The Most Significant Things That Happened In Lebanon In 2016
2016 has been quite the year for Lebanon. We thought we'd recap the year with the most significant things that happened in Lebanon in 2016. This doesn't necessarily mean they are all positive, though. We wanted to include everything that happened.
Most Significant Things That Happened in Lebanon in 2016
#1 Jan 25: American University of Beirut turns 150 years old
On January 25th, AUB marked its 150th anniversary.
#2 February 4: Tourism board publish Rise Above Lebanon video
On February 4th, the tourism board published the widely shared Rise Above Lebanon video. The video shows shots from all of Lebanon taken from drones and helicopters (thanks to the Lebanese Army). Over 1.8 million people watched the video.
Update
:
2 more Rise Above Lebanon videos released for the North and South of Lebanon.
#3 April 22: Beirut Madinati announced candidates in Beirut election
April 22nd, Beirut Madinati announced its list of candidates for the Beirut municipal elections in the capital, promising to implement a progressive agenda to lowers rents and reclaim public spaces. They lost with ~40% of the votes
#4 June 5: Tripoli is the first Lebanese city to get a bike lane
Tripoli becomes the first city in Lebanon to add a dedicated bike lane. It's 3km long. It was inaugurated on June 3rd, 2016.
#5 July 7: Beirut ranked one of the best cities in the world
On July 7th, Travel + Leisure released their list of the best cities in the world for 2016. Beirut made the list at position 12.
#6 August 1: New Biometric Lebanese passports are issued
Lebanese government create and begin issuing new Lebanese passports as of August 1st.
#7 August 31: Michel Temer becomes President of Brazil
Michel Temer, a Lebanese-Brazilian, became President of Brazil on August 31st. Many noted the irony that they had a Lebanese president while we didn't.
#8 October 31: Michel Aoun is elected President
On October 31st, Michel Aoun is elected as the President of Lebanon. His election put an end to a 2 and a half year period during which Lebanon had no president.
#9 September 28: George and Amal Clooney open schools in Lebanon
September 28, George and Amal Clooney pledged $1,000,000 (USD) to open schools in Lebanon due to the Syrian Crisis. They received $1 million from Google to help fulfill plans to educate Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.
#10 November 29: 200 Domestic worker recruitment agencies are shut