{"id":258013,"date":"2026-09-26T13:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T10:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/?p=258013"},"modified":"2026-09-26T13:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T10:43:38","slug":"lebanon-ai-festival-2026-uniting-over-1000-innovators-at-the-beirut-digital-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/tech-news\/258013\/lebanon-ai-festival-2026-uniting-over-1000-innovators-at-the-beirut-digital-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanon AI Festival 2026: Uniting Over 1,000 Innovators at the Beirut Digital District"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#f64b3c\" class=\"has-inline-color\">T<\/mark>he tech community in <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/lebanon\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"376\" data-entity-category=\"Place\" title=\"Learn more about Lebanon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lebanon<\/a> is proving that innovation thrives against all odds. On September 24, 2026, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/beirut-digital-district\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301641\" data-entity-category=\"Organization\" title=\"Learn more about Beirut Digital District\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Beirut Digital District<\/a> (BDD)<\/strong> transformed into a full-campus powerhouse as more than 1,000 founders, developers, industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts gathered for the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/topic\/lebanon-ai-festival-2026\/\" class=\"acp-topic-link\" data-topic-id=\"273947\" title=\"Explore: Lebanon AI Festival 2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lebanon AI Festival 2026<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Organized by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/zaka\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301644\" data-entity-category=\"Organization\" title=\"Learn more about ZAKA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ZAKA<\/a><\/strong>, this year&#8217;s event marked a massive evolution from last year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/ai-career-fair\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301645\" data-entity-category=\"Event\" title=\"Learn more about AI Career Fair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AI Career Fair<\/a>, expanding into a comprehensive festival format that spanned multiple venues across the BDD campus.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Setting the Tone: People Over Algorithms<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival kicked off with high-profile opening remarks highlighting Lebanon&#8217;s greatest asset: its human capital.<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>H.E. <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/kamal-shehadi\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"237979\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Kamal Shehadi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kamal Shehadi<\/a><\/strong>, Minister of State for Information Technology and <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/artificial-intelligence\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"4237\" data-entity-category=\"Technology\" title=\"Learn more about artificial intelligence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Artificial Intelligence<\/a>, opened the discourse alongside ecosystem leaders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/kim-mouawad\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301648\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Kim Mouawad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kim Mouawad<\/a><\/strong>, Chief Growth Officer at BDD, emphasized the unique resilience and talent pool found locally:<br><em>\u201cThe future of AI will not only be shaped by technology, but by people who are curious enough to learn, brave enough to adapt, and ambitious enough to build. And this is where Lebanon has something truly special: As always, its talent.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/larissa-abi-nakhle\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301649\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Larissa Abi Nakhle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Larissa Abi Nakhle<\/a><\/strong>, Co-founder &amp; Head of Partnerships at ZAKA, rallied the crowd with a powerful call to action:<br><em>\u201cThe future of AI in Lebanon will not be decided somewhere else by someone else. It will be decided in rooms like this one.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Core Themes: Scaling, Adopting, and Building<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Main Stage hosted two marquee panel discussions that tackled the practical realities of integrating artificial intelligence into businesses and everyday operations.<\/p>\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Building and Scaling AI-Powered Companies:<\/strong> Moderated by <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/elias-boustani\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301650\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Elias Boustani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elias Boustani<\/a> (Zeal), industry leaders Alexi Akl (Aboard), <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/georges-el-khoury\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301654\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Georges El Khoury\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Georges El Khoury<\/a> (Journable), and Omar Hmaissy (Toters) discussed the engineering, product, and scaling bottlenecks unique to building competitive AI products.