, and UNESCO in particular. 鈥淭he fact that I was invited to contribute to this meeting, and that my comments and suggestions were truly taken into consideration, is a proof that UNESCO鈥檚 Strategy is drafted in a way as to really respond to the needs of the key beneficiaries and stakeholders: the youth鈥.
Building on her experience, Dana says to her peers: 鈥淣o matter what our dream is, what really counts is not the dream. What counts is what we do to make it come true. The key to achieving one鈥檚 dream is to learn from the success and failures of others, to be happy for others鈥 achievements, and to set the right action plan while keeping ourselves ready to change it and adapt it as circumstances evolve鈥.