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At Ajaltoun Technical School in Mount Lebanon, change didn’t come in the form of a press release or a donor-led report. This time, it came from the students themselves through a camera lens they held, a story they crafted, and a message they voiced.
In the context of the PIONEER initiative, a small but meaningful post-crisis response project co-implemented by Swisscontact and Caritas Lebanon, a participatory video activity gave students the opportunity to speak for themselves. What emerged was a raw, honest, and powerful statement of what they see, feel, and need within their school.
The initiative began in the wake of Lebanon’s 2024 conflict and internal displacement crisis. The project’s objective is to improve vocational school facilities and re-engage students with hands-on training.
With the school selected based on needs assessments, 43 students enrolled in the project. From those, a group of motivated volunteers stepped forward to participate in the video activity. They didn’t just appear on camera, they decided what to say and how to say it.
Over a series of workshops, students learned the basics of filming, interview techniques, and storytelling. They brainstormed, role-played, and even edited the film collectively, first on paper, and later by sitting with the video editor to finalize their vision. The process was light on technical equipment, but rich in voice, agency, and participation.
The video reflects more than just the outcomes of a renovation project. While it highlights the school's situation before renovation started and improvements needed such as classrooms, toilets, and the football field. It also brings forward concerns beyond the project’s scope, issues that would likely not have surfaced through a traditional institutional video.
Students spoke passionately about the importance of recreational spaces.
They also raised complex and often sensitive topics like the financial pressures related to equipping hospitality workshops, and posed real questions to their teachers.
responded Antonio Sfeir, a hospitality teacher and responsible for production in the hospitality department, opening a conversation about practical solutions in the face of limited resources.
One of the most meaningful outcomes of the process was how the students raised topics that had not been planned or prompted. Their honesty gave the video depth and relevance far beyond what a conventional production would have captured.
On the 24th of June, the final film was screened during a graduation event for the project participants at the Ajaltoun Technical School, in the presence of students, teachers, school leadership, community members, Caritas Lebanon, and Swisscontact representatives. It is also being shared privately with potential donors by Caritas Lebanon.
But its value goes far beyond visibility. Internally, the experience is now helping Swisscontact and its partners reflect on how to implement participatory communication in other projects, especially those where community voice, ownership, and context matter most.
This project is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.