Hala Wardé

Jad Tabet

Etel Adnan

The architect Hala Wardé will represent Lebanon at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia from the 22nd May to the 21st November 2021, with the project “A Roof for Silence”. As an international cultural platform, the Biennale di Venezia is considered as one of the most prestigious artistic events in the world.&nbsp;THE VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2021Following a national competition, the architect Hala Wardé was selected to design and curate the Lebanese Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. Born of a privileged collaboration with the poet and artist Etel Adnan, “A Roof for Silence” is designed around one of her seminal artworks entitled « Olivéa : Hommage à la déesse de l’olivier», and through the observation of a set of sixteen millennial olive trees in Lebanon’s hinterland.&nbsp;The project evokes the theme of living together through the notion of emptiness as a necessary condition of architecture, as well as poetry, painting and music. It brings together different eras and disciplines through the participation of both Lebanese and French artists, such as Paul Virilio, Alain Fleischer and Fouad Elkhoury. More than an architectural project, it is a manifesto for a new form of architecture that restores the importance of the void and of silence.&nbsp;By resisting the shock of the 4th of August Beirut explosion, “A Roof for Silence” symbolically, if not tragically, takes on its full meaning, offering its Roof to all those who have lost their own, and its Silence to their cries.&nbsp; From Venice to BeirutThe Lebanese Pavilion will be installed in the famous Magazzini del Sale in Venice, the historic site of the very first Biennale of Architecture.After the Biennale, the Pavilion will travel to different cities&nbsp;of the world before ending its journey in the heart of Beirut on a highly symbolic site, where it will become a new architectural and cultural emblem of the city. A place of reunion, refuge and contemplation for a city in the throes of unrest.The City of Water will thus be the first symbolic harbour of a Pavilion destined to convey to the world a universal and timeless message from the Land of the Cedars... and of Olive Trees. ContributorsCentre PompidouFouad ElkhouryEcole Le Fresnoy&nbsp;- Alain FleischerSoundwalk CollectiveBits to Atoms Beirut&nbsp;FinancingThe project with an estimated budget of 410 000 euros will be fully funded by private donations. Its message will also be transcribed back to Beirut, by contributing to associations in charge of restoring Beirut’s cultural and architectural heritage, damaged following the tragic events that have shaken the city.&nbsp; <iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/502985624/"></iframe>

Beirut

International

A Roof for Silence

Chantal Ghoch

Khaled Sleem

Dr George Mitri

Sadika Shbaro

Each year, Lebanon is losing around 2,500 hectares from its forestry lands which is equivalent to 1,250,000 trees due to many different reasons, such as: forest fires, uncontrolled grazing, urban expansion, illegal cutting and quarrying. In addition to Climate Change which is becoming a very serious threat on existing and future forests.&nbsp;Formal education in forestry is quite novel in the country. Lebanon offers no undergraduate degree in forestry, and so far, only the Lebanese University offers a graduate degree in the field for agricultural engineers. Forestry courses are taught in several universities as part of the environmental or agricultural engineering majors. School curricula are yet to include enough information on the sector. With this gap in formal education, LRI decided to focus on Environmental Awareness, Education and Capacity Development as a stand-alone program that aims at increasing public knowledge and ultimately creating a sense of responsibility and positively affecting people’s attitudes and behaviors toward the forests specifically, and the environment more generally.

Nationwide

Lebanon Reforestation Initiative

Pr Salim Daccache

Cynthia-Maria Ghobril Andrea

Roula Ghostine

Dr Fouad Zmokhol

Dr Christian Makary

Pr Carla Eddé

Carmel Ghafari Wakim

President Chucri Sader

Dr Lina Oueidat

Dr Victor Jebara

Dr David Atallah

Youssef Dib

Maroun Chammas

Roger Nasnas

Antoine Wakim

Dany Baz

Nabil Gemayel

Joseph El Fadl

Yves Choueifaty

USJ's mission encompasses three main dimensions: research through new knowledge creation, teaching through knowledge transfer, and service through using knowledge in the service of society. To carry out this mission, the University defines itself as an academic institution of French language and culture, which favors biculturalism (both Arab and French cultures) and trilingualism (Arabic, English and French).