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Getting Your Team to Actually Use AI:<\/strong> Moderated by <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/tarek-hoteit\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301658\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Tarek Hoteit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tarek Hoteit<\/a> (Arabtronics), this panel featured Tarek Ayna (Edgebot), Maya Ali (maids.cc), and <a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/wes-ezzeddine\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301664\" data-entity-category=\"Person\" title=\"Learn more about Wes Ezzeddine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wes Ezzeddine<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/entity\/ai-safety-uae\/\" class=\"acp-entity-link\" data-entity-id=\"301665\" data-entity-category=\"Organization\" title=\"Learn more about AI Safety UAE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AI Safety UAE<\/a>). The conversation focused on organizational transformation, moving past the hype to successfully bake AI into standard workplace workflows.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hands-On Learning: Technical and Non-Technical Tracks<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond high-level keynote panels, the festival offered deep-dive workshops catering to different skill levels:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Technical Workshops:<\/strong> Developers rolled up their sleeves for advanced topics like AI agents, tool-calling loops (moving &#8220;beyond the chat box&#8221;), and agentic software engineering for production-ready code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Non-Technical Tracks:<\/strong> Professionals from non-coding backgrounds explored how AI can amplify productivity across diverse fields, including architecture, product management, education\/classroom leadership, and AI-driven marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Big Picture for Digitrendz Readers<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Lebanon AI Festival 2026 demonstrated that Lebanon&#8217;s tech ecosystem is no longer just watching the global AI wave from the sidelines, it is actively participating, building, and upskilling at scale. By bridging the gap between hands-on engineering and cross-industry adoption, events like these cement BDD&#8217;s status as a vital tech hub in the region.<\/p>\n\n<div id=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-6b15cc02\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider glide\" data-per-view=\"1\" data-gap=\"0\" data-peek=\"0\" data-autoplay=\"true\" data-hide-arrows=\"false\"><div class=\"glide__track\" data-glide-el=\"track\"><div class=\"glide__slides\"><div class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item-wrapper glide__slide\" tabindex=\"0\"><figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-2.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item\" src=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"258021\"\/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item-wrapper glide__slide\" tabindex=\"0\"><figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-3.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item\" src=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"258020\"\/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item-wrapper glide__slide\" tabindex=\"0\"><figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-4.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item\" src=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"258017\"\/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item-wrapper glide__slide\" tabindex=\"0\"><figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-6.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item\" src=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"258018\"\/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item-wrapper glide__slide\" tabindex=\"0\"><figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-7.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-slider-item\" src=\"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BDD_AI-Festival-2026-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"258019\"\/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"glide__bullets\" data-glide-el=\"controls[nav]\"><button class=\"glide__bullet\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\"><\/button><button class=\"glide__bullet\" data-glide-dir=\"=1\"><\/button><button class=\"glide__bullet\" data-glide-dir=\"=2\"><\/button><button class=\"glide__bullet\" data-glide-dir=\"=3\"><\/button><button class=\"glide__bullet\" data-glide-dir=\"=4\"><\/button><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The tech community in Lebanon is proving that innovation thrives against all odds. On September 24, 2026, the Beirut Digital District (BDD) transformed into a full-campus powerhouse as more than 1,000 founders, developers, industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts gathered for the Lebanon AI Festival 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[57,68530,3327,3296,3254,497],"tags":[12091,4428,387,258552,8548],"entities":[258574,258587,1602,258568,258586,258573,258580,644,146317,258565,258564,258582,258572,258575,258576,192286,258570,258571,664,258612,258566,258584,258583,258569,258577,258581,258579,258588,258578,258585,258567,163595],"class_list":["post-258013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-news","category-mena-tech-scene","category-newswire","category-startups","category-technology","category-trending-news","tag-ai-adoption","tag-ai-integration","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-beirut-digital-district","tag-tech-startups","entity-aboard","entity-agentic-software-engineering","entity-ai-agents","entity-ai-career-fair","entity-ai-safety-uae","entity-alexi-akl","entity-arabtronics","entity-artificial-intelligence","entity-artificial-intelligence-2","entity-bdd","entity-beirut-digital-district","entity-edgebot","entity-elias-boustani","entity-georges-el-khoury","entity-journable","entity-kamal-shehadi","entity-kim-mouawad","entity-larissa-abi-nakhle","entity-lebanon","entity-lebanon-ai-festival","entity-lebanon-ai-festival-2026","entity-maids-cc","entity-maya-ali","entity-ministry-of-state-for-information-technology-and-artificial-intelligence","entity-omar-hmaissy","entity-tarek-ayna","entity-tarek-hoteit","entity-tool-calling-loops","entity-toters","entity-wes-ezzeddine","entity-zaka","entity-zeal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258013"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitrendz.blog\/z\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entities?post=258013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}