Working through Crisis:
Innovations, possibilities and limitations of research in a volatile Lebanon
Deliberations are expert debates around current topics of concern (research relations and mental health; creating sustainable forms of value; research impact concerns). The deliberation format aims to encourage people to think in a different way around doing and adapting research in the Lebanese and global climate today.
All deliberations will be live-streamed here.
22nd March
REVISITING RELATIONS IN LEBANON’S CONTEXt | 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM EET
Considering the current challenges facing us as field researchers, whereby we are unable to physically be in the areas we research and with the people we partner with, what then is our role (RELIEF researchers), and how do we retain a productive relationship with our local community partners, based on being there or not being there on the ground? Additionally, in the midst of serious challenges to people’s mental health during the current crisis, what is our responsibility, and how does our relationship change to respond to the new environment.
Moderator: Maha Shuayb
Maha Shuayb is the Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies since 2012 and an Associate Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. Prior to that, she was a Senior Fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. Maha has a Ph.D. in education from the University of Cambridge. She is a founding member and the former president of the Lebanese Association for History. She is also a co-founding member of the Disability Hub, a collective initiative that aims to promote research and advocacy around disability in the Arab World.
Maha’s research focuses on the sociology and politics of education, particularly equity and equality in education, and the implications of inequalities on marginalized groups such as refugee children and persons with disabilities. Her research interests also focus on curriculum and educational reform in Lebanon. Maha has numerous publications on education.
DeliberatorsMayssa Jallad
Mayssa Jallad is an urban researcher and musician based in Beirut. After having graduated in Architecture from the American University of Beirut in 2013, she pursued a Masters in Historic Preservation at Columbia University's GSAPP, where she graduated in 2017. Mayssa worked in Historic Preservation for a year in New York, then returned to Beirut to pursue urban research and a new music project entitled Marjaa, or reference. She has been a researcher and Citizen Science coordinator at RELIEF Centre since 2019. She is currently recording a new solo album about architectural events that shaped Lebanon's history, in collaboration with a range of local musicians.
Mai Abu Moghli
Dr. Mai Abu Moghli specialises in human rights education, education in refugee contexts and emergencies with a particular focus on the SWANA region. In addition to her role as a research associate with RELIEF, Mai is a lecturer at the Centre for education and International Development (CEID) at the UCL Institute of Education, and a senior researcher at the Centre for Lebanese Studies.
Nanor Karageozian
Nanor Karageozian is a Social Analyst at UN-Habitat Lebanon, currently serving as its Head of Urban Analysis and Policy Unit. She manages multiple research, policy and capacity-building projects, and she serves as senior editor of various publications on Lebanon’s urban built environment, socioeconomic and governance themes (at neighbourhood, city and national scales). Before joining UN-Habitat, from 2016 till 2018, Nanor was an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Armenian Studies Department at Haigazian University, Beirut, Lebanon. She taught courses on migration and diasporas (focusing on identity and policy issues), intercultural studies, and modern Armenian (political) history. Nanor holds a DPhil in International Development from the University of Oxford, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with High Honors from Haigazian University. Her doctoral research examined the immigration to and long-term settlement in post-Soviet Armenia of Armenians from various well-established diasporic communities. She has published some of her doctoral research findings as book chapters, such as in the Routledge Handbook of Diaspora Studies. As a doctoral candidate, Nanor was affiliated with the following research centers at the University of Oxford: International Migration Institute, Oxford Diasporas Programme, and Refugee Studies Centre. More recently, she has served as a member of the Haigazian Armenological Review Editorial Board, as well as a Member of the Advisory Team and a Qualitative Researcher in Lebanon for the Armenian Diaspora Survey − a multiyear public opinion research project in Armenian diasporic communities in different countries.
CREATING SUSTAINABLE FORMS OF VALUE FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES | 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM EET
A dynamic and operative geography as Lebanon demands of us, as researchers and partners, to critically revisit universally constructed notions of prosperity and growth, especially as the effects of the pandemic have only made this more salient. While there have been loud calls to think of “build back better”, the recent Marmont report reminds us that we also need to “build back fairer”. Thus, how do we create value in our societies and economies that can be curated –sustainably-- towards a dignified quality of life?
Moderator: Samar Maqusi
Dr Samar Maqusi is a post-doctoral researcher at the RELIEF centre, UCL. She is an architect and urban specialist with 11+ years of experience in international development, including urban design and development in conflict areas. In 2008, Samar moved to Jordan to work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) where she held the post of Architect/ Physical Planner, and oversaw the Shelter Rehabilitation programme. She obtained her PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. In her PhD, Samar investigated the production of space inside the Palestinian camp and the impact on political and spatial negotiations it has provided for the Palestinian refugees. She is involved in documentary film-making and has exhibited her photography in the US.