Saint Joseph University of Beirut 

University

Accelerate Beirut is an initiative created&nbsp;&nbsp;as a response to&nbsp;the August 4 blast in Beirut,&nbsp;with the objective of&nbsp;supporting local SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and&nbsp;their workforce, as more than 10,000 SMEs&nbsp;were severely damaged by the explosion. Beyond an emergency response, Accelerate Beirut aims&nbsp;to help promising SMEs during these challenging times by creating linkages and establishing partnerships with large global corporations. The&nbsp;local&nbsp;companies&nbsp;were identified with&nbsp;the help of&nbsp;3 partnering NGOs&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.foundationforlebanon.org/donate/stand-for-women/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stand for Women</a>, <a href="https://www.foundationforlebanon.org/donate/nusaned/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nusaned</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foundationforlebanon.org/donate/alfanar/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alfanar</a>)&nbsp;across different sectors such as&nbsp;Art &amp; Crafts (fashion brands, jewelers, embroidery workshops, wood work…), Personal Care (soap brands), Hospitality (guest houses), F&amp;B (restaurants, food brands…).&nbsp;These companies can benefit from a financial, strategic or technical support from their global corporate mentors.&nbsp; Accelerate Beirut was set-up by Alia Atieh in Paris in partnership with LIFE (Zeina Mhanna) and supported by volunteers working at Bain &amp; Company on an individual basis&nbsp;(Sabine Atieh, Marc-André Kamel, Bruno Naccour, Ziad Nassar).

Accelerate Beirut

Myrna Atalla

Fadel Zayan

Michelle Mouracade

Vanessa Zuabi

Shenouda Bissada

Alfanar (meaning ‘beacon’ in Arabic) is the first venture philanthropy organisation in the Arab region. We pool and provide strategic funding, training, management support and access to networks to ambitious social entrepreneurs working to sustainably educate, employ and economically empower vulnerable children, youth and women. The bold social enterprises Alfanar invests in enable disadvantaged communities to secure the skills and opportunity they need to lead productive and dignified lives. In 2020, against a backdrop of economic crisis, COVID-19, and the Beirut blast, Alfanar’s portfolio of frontline social enterprises has directly improved the lives of 22,992 disadvantaged women, youth and children across Lebanon.

Akkar

Baalbek-Hermel

Beqaa

Mount Lebanon

Nabatieh

North

South

Alfanar

Fadi Hallisso

Bahia Assi

Elio Gharios

Yasmin Kayali

George Talamas  

Basmeh w Zeitooneh started as a group of volunteers dedicated to serving Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The vocational training program started by providing free English, computer and literacy classes to adults, adolescents and children, in order to encourage personal and educational development. In 2016, they expanded the program to include other types of vocational training, including photography, Photoshop, professional make-up, and accounting courses. The Women’s Workshop also provided opportunities for economic empowerment to women living in difficult financial circumstances. The members of the workshop got trained in embroidery, before starting to produce pieces such as scarves, bags and cushion covers. These items were sold through Basmeh and Zeitooneh’s selling channels (now known as shatila studio), and the women made an income from each piece they produced.

Basmeh & Zeitooneh

Ghia Osseiran

Karim Chedid

Hady Khalaf

Bedayati is a new social sector organisation that works to empower marginalized youth to access decent and sustainable employment, responding to their aspirations for change. It envisions an inclusive world of work where diversity is valued and where everyone has the opportunity to participate and make a change. Bedayati partners with a range of organisations to build diverse and inclusive workplaces, advocating an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

