MENADRC report 2016

NARRATIVE & FINANCIAL REPORT 2016 REPORT ON DESIGN ECONOMY & DISRUPT!/DESIGN!/2016

NARRATIVE & FINANCIAL REPORT FOR DESIGN ECONOMY REPORT & DISRUPT!/DESIGN!/2016 The MENA Design Research Center would proposed strategic activities related to the development of the design industry in Lebanon, one of the main contributors to the country's creative economy. This report encompasses the results of the research process and creation of a report that analyzes the current situation, trends and future challenges, and another Disrupt! /Design! ideathon that encourages young designers to become entrepreneurs by providing them with toolkits and lectures that turn their innovative ideas into sustainable businesses. The culmination of the two projects were exhibited during Beirut Design Week 2016.

ABOUT MENA DRC The MENA Design Research Center is a Lebanese non-profit organization that focuses on the role of design in education, entrepreneurship, and social impact.

All members of the center are academics and industry professionals from various fields of design (graphic, digital, fashion, product, service, industrial, interior, and architecture). The center is also the initiator and organizer of Beirut Design Week, which brings together more than 25,000 visitors to experience local and international design through workshops, conferences, tours, exhibitions, films, and networking events.

The main purpose of proposed programs in the MENA DRC is to pinpoint challenges that the design industry and institutions face, and to develop strategies to improve the current situation. Design, in this sense is more than an end product, but a process of strategizing and problem finding/solving. Throughout the last three years, entrepreneurship and emphasis on the digital start-up culture has been one of the main focuses of the Lebanese government, and therefore an ecosystem of companies and organizations have been set up to develop the scene through a variety of events such as competitions, start-up weekends, conferences, and workshops. As a member of that ecosystem, MENA DRC has been highly involved in supplying mentorship in the Design and Design Thinking aspect of these initiatives. However, the majority of these workshops that aim to start new businesses have failed due to lack of research, very little time, and no follow-up. Taking all the above into consideration and the initiative of Hivos to disrupt this process, MENA DRC would like to develop a series of strategic activities that aims to create projects that are useful, feasible, and sustainable. By pooling together the creative human resources of the Beirut Design Week network, we will ensure that some of Lebanon’s most talented and dedicated young designers will be reached and asked to take part in the process.

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1. REPORT :THE DESIGN INDUSTRY IN THE LEBANESE CREATIVE ECONOMY (The following pages are the summary of the report that was developed.)

BACKGROUND Within the past decade, Lebanon - especially Beirut - has become a source of inspiration for creatives around the Middle East and North Africa. The design industry is flourishing, especially in the fields of fashion, furniture and graphic design. With a variety of annual events and a growing number of designers making international headlines, Beirut has created an identity as the design capital of the MENA region.

However, the value of design is still underestimated and the lack of statistical infrastructure is a major setback. There is no real data to be able to observe the evolution of this industry, evaluate its progress, define trends, understand challenges and develop strategies for growth and international success.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES Currently, there are a handful of reports that address the topic of creative industries in the MENA region, many of which have been commissioned and funded by the Delegation of the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These reports usually give an overview of all the relevant industries within the creative economy including music, film, media, design and publishing. Although these reports provide a good overview of the creative economy, they are too general for a better understanding of one particular industry. Moreover, they seem to cater to an international audience and are not of use for the local communities of creatives, who could benefit from the findings. Furthermore, these reports do not address the governments of the respective countries in such a way that they may contribute to policy making that concerns the allocation of state funds and support for the development of the creative industry.

MENA Design Research Center (MENA DRC) is developing and publishing the first report that specifically assesses the design industry in Lebanon as a whole, which includes graphic design, fashion design, product/furniture/interior design, digital design, social design and architecture. The report will analyse these different design fields in relation to factors that are constantly influencing the design industry, such as Lebanon’s socio-economic situation, education, policies, local and international markets, manufacturers and suppliers. The insight that is gained from this analysis will be supportive in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the design industry is facing.

The objectives of the report are not only to fill the gaps in the aforementioned preexisting studies of the regional creative economies but also to develop the design sector to its greatest potential. By using numbers and figures, MENA DRC is intending to give the design community a clear understanding of the situation and the structure of their own industry. Additionally, the report is aiming to raise awareness about the underestimated value of design in the economy and to motivate policy makers and investors to supply current and future generations of designers with supportive ecosystems.

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OUTLINE The report includes a variety of topics that are influencing the design industry: gender, socio-cultural factors, demographics, policies, education, wages, investments, local markets, global markets, collaborations, social development, environmental development, manufacturers, craftsmen, suppliers, innovation and technology. These topics are brought together in the following chapters: Defining design, Design and culture, Design and education, Design and policies, Design and economy, Design and market and Design and resources.

The report does not only explain the influence of the separate factors but highlights the relationships between them. Policies concerning trade are directly related to access to foreign markets.

Banks are increasingly investing in start-ups that focus on innovation. Universities are developing courses about technologies like 3D printing. This diversity makes the design industry strong. The report should help any reader, whether they are involved in the design industry or not, appreciate the value of design.

METHODOLOGY In order to adequately describe the design industry and its influencing factors, MENA DRC is conducting both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Quantitatively, the research aims to assess the industry in terms of demographics and its economic contribution to the Lebanese economy. Qualitatively, the study aims to describe the nature of the Lebanese design industry in the context of culture and value.

Phase 1, Literature Review A series of documents and academic publications regarding creative economies in both European and Middle Eastern contexts were reviewed. The literature review uncovered insights about the research methodologies used and the challenges the studies encountered.

Phase 2 - Survey and Data Collection An online questionnaire was sent out to over 100 designers including freelancers, company owners and company employees. The questionnaire aims to provide MENA DRC with substantial information of mostly quantitative information regarding designer’s backgrounds, education, income, expenses and resources. Simultaneously, available data was collected from different educational, social, economical and political institutions.

Phase 3 - Interviews A series of interviews with specialists with different backgrounds (designers, lawyers, investors, teacher, manufacturers) are conducted in order to obtain qualitative information. The interviews are based on the responses from the questionnaire and seek to gain deeper insight into the influence of the different factors that are described in the outline and the changes that the Lebanese design industry has gone through.

