Lebanon’s diaspora returns: Not for nostalgia, for the future

After six years of forced absence, the Lebanese Diaspora Energy (LDE) conference returned to Beirut under a deliberately unifying slogan: “No matter how scattered we are, Lebanon brings us together.”
The choice of words reflected more than nostalgia. It signalled an attempt to reframe dispersion not as loss, but as leverage - at a moment when the country’s survival increasingly depends on what lies beyond its borders.

The 2025 conference opened in a scaled-down format at AVA Venue in Ashrafieh, attended by former President Michel Aoun, members of parliament, and representatives of Lebanon’s political, economic, diplomatic and security institutions, alongside Lebanese professionals from across the world.

Lebanon’s bet on knowledge: Can AI and its people chart a way forward?

Lebanon is usually introduced to the world through the language of loss: economic collapse, political paralysis, mass emigration. In such a context, conversations about artificial intelligence and a knowledge-based economy can feel disconnected from daily survival. Yet increasingly, these conversations are surfacing not as abstractions, but as one of the few remaining paths forward.

At the centre of this thinking is a simple realisation: Lebanon’s most reliable resource has never been oil, gas, or heavy industry. It has been people adaptable, multilingual, and scattered across the globe. What remains unresolved is how to turn this dispersed human capital into a shared national asset.

A nation beyond its borders

Lebanon today exists as much outside its territory as within it. From Beirut to Montreal, Paris to São Paulo, Lebanese professionals occupy laboratories, boardrooms, hospitals and startups. For decades, this dispersal has been framed almost exclusively as a tragedy a steady draining of talent from a struggling state.

But reframing is underway. Rather than treating the diaspora as an absence, it is increasingly viewed as an extension of the country itself: a global network capable of knowledge transfer, investment and collaboration. The obstacle is not distance, but fragmentation. Individual success has rarely translated into collective capacity.

Diversity, long cited as a Lebanese hallmark, remains a double-edged reality. Without a unifying purpose, it risks reinforcing division. Anchored in shared values, however, it can become a foundation for cooperation rather than competition.

Rethinking fear of technology

Artificial intelligence featured prominently not as a futuristic abstraction, but as a practical tool that could allow Lebanese talent to compete globally without physically leaving the country.

Rather than framing AI as a job-destroying force, speakers positioned it as an equaliser. Remote work, digital platforms and AI-enabled services could enable Lebanese engineers, designers, analysts and researchers to access global markets while remaining rooted locally - provided the infrastructure and governance exist.

Dr Elie Metri, a United Nations ambassador working on AI ethics, stressed that the real risk lies not in technology itself, but in how societies choose to shape it. Fear-driven narratives around AI, he argued, distract from the more urgent question of responsible development.

“The issue is not whether AI will replace humans,” Metri said in an interview. “The issue is whether we are building technology that reflects our values, our languages and our societies or whether we remain passive consumers of tools built elsewhere.”

For Lebanon and the wider Middle East, he added, ethical AI development is inseparable from sovereignty, representation and access. Building technology “that looks like us” is not a cultural luxury, but a strategic imperative.

For Lebanon, AI was presented less as a futuristic dream and more as a practical bridge - a way for young people to work, create and compete globally without having to permanently leave the country.

Knowledge as survival strategy

Discussions around the knowledge economy carried a sense of realism. The ambition was modest and urgent: to build an economy that depends on people’s skills rather than physical resources the country no longer has.

Speakers pointed to Lebanon’s strengths; multilingualism, adaptability, creativity while acknowledging deep structural weaknesses. Universities produce talent that often has no pathway into the local economy. Research remains disconnected from industry. Infrastructure, from electricity to data systems, remains fragile.

The proposal many returned to was simple but demanding: start by understanding what already exists. Mapping Lebanon’s knowledge economy; its people, institutions and capabilities was described as a necessary first step before any serious planning can begin.

Education reform, particularly in digital and AI skills, was seen as unavoidable. Without it, the cycle of emigration will continue, and with it, the quiet erosion of possibility.

The diaspora dilemma

Remittances have long sustained Lebanon, but financial flows alone cannot build systems. What is increasingly needed is structured engagement: channels that allow expertise, mentorship and opportunity to circulate consistently between those who left and those who stayed.

Digital infrastructure offers one possible solution, enabling collaboration across borders with fewer dependencies on fragile local conditions. Yet technology cannot substitute for governance. Without regulatory clarity, institutional trust and reliable infrastructure, even the strongest networks struggle to function.

Learning to build, not just survive

One of the more honest reflections came in discussions about Lebanese work culture. Years of instability have trained people to improvise, adapt and survive. These qualities have helped Lebanese professionals succeed abroad but they can also become obstacles.

Creativity without structure, cannot build institutions. Intuition without accountability cannot attract long-term investment.

If Lebanon hopes to build a sustainable knowledge economy, it will need to pair its famous flexibility with discipline systems that outlast individuals, and processes that function even when conditions deteriorate.

A different understanding of hope

Hope, in this context, is not optimism detached from reality. It is a deliberate choice to act collectively rather than individually, to invest in processes rather than moments.

Lebanon’s future will not be shaped by a single breakthrough or technological fix. It will depend on whether its people at home and abroad can transform connection into coordination, and potential into practice.

In an era where knowledge defines power, Lebanon’s most valuable resource is already in motion. The question is whether it can finally move together.