Inauguration of Hkeeli

On Sunday, April 13, 2025 — fifty years after the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War — we invite you to Beit Beirut for the inauguration of Hkeeli, an initiative dedicated to a public conversation on memory.

This day is not just an event — it is the beginning of something larger. A space for reflection, for meeting across generations and perspectives, and for claiming public space to have a conversation that matters:

Tell me. How do you remember? What would you like to share? Launched on the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, Hkeeli is not a commemorative exhibition. It is a public invitation. The war's anniversary is not an endpoint, but

a threshold — into deeper, collective conversation about memory, identity, and the ways in

which past violence continues to reverberate through our present. The installations and cultural program that launch the project are not a comprehensive nor

polished product. They are a conversation starter. They invite people to step inside, to feel, to reflect, and to speak — not in the abstract, but in relation to their own lived experiences, and to one another.

Spread across the rooms of Beit Beirut, a series of installations invite you to move through memory — not as a spectator, but as a participant. The space offers encounters with sound, story,

and silence. You may hear a voice you recognize. You may find something you thought was lost. These installations are not exhibits. They are thresholds — small openings into what we carry, what we’ve inherited, and what we are still trying

to piece together.

Throughout the day, Beit Beirut will open its many rooms to walks and exploration, interactive encounters, a human library, performances, and a gathering of voices asking difficult, necessary questions. Come for one part or stay for the whole day. Let it be a place where you feel welcome.

Program Details

12:00-3:00PM – Walking Tour: “The Green Line” with Samira Ezzo

Begin the day by tracing the footsteps of Beirut’s history. Samira Ezzo (@samirablogs / @layersoflebanon), a storyteller at heart, leads you from the

National Museum to Beit Beirut through her "Green Line Walking Tour" — an urban journey that transforms war-era borders into paths of connection. Explore hidden stories, heritage homes,

murals, and voices of the city.

3:00-6:00 PM – Rally Paper: “Echoes of the Green Line” with Tripulley

A game of memory and discovery. Join a team (or form your own) and embark on a mission inside Beit Beirut and the streets surrounding it. Through challenges, clues, and urban exploration, you’ll uncover the fragments

of a divided city — and learn how memory can rebuild connection. → Teams of 4–6 (ages 13+) — solo participants can be grouped on site.

4:00–5:30 PM – Human Library

Meet those who carry memory forward. Spread across the rooms of Beit Beirut, a series of powerful encounters await. Women activists, artists, and the individuals who contributed to this installation will be present not as speakers on

a stage, but as “open books” — ready to talk, share, and listen. Our humans books: Wadad Halwani, Mona Hallak, Walid Saab (Fighters for Peace), Samira Ezzo, Fida Bizri & Sylvie Ballyot ( Green Line), Hala Younes, Myriam Sfeir and Antoine

Boulad

5:30 PM – Opening Words

Gathering in the auditorium to officially begin.

5:45 PM – Opening Conversation: How does the war live on in and between us A conversation that brings together voices from different walks of life — social, political,

psychological — to reflect on how the war lives on in and between us. And is it still important to talk about the war at all? Join Wissam Lahham, Dr Nahla Harb, Adeeb Farhat, Yasmine Chahhal

and Hassan Salha in conversation.

7:30 PM – This is not a performance: Live Encounter with Movement and Music

Beirut Physical Lab leads a moving encounter with Beit Beirut, tracing memory with every step, inviting the audience to follow and feel. Dancers: Lea Bu Karim, Chris Habber, Miran Malaeb, Ahmad Al Masri,

Hussein Al Abdalah, Yara Naserdin & Samer Zaher.

Frida (guitar, vocals) & the musimagicians Inca (percussion) and Scarlett (piano) hold a musical space for

reflection and release, where voices, rhythm, and shared feeling is weaved into collective melody of

transformation.

9:00 PM – End of Day

We close the space for the day — but the conversation continues; every Wednesday to Sunday from 12-8pm.

WHO IS حیكل ي

Hkeeli is guided by an Executive Committee that together accompanies the process with perspective, critical input, and ensure that the project's vision and principles are reflected across

installations, programming, and partnerships, ensuring credibility and accountability.

The Executive Committee is composed by Allo Beirut, Forum for Memory and Future, Lebanese Association for History, Municipality of Beirut, LAU Arab Institute for Women, Arab Center for

Architecture and AUB Neighborhood Initiative. Hkeeli is not led by one voice, but shaped by many. Its power lies by opening spaces for stories to meet. It encourages you - artists, historians, cultural actors, activists - to shape the

space and express yourselves within the shared framework of the project’s foundation and principles.

The inauguration day is made possible by the contributions of many.

Participating Contributors of the Day:

Steps, CFKDL, Public Works Studio, Beirut Physical Lab, Fighters for Peace, Assabil Library,

Tripulley, Adeeb Farhat or SOL Museum (the South Occupation and Liberation Museum),

Sylvie Ballyot and Fida Bizri (Green Line), Cedric Kayem and Antony Tawil (Maabar), Hashem

Adnan, Majd el Hamwi, Ghassan Halwani and Sasseen Kawzali, George Arbid, Kinda Dekmak,

Shadi Faraj, Samira Ezzo (Layers of Lebanon), Frida and the Tribe, Wissam Lahham, Dr Nahla

Harb, Adeeb Farhat, Yasmine Chahhal and Hassan Salha.

With the support of: UN Women and Friedrich Naumann Foundation

Sponsors: Café Younes and LiaAssurex