Phase 4 - Panel Discussions During the Beirut Design Week, a panel discussion will be organised to discuss the

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findings and challenges of the research. The discussions should lead to the first draft of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the design industry in Lebanon. This draft will be based on the SWOT methodology.

Phase 5 - Presentation and Workshop Based on the first draft of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and the results of the panel discussion, MENA DRC will organise a full day workshop for designers and people who are involved in the design industry. During this day, the insights from the previous phases will be presented per topic. The presentation will be followed by a workshop where multidisciplinary groups will discuss, formulate and present concepts for the development of the design industry.

Phase 6 - The Report The last phase of the research project is writing and publishing the report, which will be accessible for everyone. The different topics will serve as a guideline. The report will elaborate on the strengths and weaknesses of the design industry, followed by threats and opportunities for the industry to develop. Besides, the outcome of the panel discussion and the workshop will be analyzed and discussed. The report will conclude with recommendations for potential following research projects.

INITIAL FINDINGS AND INSIGHTS Since February, MENA DRC has been working full time on this research project. It will take time to answer all questions we have in order to define opportunities for the design industry, but the Beirut Design Week is an opportunity to share what has been found so far.

Defining Design ‘The design industry’ is a term that has no strict definition. People in Lebanon who are not directly involved in the design sector define it based on known or classical design disciplines such as fashion or interior design. This report is not only aimed at designers but also policy makers, investors and educational institutions. In order to avoid misinterpretation and confusion, it is important that the term ‘design industry’ is clearly defined.

To define the Lebanese design industry, existing definitions have been compared in relation to design in Lebanon. In this report, the following disciplines are considered to be a part of the design industry in Lebanon; architecture, digital and multimedia design, fashion design, graphic design, interior design and product design.

Design and Culture Insight in growth and decline of existing design fields and emerging disciplines is essential in understanding the development of the Lebanese design industry. This chapter will analyse this development in relation to Lebanon’s political and cultural context.

The lack of data about the amount of designers and design practices makes it difficult to show the development of the design industry in Lebanon. The only available data that can give an understanding is the amount of students that graduated from design programmes offered by different universities. The data that is collected so far clearly shows a fluctuation in relation to the socio-political context. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of design graduates increased by 300%. The academic year of 2005 – 2006 however shows the lowest number of design graduates. After 2006, the amount of graduates has been increasing steadily, especially in the field of architecture. This MENA DRC 5 Report 2016

increase clearly shows that there is a growing interest in design. The collection of data that is needed for analysing the development of design in relation to Lebanon’s culture and politics is still in progress.

Bernard Khoury, founder of DW5: “There is no Lebanese identity and his is what makes Lebanon interesting. There is no state that the citizen can identify with. There is no common history that we agree upon. The most basic fundamental definitions of the territory relative to the state and common history are absent. The minute you put your foot in Lebanon you are not on stable grounds. That is what makes it interesting; every project is an interrogation of the most fundamental basic questions.”

Design and Education Lebanon has seven universities that offer majors in design. Design and Education outlines the challenges designers face in Lebanese education and looks how universities are adapting their education to the changing design industry.

Universities are working hard on the establishment and development of programmes to prepare young designers for their professional career. 100 Lebanese designers were asked what challenges they faced in relation to their education. The following challenges clearly came forward: the lack of exposure and integration of young designers after graduation, the lack of courses about local design history and the local market, the lack of courses about the business aspects of design and the lack of discussion about contemporary design issues and developments.

Yasmine Taan, chair of the design department of LAU, about design education: “Today, we need to rethink the role of a designer. I don’t think that students who start a design programme really know what design is about. The general understanding of design is that it is just decoration or the ability to use software. It is up to universities to show that the role of designers is improving people’s lives.”

Hani Asfour, founder of Polypod says: “We have a good bunch of graphic designers, fashion designers, product designers, but what about the people in between? Design education should focus more on design thinking and design research. At the moment, businesses don’t understand designers and designers don’t understand how to do business.”

Design and Policies According to Najib Harabi (2009) governments can influence the climate in which companies in creative industries compete. They can do this through policies concerning the enforcement of intellectual property, antitrust and many other measures. That influence should be used to encourage investment and other determinants of economic performance. This chapter researches the existence and execution of these policies in Lebanon.

Lebanon does have policies for antitrust and intellectual property, which means that design is legally protected from illegal use or reproduction and that fair competition is secured. However, the antitrust law, which was implemented in 1929, is completely outdated and does not cover anything in relation to new technologies and industries.

This results in a lack of trust in the reliability of these policies.

Sarah Beydoun, the founder of Sarah’s Bag, has experienced people copying her work: “People do not respect designs of others. It is very normal for people to copy

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and present it as if it is their own design. Design that comes out of a design house can inspire, but it can’t be copied. It is important to raise awareness about this.”

In 2015, Lebanon scored 28 out of 100 on the corruption perception index published

by Transparency International. This indicates the extent to which nepotism and corruption are ingrained in the Lebanese governmental structure, which diminishes the rights, legal protection and economic opportunity of Lebanese citizens.

Design and Economy In 2015, the Dubai Design and Fashion Council published the report The MENA Outlook, in which is stated that Lebanon attributes nearly 5% of its economy and total employment to its creative industries. The design industry is just a part of the creative industry, which also covers film, art and literature. This chapter attempts to evaluate the financial situation in the design industry specifically; designers’ wages compared to wages in other industries, the financial support that the design industry receives, and possibilities for investments.

According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), design as an integrated solution to the cultural and economic sectors is not acknowledged by the Ministry of Culture, nor by any other governmental agency.

Data on the economic impact of the design industry in other countries are ignored.

It is unlikely that the government directs any funds to the development of the design industry. If it does, it is impossible to estimate the budget, as this information is not accessible.

Given that the Lebanese state does not invest in the development of cultural or economic industries, the Lebanese private sector is the primary driver of growth in the country.

Karim Chaya, designer and owner of ACID: “The only way of moving Lebanon forward is with help from private enterprises and individual involvement. These entities are giving hope to designers. It does not only count for design, but for everything; the Red Cross has nothing to do with the government and we all rely on it when there is a problem.