Bedayati

Maya Chams

Alfred Tabet

Aline Habboush Geffi

Beit el Baraka is a Lebanon based charity. Our support program assists decent Lebanese families living in strong financial distress. We are trying to restrain the fall into poverty of a disappearing middle class. Did you know? • Due to the august 4th explosion, approximately 300,000 people have lost their homes, causing up to $10 bn in damages.• The hyperinflation in the country has caused the Lebanese pound to lose 85% of its value, and as a result the economy collapsed and the rate of unemployment has risen to 40%.• Lebanon is the sole country in the MENA region that does not offer social security for retirees in the private sector, and has the highest percentage of older adults who continue to work beyond the age of 65.• Lebanon is experiencing a very fast demographic shift that implies a rapidly ageing population due to low fertility rates, high life expectancy, and very high out-migration rates.• One in four children might not be able to attend school this year. Due to the lack of measures and lack of government support addressing this alarming situation, we felt the dire need to step in, and protect the Lebanese family. Our core mission is to restore a sense of dignity to hard-working citizens and assist them in their struggle with the increasing cost of living. To date, we have supported 220,000 people in need A glance at our 4 services: 1. Decent housing: We refurbish the homes of our beneficiaries in order to provide decent living standards. We also settle unpaid bills (rent, electricity and water) for families of retirees.Our impact: We are rehabilitating 3,011 homes and 230 small businesses devastated by the explosion. Our level our intervention covers the complete rehabilitation of structurally damaged homes and is done in very close collaboration with the Lebanese Army. 2. Medical support: Our medical support program fully covers treatment needs for our members.&nbsp;Our impact: We have 682 patients being treated for cancer, dialysis, diabetes, arthritis, glaucoma, osteoporosis, cataract, macular degeneration, and cardiovascular diseases; we also cover dental, hearing aids and prosthesis surgeries.&nbsp; 3. A free supermarket: In February 2019, we opened an elegant free supermarket based on a system of points which makes our members feel they are "shopping", not seeking charity. Giving someone the freedom of choice means giving them dignity.Our impact: We&nbsp;put food on the table of 220,000 people in need from all over Lebanon. And we have been vetted by international FMCG corporations such as P&amp;G, Unilever, Nestlé, Henkel, Pepsi, Danone...And in order to sustain our food aid program, we decided to launch our agro farming project. The sequential governments that impoverished Lebanon had no vision of a sustainable productive nation. Lebanon imports 80% of its food, and produces less than 10% of its needs in grains. And with no access to foreign currency, the risk of food shortage is now very high. Therefore, we have invested in agriculture and we are growing grains, vegetables and fruits. We also built a farm of sheep, cows and chickens, and 100 beehives for organic honey.Our impact: We are able to cater to thousands of beneficiaries, and offer them healthy fresh produce. By doing so, their health improves and consequently, medical fees are reduced.﻿4. Education: We want to instill hope in children so they know it is possible to achieve what and who they aspire to become. We are paying tuitions, buying laptops and installing internet in students' homes.Our impact: supporting 3,095 families to allow their children to continue their education.&nbsp;We've also set up a *psychological support unit* for adults and children by partnering with specialized Swiss therapists. Some affected people are particularly unable to cope with the scope of the tragedy and can easily develop PTSD and bad coping mechanisms.We cover the entire Lebanese territory: 42% Greater Beirut, 28% South Lebanon, 30% North Lebanon.Our major achievement remains our ability to keep our overheads at 2% of the total budget, proving how keen we are on optimizing every penny spent. We are regularly audited and our numbers are published on our website. Our donors can have full access to our bank accounts.Beit el Baraka is a Lebanon based charity registered in Beirut by decree number 2277 and a 501(c)3 status- Beit el Baraka USA, handled by the global law firm *Morgan Lewis*﻿

Beit el Baraka

Bishop Ephrem Kyriakos 

Archimandrite Kasianos Inati 

Dr. Saba Zreik

Dr. Naim Rouadi 

Dr. Layla Tabchouri

Dr. Lili Maliha

Dr. Hamid Debs

Dr. Nicolas Loukas

Dr. Wahib Dawra

National Orthodox College, or St Elias school as most commonly known, was founded in 1900. Throughout the years, the school gained expertise and reputation by combining both the latest technological and educational methodologies. St Elias school believes in the continuous improvement of its methodologies. We work under the supervision of Bishop Ephrem Kyriakos, Metropolitan of Tripoli, Koura and its Dependences for Greek Orthodox, who strive to transform the school into a true workplace that “builds” an autonomous, unique, and remarkable person. This approach distinguishes our school from others, as we consider ourselves as a “family”, where teachers consider the students as their own kids, and pay all the attention needed to their personalities, capacities, and talents. We strongly believe that our mission can only be accomplished through a successful relationship between the school, the students, and the parents.

Collège National Orthodoxe (St Elie)

School

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Hospital

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Primary Healthcare Center

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