As part of the M1 design course “The Place Remembers”, led by course instructors, Abul Halim Jabr, Crisyiano Lippa & Hala Abi Haydar, the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA), University of Balamand (UOB), hosted the first seminar in the ECOTOPIA series on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at UOB Koura Campus.

The event brought together three speakers engaged in environmental and cultural issues through diverse disciplines. Rebecca Tawk, documentary filmmaker and editor, discussed the threats facing biodiversity in Lebanon and questioned the role artists can play in response. Her short film Along the Water was also screened, offering a contemplative view on the relationship between people and nature across Lebanon’s rivers, mountains, and coast. Architect and geographer Hala Younes presented The Place That Remains, her contribution to the Lebanon Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, highlighting how landscapes in Lebanon hold memory and meaning amid ongoing urban change. The seminar was moderated by Dr. Ghada Waked, whose expertise in art history and cultural strategy framed the conversation around the role of creative practice in addressing urgent ecological issues.

This seminar reflects ALBA’s ongoing commitment to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue around environmental challenges in the Anthropocene era.







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