The only public financial support initiative is Circular 331, which was issued in August 2013 by Banque du Liban. Circular 331 is an investment of maximum 400 million dollars in Lebanese innovative startups. It is the first initiative that is trying to boost the knowledge economy and to provide job opportunities.

Cyrille Najjar, founder of White sur White: “The way circular 331 allows to make private investments with public money is great. This can create jobs and develop the Lebanese infrastructure. Companies have the chance to innovate and develop themselves; it allows innovators to thrive, it offers access to professional advisors and there is a direct return of investment.”

Due to the lack of data it is not possible yet to make an estimation of wages in the design industry. Available data is still being collected, and research on investments in design is ongoing.

Design and Market The chapter Design and market gives insight in the challenges designers face in

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working with Lebanese clients and in general problems of people who work in the design industry. So far, several challenges have clearly come forward.

The instable situation in Lebanon’s surrounding countries and the decreasing oil prices that affect the Gulf States have been detrimental for the Lebanese market. The designers who filled out the questionnaire unanimously agreed that price negotiation and the low appreciation of the work are the biggest challenges in working with Lebanese clients: “Lebanese clients don’t appreciate design. They are not aware of the time it takes to develop good design, therefore the budgets are low.”

Cyrille Najjar: “In Lebanon, designers don’t have a good understanding of the market; they don’t know the needs of Lebanese people. They don’t know how to conduct a proper market analysis and don’t ask for feedback from the market. This makes it very difficult to scale their business.”

Marc Baroud, head of the design department of the Académie Libanaise des BeauxArts: “A big weakness of the design industry is that designers are very individualistic.

They want to do everything alone, usually against each other. I call it the falafel syndrome; if someone opens a falafel shop and the business is going well, someone else will open another falafel shop next door instead of opening a chewing gum shop.

There is no organisation of competition.”

It is clear that there are many challenges for designers in Lebanon. In order to sustain themselves, designers need to do a lot of effort. They need to keep changing and make sure they know exactly what the client needs. They also have to work on a good relationship with the client. In some cases, designers should be open for collaboration to get new clients.

Karim Chaya: “We realized that we needed to understand what the client wants.

Before we start the design process, we have to get to know the clients, their needs and desires. The reason why we grew is because we worked in a system where the service came first.”

John Chehaibar, manager of the Beirut Creative Cluster: “In the tech sector there is a lot of support. It is a new field, so at the start, many people encountered the same problems. It is much easier to solve these problems by talking about it and working together. This does not exist in the creative sector in Lebanon. With the Beirut Creative Cluster, I want to switch this culture of openness to the creative sector.”

Expanding Abroad Sarah Beydoun: “You need to have a stable company in order to expand abroad.

The biggest challenge in going abroad was adapting to a new market. You always need to do very good research and find a balance between the market and the local production.”

Milia Maroun, founder of fashion label Milia M: “Starting a business in Lebanon is about a quarter of the costs of starting a business abroad, which is a big advantage.

Besides, Lebanon is a great platform for building up a network.”

The majority of the questioned designers indicate that they focus on foreign markets, mainly in the Gulf States, because the Lebanese market is too small to survive. If they could set up a branch outside Lebanon, it would be in Dubai or London. Both places have a solid infrastructure, a growing market and a general appreciation of design.

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Design and Resources New ways of manufacturing, like laser cutting and 3D printing, are being used more and more in Lebanon. Guillaume Crédoz, founder of Rapid Manufactory, was one of the first people in Lebanon who started working with 3D printers: “The 3D printing industry is able to make processes much more efficient. With 3D printing you can easily make complex shapes for a good price and play with materials. A lot of designers already use 3D printing, but most people don’t really understand the potential of the tools.”

Where new technologies are being applied more and more, the amount of artisans is quickly decreasing.

Sarah Beydoun: “What makes Lebanon special is the variety of craftsmanship.

Unfortunately, the amount of craftsmanship is shrinking. It is good that they can create nice things, but they are not designing for a market. I think that innovating the crafts and using the crafts to create something for the contemporary market is very important for the Lebanese identity. It is about creating new things with the old crafts.

We should provide the crafts with technology.”

Ziad Abichaker, founder of the Green Glass Recycle Initiative Lebanon (GGRIL), recognises this: “Of course, craftsmanship and technology can compliment each other. We want to bring in knowledgeable artisans from abroad to focus on the technology of ovens in glassblowing, so that the local glass blowers don’t have to rebuild their ovens over and over again.

Craftsmen see that if they don’t change, they will perish. We saw that there is a big gap between artisans and the market. With GGRIL, we had to redesign all products so it would fit to the market. We need to create a market for them. What they need to create for themselves is a more affordable way of production.”

This shows that technology and craft cannot only exist together in one market, they are able to compliment each other. But without a clear understanding of the market this complementation seems impossible.

KEY CHALLENGES In the process of finding answers to the research questions, various challenges have been encountered that were a setback in the collection of information and the understanding of the design industry. MENA DRC would like to address these challenges to inform researchers in case of future projects and to emphasize on the importance of the collection and organisation of data.

The absence of data There is an enormous lack of data concerning the design industry. MENA DRC assumes that this lack correlates with the underestimated value of design. In countries where the economic value of design is acknowledged, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the development of the industry is documented in detail. An overview of the amount designers and design related companies, market shares, annual turnover and average wages is published every year. In Lebanon however, this data is not available. In order to develop a solid development strategy, this data is very much needed.

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that share the turnover and the wages of employees. Most banks are not completely transparent about loans and investments, especially in the field of design. The government is keeping their expenses completely secret. Transparency is important for building trust and responsibility; two elements that are essential for the development of an economy.

