February 11.
An ordinary date for many. Not for us.

In February 2024, our media outlet was born. It all began with a conversation over coffee with a fellow journalist, an idea thrown out almost spontaneously. A rough plan scribbled on the back of a placemat, using the waiter’s pen. A few months later, the website was live.

What remained was to give it a name. After weeks of searching, flipping through my taxonomy and systematics notes, the answer became obvious: Latin. Neither French, nor English, nor Arabic yet understandable in all three. Just like Lebanon, a country that moves between cultures and masters languages.

Scientia: science in Latin. 961: the international dialing code of the Land of the Cedar, the code we share with the world whenever we give out our number abroad. Because 961 Scientia is Lebanon’s first scientific multimedia platform.

But it doesn’t speak only to Lebanon. It also speaks to its diaspora, and to the world, thanks to its partners and correspondents across the globe. Science has no borders. Neither do we.

These two years have not been linear. Budget crises. Bloody wars. Constant uncertainty. But also a dedicated team, impactful stories, and investigations that mattered. And above all, an unwavering conviction: scientific truth is a pillar of democracy.

Through videos, podcasts, and articles, 961 Scientia fiercely defends rigor, facts, and the essential role of science in political decision-making. But our commitment goes further.

February 11 is no coincidence. Today, we also celebrate women and girls in science—those who bring laboratories to life, make numbers speak, set molecules in motion, and move the world forward.

Two years in, 961 Scientia salutes you, wherever you are. And promises you even more science, more truth, more rigor.

All of it, in the feminine.