DeliberatorsRabih Shibli
Rabih Shibli is the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB). The Center’s mission is to connect the university, external partners, and underserved communities in order to facilitate change in marginalized landscapes while providing opportunities for transformative education. He has conceptualized and implemented community projects and authored publications reflecting the process of bridging developmental planning and experiential learning. Rabih also serves on the board of trustees of International College Beirut. He holds a BA in Architecture, MA in Urban Design, and a Program Certificate in Refugee Trauma.
Marc Ayoub
Marc is a Project Coordinator and an Energy Policy researcher at the AUB Issam Fares institute. His work in Lebanon revolves around influencing policy making through evidence-based research. Specifically, he advocated a national energy policy that utilizes renewables as a centerpiece of the energy mix rather than just a policy add-on. He’s been involved in producing energy mix scenarios, mapping of available public lands and conducting techno-economic assessment of renewable energy projects, including that of a 300MW of solar PV power plant in the Tfail region, which has shown great potential and is currently being considered for development with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). His research also tackles subjects at the interface of water and energy sectors, focusing on energy efficiency measures in Water and Wastewater Services in Lebanon. He received a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Balamand (2014), and a BSc in Chemistry from the Lebanese University (2011).
Iman Nuwayhid
Iman Nuwayhid is professor and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. He received his M.D. from AUB in 1984 and his M.P.H. (1985) and Dr.P.H. (1991) in Occupational Health from Johns Hopkins University. He is American Board Certified in occupational medicine. He was elected as a Fellow to the Collegium Ramazzini in 2004, and was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2012. He is a co-editor of the landmark book, Public Health in the Arab World, published by Cambridge University Press in March 2012, and currently co-chairs the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria: Health in Conflict.
March 23rd
RESEARCH CONCERNS AND ASPIRATIONS
23rd March | 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM EET
Today’s human condition can be described as living in a perennial state of uncertainty that has seeped into our individual health and wellbeing. While this condition is global, in Lebanon it takes an even more violent form. Thus, we find ourselves as academic researchers questioning our research aims and objectives, and the methodologies we adopt, fearful for its impact on our local partners and communities’ mental health. This makes the need to openly discuss our fears, concerns and aspirations for our work and research more pertinent.
Moderator: Nick Tyler
Professor Nick Tyler is Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at UCL and a co-investigator at the RELIEF Centre. His work investigate the ways in which people interact with their immediate environments, for which he created the multisensorial Person-Activity-Environment Research Laboratory, which is part of the UK Government's CoLaboratorium for Research on Cities and Infrastructure. He set up the Accessibility Research Group within the UCL Centre for Transport Studies, which investigates accessibility and public transport.
DeliberatorsTejendra Pherali
Dr Tejendra Pherali is an Associate Professor in Education and International Development at the UCL Institute of Education and a co-investigator at the RELIEF Centre. His research and teaching focus mainly on interactions between education and conflict and the role of education in peace-building in fragile environments. Currently, he is leading research on higher education development in conflict-affected Somalia and educational innovations in refugee situations in Lebanon. He also leads a Masters course on Education, Conflict and Fragility at UCL Institute of Education.
Abbas Sibai
Over the last ten years, Abbas Sibai has developed, led, and implemented a range of public policies and social services projects ranging from youth empowerment to tobacco control. Abbas has a long record of connecting stakeholders with skilled people to meet social and livelihood projects' goals for the public good.
Currently, Abbas is the Chairperson of Fast Forward 2030 Lebanon, a network of entrepreneurs that fosters innovations that advance the sustainable development goals agenda. He supported PwC India on a project, "Analysis of Lebanon's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)" and mobilized the private sector to engage on SDG 13 Climate action. In addition, over a two-year period, Abbas supported Search for Common Ground as their corporate Engagement Manager to mobilize private sector and peacebuilding organizations in Lebanon to engage with SDG 16 peace, justice, and strong institutions. Earlier, he extensively worked in Lebanon at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Public Health, and the World Health Organization (WHO), advancing SDG 3 mainly on target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol and target 3. A: Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate.
Yara Younes
Yara Younes is an architect who participated in different urban research projects and Neighborhood Profiles in Beirut. Currently, she is participating in the Rehabilitation work of more than 300 residential units as part of the Beirut Emergency Response Program - Shelter Team. She has co-organized different initiatives that aims at encouraging the use of open public spaces in a city where these spaces are either privatized or barely used.