The lack of organisation There are many people in the Lebanese design industry who are not organised. In general, there is a lack of a structured business plan, a model for price determination and financial reports. Organising a business would help a lot in defining opportunities to grow.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report would never have been possible without the honesty of all 100 designers who filled out the questionnaire. MENA Design Research Center would like to thank everyone who has supported this research project. We would like to thank the following people in particular, who took their time to give insight in the design industry in Lebanon: Claudine Abdelmassih (Arab Center for Architecture) Ziad Abichaker (GGRIL, Cedar Environmental) Hani Asfour (Polypod) Soha Atallah (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) Marc Baroud (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts) Sarah Beydoun (Sarah’s Bag) Elias Bitar (Kallas Law Firm) Karim Chaya (ACID) John Chehaibar (Beirut Creative Cluster) Guillaume Crédoz (Rapid Manufactory) Sarah Hermez (Creative Space Beirut) Bernard Khoury (DW5) Simone Kosremelli Milia Maroun (Milia M) Cyrille Najjar (White sur White) Denise Sumpf and Vladimir Isaila (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) Yasmine Taan (Lebanese American University) Rana Yazigi (Platform 39)

DISSEMINATION & DEVELOPMENT The report was completed with a designed layout in the form of a printed publication which was distributed over 3000 copies during Beirut Design Week 2016. The report has been sent out to key decision makers and influencers in the country. These people include representatives from the Ministry of Economics & Trade, the Central Bank of Lebanon, and established design professionals, and key influencers /business owners in Lebanon from various sectors. The center keeps on distributing the publication and will continue to do so in important meetings with high ranking stakeholders.

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PANEL DISCUSSION A panel discussion of 2 sessions was developed in the Beirut Design Week 2016 Conference: Sustainability Talks. The sessions and speakers were as follows: Objective The panel discussion is organised to address problems that have come forward during MENA DRC’s research project. The event is meant to give insight in these problems and provide the audience with solutions and inspiration, based on the experience of the panelists.

Moderator and panelists The moderator of the event is Judith Leijdekkers from the Netherlands. She has been working on the research project since February.

The panelists for the topic surviving the Lebanese market: • Hani Asfour - architect and cofounder of multidisciplinary design studio Polypod • Sarah Hermez - fashion designer and founder of the free fashion school Creative Space Beirut • Cyril Zammit - fair director of Design Days Dubai The panelists for the topic collaborating with competition: • John Chehaibar - cluster manager of Beirut Creative Cluster • Guillaume Crédoz - architect and founder of the design collective Beirut Makers • Doreen Toutikian - interdisciplinary designer and cofounder/director of the Beirut Design Week The Panel discussions were very engaging, and an audience of 120 were listening to the conversations and asking important questions. Many of the insights were also agreed upon by the speakers and the audience. It was clear that this research must continue because many designers in the Lebanese creative community were unaawre of important facts and asked questions that demanded further research.

PUBLISHING ARTICLE IN MENA BUSINESS MAGAZINE The report was rewritten in the form of an article that was published in a renown business magazine in the MENA region: Communicate Magazine

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2. DISRUPT!/ DESIGN!/ 2 (SUSTAINABLE DESIGN) The MENA Design Research Center in collaboration with Mideast Creatives and Dutch Culture would like to propose a Disrupt! /Design! program, which encompasses a 3-day ideathon for the development of design projects with a sustainable approach that leverages the platform of Beirut Design Week for maximum exposure and ensures the continuity and sustainability of the winning proposals of the ideathon.

THE PARTNERS The main partners of this DISRUPT! / DESIGN! are Mideast Creatives and Dutch Culture.

MIDEAST CREATIVES Mideast Creatives focuses on creative entrepreneurs who work within the creative industries. We consider creative entrepreneurs as active and socially engaged citizens with an entrepreneurial attitude, mostly younger than 35, who are interested in developing their own innovative venture within the creative industries.

The programme focuses on providing support to collaborative workspaces, setting up training programmes for entrepreneurs in the aligned industries and finally improving their access to finance.

The Mideast Creatives programme received its first funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and will operate for a minimum of 3 years with a focus on Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Libya.

Since 2014 Mideast Creatives has organized several Disrupt!/ ideathons in the Middle East and North Africa.

DUTCH CULTURE DutchCulture is the strategic advice agency for international cultural cooperation, creating activities worldwide.

DutchCulture works with - and for - the cultural sector, the government and the diplomatic network both in the Netherlands and abroad. DutchCulture is commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission.

In the context of the Disrupt!/ Design!/ ideathon they have been a great support in providing mentorship and talent from the Netherlands.

THE SPACE The central Beirut Design Week building, KED—which means “river” in Armenian—is a newly refurshibed metallurgical factory, reporpused as the central space of the MENA DRC 12 Report 2016

main program of events during BDW. The building has a long and complicated history that dates back to the early 1900s. An entire floor of 600m2 including a conference room, 2 workshop rooms and a terrace were the home of Disrupt!/Design!/ 2016.

THE MENTORS & TRAINERS Mentors will be at the core of the ideathon providing expertise that every project needs in order to achieve success, taking into consideration the three lenses of Design Thinking: feasibility, sustainability and viability.

MENTORS' BIOGRAPHIES In order of their intervention ERIC KLARENBEEK Eric Klarenbeek graduated in 2003 at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Since then he has designed for clients such as Droog Design, Marcel Wanders's Moooi, Lidewij Edelkoort, Makkink Bey, Eneco and the Ministry of the Netherlands. He is founder of the ArTechLab at the AKI ArtEZ art academy (www.artechlab.nl). His projects have been exhibited and published extensively. His windlight is presented at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and The Floating Light Project was awarded for innovative design at The Design Academy Eindhoven.

'My work is characterized by interaction and innovation. My products can be in motion, react on our emotions or respond on developments in our society. I search for new meaning and principles in objects, for unexplored connections between materials, production methods, makers and users. Every project is a research, resulting in interior and public space appliances and designs.' Eric Klarenbeek.

