The Acronis Foundation Opens a New School in a Refugee Camp in Lebanon and Provides a Safe Learning Environment to Children Who Fled From War Zone

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland, 21th May 2019 - The Acronis Foundation is proud to announce today the opening of a new school in Lebanon and partnered with the German NGO Zeltschule e.V. The new school is in a big and stable tent construction, to give more than 250 children the possibility to learn and grow. The exact location is Barr Elias in Beqaa area. Lebanon has half a million Syrian children, who flew from the Syrian war across the border into Lebanon and are now without access to education. As the Syrian war already started in 2011 most of these children never visited any school. This means that a whole generation of Syrians is growing up in illiteracy. We want to give these children education and thus a chance for a self-determined future after the war. For many refugees in the camps, a return to Syria is still not possible. For the children of these families, this means that they will not have a chance of education in the long term unless they can visit one of the improvised schools in the camps. The Acronis Foundation facilitates educational infrastructure for underprivileged children in various regions. The small country Lebanon hosts more than 1 million refugees and the educational situation for children is not sufficient. As basics needs are often not met, education was always seen as a secondary goal. The project in Lebanon is really interesting as it provides relatively cheap, fast and efficient help, adapted to the difficult situation. Our partner organisation already opened more than 10 tent schools for over 2200 students and are therefore a reliable and experienced partner. The students will be schooled in two shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. To ensure class attendance each student family receives food packages, so they don't need to rely on their children's salaries for survival. The community actively helps with school construction and the teachers are also refugees from Syria, living in the camp. For the community, building and staffing this school is an opportunity to create something meaningful and sustainable for their children. An education for their children also represents hope for their whole family. "It is all about joining forces for a better future for these kids," said Serg Bell, Acronis Founder and Executive Officer. "Acronis and its partners from around the world are bringing not only hope but the actual means to have access to the knowledge they need by empowering them to follow and fulfill their dreams." With the great help from its high-profile sports partners Arsenal Football Club, the Acronis Foundation provided educational supplies, shirts, and footballs - promoting health and physical education. "It is always a privilege to support local communities and children who love football," said Communications & Community Affairs Director at Arsenal, Mark Gonnella. "We believe that football has the power to inspire young people and teach them valuable life skills, such as team work and respect. These are transferable into other aspects of their lives and can help them to unlock their true potential." This is the fifth school opened by the Acronis Foundation since the launch of the Schools Initiative program in 2018. An additional three projects are already under way, and the Foundation has the goal of building 15 schools during the next three years to provide access to education to thousands of boys and girls around the world. To find out more how you can support Acronis Foundation projects, please visit https://acronis.org/ About Acronis Foundation The Acronis Foundation was established by Acronis in 2018, in honour of Acronis' 15-year anniversary and the company's founding principle, that all evils are caused by insufficient knowledge. The Foundation supports multiple initiatives around the world designed to stimulate education in order to gain and protect knowledge. Acronis Foundation has been creating in order to share knowledge by funding schools, research, and training programs in communities around the world.