Orient-Institut Beirut,Warehouse
December, 12 to December 15, 2013
Jointly organized by the Orient-Institut Beirut and Goethe-Institut Beirut
This conference aims to look at urban governance, its agents, agendas and options, through contested space and conflicting urban concepts, identity claims and social environments. Rapid urbanisation and demographic change, antagonistic political and economic interests, and the diversity of cultural patterns have impacted and continue to impact the make-up of local neighbourhoods and use of public space in urban centres. Situated at the core of social and political fractions, contested spaces reveal insights into the dynamics of diverse societies and urban identities. Contested space here is understood as the physical space at the centre of conflicting interests as defined by different social actors. The focus will be on the three cities of Beirut, Cairo and Tehran, each highlighting different types of fragmentations, political, cultural and social.
For more information, check out our divercities blog!
Thursday, 12 December
In parallel to lectures: Dictaphone Group: Bus Cemetery
10.15 – 10.30
Monique Bellan and Nadia von Maltzahn: Introduction
10.30 – 12.45 | Roman Stadnicki: The Emergence of Urban Activism in Cairo since the 2011 Revolution Omar Nagati: A Coup or a New Revolution? Competing narratives inscribed on Cairo’s urban landscape Hiba Bou Akar: Beirut’s Geographies of the ‘War Yet to Come’ Discussant: Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj |
12.45 – 14.00 | Lunch |
14.00 – 15.30 | Maryam Amiri/Esmaeil Izadi: Tehran Urban Space, Under the Rationale of Sales Price Nada Moumtaz: Practices of Commoning: Public utility and religious interest in the waqfs of contemporary Beirut Discussant: Mona Fawaz |
15.30 – 16.00 | Coffee Break |
16.00 – 17.30 | Panel discussion: What does Beirut’s urban future look like? with Bilal Hamad / Mayor of Beirut Amira Solh / Senior Urban Planner, Solidere Vladimir Kurumilian / Urban Activist Omar Abi Azar / Zoukak Theatre Company Rami G. Khouri / Issam Fares Institute (Moderator) |
Transfer to Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
19.00
LABAN Improvisational Theatre
Friday, 13 December
Corniche
Dictaphone Group: This Sea is Mine
Tour 1: 10.00 – 12.00
Tour 2: 12.00 – 14.00
Pre-registration required
Location: Zico House
15.00 – 18.30 | Nazanin Shahrokni: A Gender-Divided City? An inquiry into the spatial politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mathew Gagné: Expanding Queer Spaces in Beirut: Mobile communications technologies and contestations to heteronormative space |
16.30 – 17.00 | ( Coffee break) Nahid Siamdoust: Tehran’s Soundscape and the Public Sphere Mazen Haidar and Akram Rayess: Public Sounds, Private Spaces: Towards a Fairouz Museum in Zoukak el-Blat Discussant: Robert Saliba |
18.30 – 19.00 | Break |
19.00 – 20.00 | Dictaphone Group: Why the Sea is Mine / Lecture Performance |
Location: Mansion
10.00 – 10.30
Ghassan Maasri: Introduction to Mansion
10.30 – 12.00 | Lucie Ryzova: Strolling in Enemy Territory: Contested spaces and spatial practices in Downtown Cairo, a historical analysis Soraya Batmanghelichi: Red-lights in Parks: A social history of Park-e Razi Discussant: Anton Escher |
12.00 – 12.15 | Break |
12.15 – 12.45 | Rana ElNemr: Olympic Garden I & II + III / Lecture performance |
12.45 – 14.00 | Lunch |
14.00 – 16.15 | Maïa Sinno: The ‘Gulfization’ of the Cairo Downtown ‘Corniche’ Abir Saksouk-Sasso: Contesting National Authority in the Construction of Public Space: the making of communal spaces in Beirut Konstantin Kastrissianakis: Rethinking Public Space in Beirut since the Ta’if Agreement Discussant: Mona Harb |
16.30 | Wrap up Anton Escher |