DOREEN TOUTIKIAN Doreen Toutikian is an interdisciplinary designer and a social entrepreneur. She holds a Master degree from Koeln International School of Design in European Design Studies and a bachelor in Communication Design from Notre Dame University. Her professional experience involves a range of projects that deal with service design, branding, and user experience. In 2008/9 she spent a year in the product & service design department of the Glasgow school of Art working on projects with Skills Development Scotland, Careers Scotland, and HooverCandy. In 2010, after winning the Koelner Design preis for her book ‘Design Education in the Middle East’, she returned to Beirut to pursue her career in building a collective design community and enhancing the understanding of design and research in the region. She became head of Research & Development for Cleartag & TAGBrands, while co-founding and managing the MENA Design Research Center. She believes that the key to all successful design is collaboration. This belief has inspired her to initiate various projects such as: ‘Public Design Intervention: Beirut’, 'Desmeem: Rethinking Design through Cross-Cultural Collaboration' and 'Beirut Design Week'. She is currently Director of the MENA DRC, and of Beirut Design Week, educator on design research methods, board member of the International Gender Design Network, fellow in the Salzburg Global Seminar and a regular guest speaker at various conferences around the world. You can learn more about her work at menadrc.org, desmeem.org, and beirutdesignweek.org DIALA LTEIF Diala is an information and process designer with experience in visualization, workshop facilitation, and field research. Her interests orbit around design-led research, participatory methods, systems thinking and storytelling, all tools she uses to address pressing social issues and complex problems. She has an MFA in MENA DRC 13 Report 2016

transdisciplinary Design from Parsons the New School for Design and is a Fulbright scholar. She is currently deputy director of the design department at A.L.B.A (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts) and a board member of the MENA Design Research Center -organizers of the Beirut Design Week. She is also a design trainer/ facilitator who introduces design thinking methodologies through interactive handson workshops. In the past few years, she has helped organize several design events such as the Beirut Service Jam (Lebanese edition of the Global Service Jam), Disrupt!/ Design!/ an initiative in partnership with Mideast Creatives, and Design Toolbox with GAIA heritage. In her free time,she is a freelance information architect at Visualizing Palestine, a writer at the Outpost magazine and an avid podcast listener.

MARC METNI Marc joined and cofounded the new company behind WASTE in 2013, bringing together designers and artisan tailors in a collaborative environment, where they create and manufacture bags, accessories and furniture out of advertising banners.

Marc’s background in environmental consulting & management, plus his passion for sustainable growth, constantly shape his decisions in building the new brand business.

WALEED JAD Co-founder of WASTE brand, which is specialized in manufacturing urban bags, accessories and furniture from reused advertising banners and currently holding the position of product manager at Waste.

Waleed has over 17 years of consulting experience in print production, packaging, and graphic design.

VROUYR JOUBANIAN Vrouyr is a multi-disciplinary designer and consultant with experience in products, services, and systems. He holds two Master degrees: one in Design for Social Impact from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and another in Product Design from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in Lebanon. In his work, he aims to build empathy and trust to ensure sustainable design strategies by using co-creative methods with users and stakeholders. He believes this approach to finding solutions to complex social problems and services can create impact on a social and systems level. His particular expertise is in impact measurement tools and assessment.

He is currently a faculty member in two universities in Lebanon: ALBA’s Design department, where he co-leads the first year graduate design studio in the Global Design Program, and Lebanese American University where he introduces Design Thinking into the Bachelor Graphic Design Program. You can learn more about his work at vrouyrjoubanian.com ROY LETTERLE Roy Letterlé studied structural engineering at PTH Eindhoven. He is the co-founder of Studio Mieke Meijer in Eindhoven (NL) where he works on self-initiated and commissioned projects. Letterlé lectures and give workshops at various educational and cultural Institutions. Currently he teaches at Design Academy Eindhoven and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. Next to this he is a co-founders of NewspaperWood BV. The works of Studio Mieke Meijer start from constructions and architectonic shapes to form alternate spatial structures where the interplay between space and its surroundings are central. The studio works within the liminal field between architecture and product design. This enables Studio Mieke Meijer to move freely, regardless of architectural restrictions and outside the boundaries of the traditional product.

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NICOLE HAMMOUCHE Previously an investment banker - both in Paris and Beirut - Nicole, currently advises and mentors start-ups and established entrepreneurs in their expansion projects as well as NGOs and institutions undertaking new ventures. She has a strong interest in the creative economy including design, innovation and tech, in media as well as in social entrepreneurship, art and culture and lifestyle. Her main interventions include: strategy and business planning, business development, raising financing; mentoring; communication and content creation/copywriting. She is very much connected to the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem: incubators, accelerators, investors, international donors and is part of the Blessing Foundation that looks to empower women entrepreneurs.

Both in her advisory and journalistic activities, Nicole is driven by shifting attention onto voices that matter and by the contribution to inspirational endeavors whilst capitalizing on her multi-cultural background and international experience. She has a column as a Blogger in l’Agenda Culturel and has been lately selected to be part of Mondoblog, the international blogging platform of RFI (Radio France International).

She collaborated to several publications: Orient le Jour, Orient Litteraire, Commerce du Levant, Papers of Dialogue, etc and has a Blog, Pensees de Beyrouth.

ANTOINE KARAM Antoine Karam is INTAJ’s Program Manager at Mercy Corps.

He has more than 12 years of experience in management consulting, with a focus on Project management, Change Management, Professional Development and Communication.

Before managing INTAJ, Antoine worked for large consulting firms in France like Ernst & Young, CGI Business Consulting & Accenture Consulting then founded Proquale Management Consulting.

Some of his remarkable career achievements are: -Leading the Change Management and Communication work-stream of a worldwide project deployment with the involvement of more than 70 countries.

-Establishing project management standard methodologies for a multinational.

-Animating workshops in 3 languages in more than 20 countries.

-Managing a team of consultants in France and in Lebanon.

On top of all that Antoine is guest speaker at Potential Dubaï. His main lectures’ topics are project management and change management.

Antoine is also a lecturer at Saint Joseph University (USJ) since 2014 where he teaches an enterprise governance, project management and team management course.

He is a certified PMP, ITIL, Cobit and CMMi. As well as attending several trainings in Communication, Soft Skills, Project Management, and many more.

ASIL SIDAHMED Asil Sidahmed is a programme design consultant for NGOs and Embassies in the MENA region. She specialises in researching and designing projects that address conflict and justice related issues for an array of clients including the British Embassy, the EU, the Danish Refugee Council and local organisations. Her most recent assignments have included conducting a needs assessment of refugees and migrants along the migrant trail in the Balkans and Greece and designing a security sector reform programme for the Government of Yemen’s Ministry of Interior.

Asil was a Disrupt! Design! Award recipient in 2015 which gave birth to the project “AlOnsor”. She has spent the year since as a resident at the MENA design research centre developing AlOnsor, which uses design tools to address racial inequities in Lebanon and build intercultural communities in Beirut.

