SCORE on the road
Find out more about the SCORE co-creation journey
Public Discussion on the Violation of the Right to Access the Beach in Beirut
A public discussion, held in Beirut, was facilitated by Mohammed Ayoub who was the speaker for the event. The discussion took place on November 9th 2019 during demonstrations in the downtown area. Word of the event was spread through social media to allow the protestors and everyone attending the demonstrations to attend. Re-Lebanon, the organizers of the discussion, hosted NAHNOO at their tent as NAHNOO’s tent had been destroyed. However, the discussion was still a raving success and positive experience for those in attendance.
The topic of the public discussion was public beaches and the right to access the beach. Ayoub thoroughly dissected the topic and presented many examples of the privatization of public beaches. Examples include resorts and hotels such as the Lancaster Eden Bay, a 5-star private hotel on the sea, that clearly demonstrates the violation of the right to access the beach due to privatization. Ayoub also utilized the informative maps from the previous installation. He had the map of violations on the public beach with him and was able to show everyone exactly where the violations were taking place. Ayoub taught everyone about the actual legislations around it to inform them of their rights. Explaining the policies in place in great detail allowed people to understand the legalities.
After presenting the content and details, a lively discussion took place. The discussion resulted in a lot of people participating and talking, asking questions and discussing the topic after having learnt more about it. Similar to the washing line installation, this event also had a significant turnout due to the involvement in the revolution, which meant more people around and a bigger attendance. The idea of the discussion was to give people more information on a topic that NAHNOO specializes in, and this was achieved very successfully.
Open Mic Discussion
On October 26th 2019 an open discussion occurred and was the largest open discussion held in Beirut. The discussion took place in The Egg, or the Dome, in Beirut which is an unfinished cinema structure in the city center that was built pre-civil war era in 1965. During the war, the building was abandoned and was there for more than 40 years with no use. After the revolution, people were able to access it again through classes, discussions, art classes, parties and commercials and videos have also been shot in the old cinema. Essentially, The Egg is a multifunctional space that is still used occasionally and has become a public space.
NAHNOO was at the forefront of the open discussion and organized it in that space with a few individual activists that helped in the preparations. Similar to the other public discussion, Mohammed Ayoub also facilitated this event. He first asked the people to discuss the reason for the problems in the country and asked why people are rebelling. This was then followed up by asking participants to offer solutions that can help in resolving the issue(s). People would be seated and then were offered the chance to talk and so everyone would stand in line and get one minute on the mic. The open discussion was covered live on local television and had around 1000 people in attendance, demonstrating the success of the event.
Washing Line Action; An Installation as Part of the Protests at the Municipality
As part of activating public spaces, NAHNOO along with a range of partners who were just as involved, planned a washing line installation to demonstrate how the government was handling public spaces as many were being closed down, demonstrating violations of rights. After preparing the event and announcing the installation, the revolution in Lebanon broke out. The installation then became a demonstration part of the revolution because the protests of the revolution took place in front of the municipality, where the originally event was to take place. The installation was presented on October 21st 2019 in front of the municipality and stood there for 10 days before the tent was wrecked by militants.
The demonstration had many layers of the transgressions by the government. The three main wrongdoings by the municipality that were addressed at the demonstration were the following:
1. Protesting the violations of Horsh-Beirut.
Horsh-Beirut is the largest green space in the city. However, the space is closed most day and the public do not have access. Further, the government issued the approval of constructing a hospital for the Egyptian army on the park. The lack of access and construction of a building demonstrate the violation of the right to access public spaces.
2. Protesting the violations of beach access.
The law states that the beach is the property of the people, a public space where everyone has the right to access the beach. However, the majority of the beach is privatized with only one single public beach which is a very small and polluted strip where people can’t even swim. Even though the owners of the resorts and hotels along the beach should have paid for taking the land, after the deadline expired this month, the government is doing nothing to rectify the issue. Technically, the status of these private places on the beach are illegal.
3. Protesting the closing of cultural spaces; specifically, Citerne Beirut
Citerne Beirut is a space for contemporary dance, a cultural space that is one of the most important attractions and one of the few spaces for dancers to express themselves. Unfortunately, after the municipality’s decision not to renew the contract in order to build something else, the government forced the closure of the cultural hub.
The washing line action was an installation where files were hung on a laundry line to demonstrate the violations. Many people were involved during the event as well. There were numerous volunteers who were members of the organization, artists and more. The installation aimed to raise awareness and inform people of their rights and how their rights are being violated. The goal was to share, teach and learn about the violations which was met through the installation. People would come to the tent, write down their demands, opinions and complaints at the booth and learn about those main issues through the large informative maps that NAHNOO put together. The maps visualized how their rights were being stolen and the extent of it. A public event that was initially expecting 100 people, turned into a hundred thousand. The event demonstrated advocacy through art and creative methods, a principle of NAHNOO that led to its ultimate success. The event was mentioned in a Dutch newspaper showing the widespread success of the event: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/10/22/een-waslijn-vol-grieven-in-libanon-a3977678
The Challenges and Opportunities of Co-Designing Public Space: Lessons from UN Habitat's Intervention in Naba'a
On March 27th, 2019, a round table discussion was organized by the Department of Architecture at RC FAAD Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) in collaboration with NAHNOO and IHS. NDU invited Maryam Nazzal, Social Development Coordinator at UN Habitat, as the speaker of the event to discuss just and inclusive co-designing of public space in Naba'a', Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon. The participants of the discussion and event included lecturers, university students from NDU, as well as participants from the IHS training course.
The event began with Nazzal providing a detailed recount of an influential public space intervention that she was involved in. The project was the implementation of a safe, inclusive, and accessible public space in Naba'a', Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon. In 2016, the community was involved in the preparations, workshops and design of a space that was previously a hub for drug users. A unique aspect of the project was the innovative use of Minecraft for the modelling of design ideas. After the opening of the Naba'a public space in August of 2017, the intervention was well received by the community as children now have a place to play and women have a place to gather. Nazzal also identified the various challenges and opportunities of the intervention in order to demonstrate the value of co-designing public spaces. The challenges of the intervention included computer illiteracy, tension between different local communities and Minecraft, which was difficult for some people to use.
After introducing the topic and providing the context, a lively discussion took place in the classroom at NDU. The participants rearranged themselves to form a circle, creating an open and inviting space to discuss the co-design of public spaces and allow participants to exchange thoughts and ask questions. The round table discussion raised awareness of the importance of co-design for public spaces and allowed participants to better understand the challenges and opportunities that influence public space interventions. The event was an effective way of demonstrating the importance of co-designing public space and was ultimately a success.