Project 250

“I want to save but I don’t know how.” “I want to spend less on useless things.” “I hate asking my parents for money.” Sound familiar? These are quotes from young Beirutis. Project 250 has been out and about exploring what young people think about their financial habits. In participatory workshops and through one-to-one guided activities, we continue to identify what they understand about money. By working with these young minds, we are not just another power that wants to tell them what to do. We enable them to take charge of their finances for themselves. From wanting to travel to not wanting to ask parents for money so often, young people have many financial goals. We combine the motivation of reaching these goals with an intuitive tool to guide the way. By translating our in-depth understanding into this tool, finance becomes more than a scary spreadsheet of sprawling numbers. It becomes something that young people can relate to. By making goals and spending patterns visible, personal finance becomes rewarding and fun. “I want” becomes “I can, and I am.” Project 250 is supported by the Muhanna Foundation.

“DESMEEM: Rethinking Design through Cross-Cultural Collaboration” is an international multidisciplinary social design project that has been developed in Beirut for the past few months with European and Lebanese designers and architects. As a research-led initiative, all the projects revolve around themes that are of high social or environmental significance to Lebanon. These include urban space, energy/electricity, sustainable consumerism, creative education, disability, migrant workers integration, personal finance, and gender/LGBT rights. This project is one of the eight that was created by this process.