Asil is British-Sudanese and bilingual in Arabic and English. She holds an Mphil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, Wolfson College and a BA MENA DRC 15 Report 2016

in Anthropology of Religion from Lancaster University. In 2015, she was one of the founding members of the Sana’a Centre for Strategic Studies, a Yemeni think tank concerned with providing empirically driven development, security and policy advice on Yemen. Her publications have appeared in Muftah, Yemen Today, the Sana’a Center, Audio Kultur, and the Arab Centre for Social Sciences.

THE BRIEF Submissions had to be creative ideas that incorporate sustainability in its core values, and are in need of some support in developmentt into a business. Participants applied as a team of 2 to 5 people.

ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY THEME Sustainability means “development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Although primarily focused on ecology and the environment, it also involves social, cultural and economic aspects of life. If the submitted idea was in line with this form of thinking, then the team was eligible to be part of the ideathon. It could be a product, a service, a movement or an awareness campaign that encourages more responsible behaviour for citizens in Lebanon and the MENA region. This can include recycling and upcycling projects, but also services that maintain, support and educate.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS Participation was open to all people currently residing in Lebanon of any age or background. Participants may be primarily designers, but also social workers, scientists, researchers, creatives, makers, techies, or creative people who are passionate about sustainability.

TEAM 1: Amer el Debek and Aisha Habli Having noticed the difficulty that young businesses face during the setting up phase, this team aims to automate and streamline the business incorporation method all in a ‘one pit-stop’ website, where a startup can get a fixed cost, set-up their business in no time - all happening online for the first time in Lebanon! This will tackle many of the current difficulties in setting-up a business in lebanon such as understanding the legal framework. Aisha and Amer will combine their skills in the entrepreneurial and crowdfunding realms to bring this platform to reality.

TEAM 2: Maria EL Hajj and Aya Hoteit CIVVIES is an urban fashion brand that works on harvesting plastic waste before it hits landfills and gives it a second life in the form of uniquely designed graphic apparel. The brand is more than just about the items it creates as it provides a full service based on an application that allows for personalization and customization of a purchase and a stronger reach into the market. Fitted into a sustainable cycle, the brand hopes to also raise awareness about plastic waste and its collection.

This female trio will combine their skills in engineering, marketing and project management to bring CIVVIES to fruition.

TEAM 3: Mariebelle Aouad and Reine-Marie Zeghondi Ex-Décor tackles sustainability with a new angle by addressing the social tradition of household decoration for both traditions and/or religious events. The team has tallied MENA DRC 16 Report 2016

around 10 different yearly events that require their own set of decorations, objects essentially stocked away 10-11 months per years, just to be displayed once. Ex-Décor is an opportunity to sell your old decorations in exchange for somebody else's; thus avoiding any creation of waste.

This dream team of 2 business savvys have thought out all the details of their operation deeming it sustainable both financially and ecologically!

TEAM 4: Iskandar Anis Abdallah, Adib Ghaith, Ghaleb Hawila and Farah Mazyad Ghain design is an initiative that aims to revitalize the craft and tradition of arabic calligraphy by integrating it to the modern household in the form of furniture. Using a mix of Origami and Arabic Calligraphy the team produces unique lighting fixtures.

Each item is carefully crafted and designed to highlight both function and aesthetics.

This team combines skills in the art of calligraphy, design and social media and together they hope to repurpose an old tradition and reinvigorate it among the youth.

TEAM 5: Ahmad Khouja and Mustafa Nachar With the current waste crisis, Lebanon’s dependency on plastic bottles and cans is all the more exacerbated. Khouja and Nachar are developing a mobile compactor that runs without electricity and is able to treat both plastic bottles and cans of various sizes. This device will tackle several problems related to recyclable waste such as the lack of a regular pick-up service and the difficulty of storing plastic bottles. This will allow users on multiple scales to increase their ability to capture and redirect plastic and aluminum waste out of the normal garbage stream and into recycling centers.

Ahmad has a background in environmental design and architecture that will be complemented by Mustafa’s design and crafting abilities.

TEAM 6: Renée Abi Saad and Rita Andrew Donations and charity are an important aspect of today’s economy. Renée and Rita would like to streamline this process to provide more resources to people in need and facilitate the process for those willing to share. They will be creating an application where users can volunteer or donate blood, clothes, money, food, etc. while organizations can build profiles and manage the donations through a merchant account. The app also delivers push notifications to alert users based on their preferences.

This duo hopes to truly make a difference in their community by bringing together their passion and knowledge of economy, project management and web development.

TEAM 7: Berna Daou, Farah Jaroudi and Radwa Rostom Based on the four dimensions of the Eco way of living, the trio Daou Jaroudi and Rostom imagined a news four dimensional approach to sustainable housing. Their goal is to co-design with communities and a team of experts, using local resources and recycled materials, a house that takes care of its residents.

Their approach takes into account the context and the setting, the ecological dimensions of the household needs (such as water, energy,etc.) as well as an economical and a social dimension.

All teammates have quit their jobs earlier this year and have decided to dedicate themselves to making this project a reality in Lebanon. They are currently in the data collection phase as they look for ideal sites to implement the pilot project.

TEAM 8: Alfred Bridi and Joseph Sheridan Joseph and Alfred are tackling culturally sustainable travel with a web platform that can streamline, synthesize, and communicate the soul of cities in the MENA region through the stories of its people. The BETA version will have a specific focus on Lebanon in the hopes of driving more tourism to the country. The platform is a MENA DRC 17 Report 2016

digital and holistic way to experience a city, for travelers and locals alike, through video-based storytelling. An inspired look at a city is provided through curated city guides and editorialized, cinematic-quality content focused on the city, its spaces, and people. Joseph has experience in building start-ups as well as understanding of middle-eastern real estate; knowledge that will be complemented by Alfred’ experience art directing.

TEAM 9: Haya Farah and Nicolas Maalouf Tackling social sustainability, the team Farah and Maalouf hope to empower senior school students by building an interactive orientation platform. Based on a narrative format that visualizes the path of several people, the team hopes to create a more approachable format to the data, one that will inspire youth into finding a school major or a career. The website will also be complemented by a youtube channel that prepares them to the job market through passing over the power of storytelling when sharing stories, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses when job hunting or at interviews.

