UN Special #8: Marianne Bitar Karam Interview

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Better Angels Podcast

Marianne Bitar Karam, Country Director of DOT Lebanon, speaks to Sarah Brown about her work helping young people access technology and about the benefits and drawbacks of online education during the Covid-19 pandemic.


Marianne Bitar Karam, Country Director at DOT Lebanon, a non-governmental organisation, speaks to Sarah Brown about the challenges facing children in her country during Covid-19. 

She says that the digital divide in Lebanon meant that many children were excluded from education because they were unable to access online learning materials during the pandemic.  

She also says that children in Lebanon were missing out on important lessons in social cohesion. 

“We’ve lost something important,” she says. “School or the formal education setting was a reason for students and adults to come together and to accept each other, to listen to each other, to create connectors between refugees.”

Asked what motivates her, Marianne said it is her passion for her job, country and people that drives her to do what she does.