This bold “career makeover” will be made available in Arabic and English using Haya’s experience in entrepreneurship and Nicola’s design skills.

TEAM 10: Nicole Fortin and Maya Terro SOUPer Meals on Wheels SMW is a community-based, volunteer-driven selfsustainable food truck that aims to provide food to those in need. The proposed concept functions on two separate shifts, during day time hot meals are delivered to different communities and at night the truck transform into a traditional street-food service, selling pizza to paying customers!

SMW’s mission addresses the issue of food poverty with an emphasis on communities with a high risk of becoming food insecure. In doing so it also highlights the environmental problem of food waste by tackling and raising awareness on the food rescue.

As one of the founders of Food Blesses Maya hopes to bring her experience with food and community work into this initiative while Nicole will bring her environmental policy know-how!

TEAM 11: Jesse Bowley, Jeanne Fouchet and Adrian Perez Harvest is an initiative to develop a DIY kit for indoor and simple mushroom growing focusing on distribution in the MENA Region. This project hopes to tackle the disengaged relationship of the modern urban dweller with the food he consumes.

Mushrooms are a high yield crop with a fast growth rate, requiring minimum technology and expertise to cultivate. In addition to its high nutritional value, a great advantage of mushrooms is that they grow primarily on waste material ranging from agricultural waste to cardboard. The main target of this project is educational urban agencies to disseminate the message of urban/indoor gardening to the youth.

Adrian, Jeanne and Jesse will be working together bridging between art, design, cuisine and sustainability.

THE IDEATHON PROGRAM The program of the ideathon is divided into a series of sessions throughout the three consecutive days. The sessions are designed in such a way where the mentor introduces the subject to the teams, and then the teams are given tasks to implement before the next session starts.

The program is designed to help the teams complete their Disrupt!/Design!/ checklist by the end of the ideathon.

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DISRUPT!/DESIGN!/ CHECKLIST ◌ Problem / problem addressed ◌ Solution / value proposition ◌ Identity / name and core values ◌ Marketing strategy / target audience, cost and price ◌ Business model / revenue streams and lifetime value for customer ◌ Team / team members and roles of each ◌ Timeline / milestones, short term and long term plan ◌ Financing / based on your plan DISRUPT!/DESIGN!/ PROGRAM The ideathon will be happening over three days on the 26th, 27th and 28th of May, 2016 and as part of the Beirut Design Week program.

DAY 1 10:00-10:30 Welcome + Set-up with your teams ..............................................................................................................................................

10:30-11:15 SESSION 1 / Eric Klarenbeek

Intro to the ideathon: The Sustainable Design Process ..............................................................................................................................................

11:15-12:00 Meet the other disrupters: Introduce your project to others ..............................................................................................................................................

12:00-13:00 Stakeholder mapping ..............................................................................................................................................

13:00-14:00 LUNCH BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

14:00-14:45 SESSION 2 / Marc Metni and Waleed Jad

Waste: a succesful sustainable business ..............................................................................................................................................

14:45-15:30 Detail value proposition, and connect it to stakeholder map ..............................................................................................................................................

15:30-15:45 COFFEE BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

15:45-17:00 Internal review ..............................................................................................................................................

17:00-17:45 SESSION 3 / Roy Letterle

Newspaper wood: the road to success DAY 2 10:00-10:30 Welcome + recapitulation ..............................................................................................................................................

10:30-11:15 SESSION 4 / Nicole Hammouche

Setting up a succesful business model ..............................................................................................................................................

11:15-13:00 Create/improve BMG ..............................................................................................................................................

13:00-14:00 LUNCH BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

14:00-14:45 SESSION 5 / Antoine Karam

Making things concrete : financing options ..............................................................................................................................................

14:45-15:30 Determine marketing strategy ..............................................................................................................................................

15:30-15:45 COFFEE BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

15:45-17:00 Internal review

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DAY 3 10:00-10:30 Welcome + team objectives ..............................................................................................................................................

10:30-11:15 SESSION 6 / Asil Sidahmed

Refine your pitch ..............................................................................................................................................

11:15-13:00 Storyboarding ..............................................................................................................................................

13:00-14:00 LUNCH BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

14:00-15:30 Practice your pitch ..............................................................................................................................................

15:30-15:45 COFFEE BREAK ..............................................................................................................................................

15:45-17:15 Finalize presentations ..............................................................................................................................................

17:15-17:30 CLEAN UP ..............................................................................................................................................

17:30-19:30 FINAL JURY

FINAL PRESENTATION JURY At the end of the 3-day ideathon, the teams pitched their project concepts using storyboards and prototypes to the panel of jury members, who selected 2 winning projects and reward them with prizes.

In alphabetical order, the jury members are: ZIAD ABI CHAKER Ziad -also knows as the Master Garbage Man- is a multi-disciplinary engineer who specializes in building Municipal Recycling Facilities on the communal level going against the trend of a central Mega recycling Plant. While doing research at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA his team developed a technology to accelerate the composting cycle of organic waste in an odorless manner to produce high grade fertilizer. After returning to Lebanon in 1996, Ziad started Cedar Environmental, an environmental & industrial engineering organization that aims to build recycling plants to produce organically certified fertilizers and leave no waste material to be disposed of, but instead recycled into a new form of product to be used again and again. Ziad and his engineering team, after four years of research, also developed a new technology which transforms plastic bags into solid plastic panels, dubbed ECOBOARD, used in the outdoors to replace wooden and steel panels. They have won the 2013 International Energy Globe Award for this revolutionary process.

Ziad is the recipient of many prestigious awards such as the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) design award in 1993, the Ford Motor Company Environmental & Conservation award for the Middle East in 2011 and the World CSR Congress the Green Future Leadership Award in 2014.

In addition to all the awards, he was named Arab World Social Innovator by Synergos institute in New York City, USA and he came in fourth on the annual GOOD 100 list of global citizens and creative changemakers by GOOD Magazine, a US based publication.

NATHALIE FALLAHA Nathalie Fallaha is the founder and catalyst behind vit-e design studio (www.vit-e. com) and alephya (www.alephya.com). She holds a BGD in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut and an MACD from Central Saint Martins.

From 2000-2009, she taught Graphic Design and Typography at the Lebanese American University, while keeping the buzz going at vit-e design studio. She was awarded the Lebanese Design Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008 by the British Council.

She is a member of the advisory board of the Khatt Foundation (www.khtt.net), and MENA DRC 20 Report 2016

the Icograda Education Network, as well as the LLWB (Lebanese League for Women In Business). She is a founding member of the Beirut Creative Cluster. Her work has been published in several international books, magazines, and publications.

Passionate about bilingual typography (Arabic - Latin), most of her personal work is driven by the urge to explore the expressive power of the letterforms on different substrates. Founded in 2000, vit-e is a multi-disciplinary design studio working in many facets of branding, visual identity, art direction, packaging, print and interactive design. In 2011, she co-founded alephya, a design enterprise focusing on proposing an aesthetic concept onto different substrates.

She attends various design and typography conferences worldwide, and is a frequent guest speaker in several universities and design seminars across the world.

DIMA BOULAD Dima Boulad is a graphic and motion designer based in Beirut. After finishing her studies in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut, she moved to Paris to continue a Masters degree in Multimedia where she specialised in Motion Graphics.

She founded her illustration brand in 2010: “Dessine-moi un oeil” based on automatic drawing. In June 2011, she co- founded Beirut Green Project, a collective aiming to have more usable and well-maintained public green spaces in Beirut. Beirut Green Project is a grassroots movement that was born from a public intervention done in 2010 and from the need to raise awareness on the importance of having public green spaces in Beirut. Dima is also one of the three winner of the first edition of Disrupt!/ Design!/.

Eric Klarenbeek, also on the mentors list will be the fourth jury member.

WINNERS A total of 26 participants (11 teams) were selected by a jury that includes four members from MENA DRC and one member from MEC to be part of the ideathon program. The sustainable housing team was one of two winners: 1. Berna Daou, Farah Jaroudi and Radwa Rostom: Sustainable Housing Based on the four dimensions of the Eco way of living, the trio Daou Jaroudi and Rostom imagined a news four dimensional approach to sustainable housing. Their goal is to co-design with communitiesod refugees in Lebanon and a team of experts, using local resources and recycled materials, a house that takes care of its residents.

Their approach takes into account the context and the setting, the ecological dimensions of the household needs (such as water, energy,etc.) as well as an economical and a social dimension.

All teammates have quit their jobs earlier this year and have decided to dedicate themselves to making this project a reality in Lebanon. They are currently in the data collection phase as they look for ideal sites to implement the pilot project.

Concerning the timeline, the pilot project will be divided into three main phases, with several milestones. For the first phase, the research phase, we will conduct several site visits, online and offline research, to collect data related to the location, climate and social aspects. We will also perform several soil tests within our area of intervention to be able to analyze the soil and choose the adequate building technique.

This phase is expected to last for two months. Afterwards, we will start with the second phase, which will mainly focus on including other community members within our team. We will be recruiting participants from engineering schools, volunteers and different community members. We will conduct training and workshops addressing MENA DRC 21 Report 2016

several topics such as: sustainability in design, earth construction and building with waste. During the workshops, the participants along with the refugees, will come up with different design solutions that will be assessed and then settle on the final design. This phase is expected to last for five months. As for the third phase, it will include the implementation activities, starting from the site preparation, foundation works, construction of walls, roofing and flooring. It will be a hands-on experience for the students and participants and it will be a bonding activity for all the different community members. This phase is expected to last for two months.

Our short-term plan is implementing the pilot project and evaluating it. Our long-term plan is to replicate this module and build a strong community.

2: Ahmad Khouja and Mustafa Nachar: Kabseh Kabsten Kabse Kabsten is a recycling initiative focusing on simplifying the recycling chain of disposable plastic and aluminum drinking containers.

"Kabse, Kabsten," the product, is a man­-powered compaction machine that is efficient, affordable, and accessible. First, it saves storage space because it reduces the size of disposable trash streams by 2/3s, so you could effectively store 3 times more waste in the same space. Second, it's easy to use: it involves a simple manual process that is kinda fun and doesn’t need training or electricity. All you have to do is press down with your foot to compact the waste, then press a lever to drop it in the right bin. 1­press, 2­press, hence the name "kabse kabsten." Third, it is accessible and convenient: The unit is built to serve collective users in a single building; this works for both apartments and offices. And the bonus is that it begins the processing of the materials in preparation for collection, so it saves time and labor costs for recycling plants.

The unit is made predominantly from OSB board which is a recycled material.

Eventually, it would sell for around $200 - that's less than 1/10th of the price of comparable hydraulic presses available on the market at 4000$ each, and which are made of expensive non­-recyclable materials. And because it’s man-powered, it wouldn't cost anything in terms of electricity.

The unit is made to support and increase the capacity of the recycling stream by being placed at 3 points along the chain: 1. End User (residential or commercial buildings) 2. Neighborhood Collection Hubs (village or neighborhood) 3. Mobile Version (collection vehicles) The collection part of the initiative will be coordinated with municipalities and recycling plants, where incentives will be arranged for both collectors and end users of kabse kabsten. End users, residents of buildings or neighborhoods participating in the program will be eligible for municipal tax breaks. The municipalities themselves will benefit from financial or service-­based kickbacks from the recycling plants processing the increased volumes, so it’s a win-win-win scenario.

Why us and why now? Well, DAMJ is a design and fabrication company with experience in civic activism, and urban interventions. Over the course of 3 years we’ve developed a network of partners ready to work with us. These include environmental advocacy NGOs with experience working with local governance, civic groups who have social outreach and interest in holding municipalities accountable, and sister recycling initiatives dealing with glass, paper and organic waste composting.

By working with these various partner organizations we can build a pilot program that addresses the needs of municipalities that are still struggling to this day with MENA DRC 22 Report 2016

the on-going trash crisis. Now is the time to work with local governance and provide solutions. Kabse Kabsten is a focused solution with potential to grow into a full waste-stream collection and processing initiative. And all from the mindset that it’s as simple as “Kabseh, Kabsten”.

Prototyping: Based on our initial design, we will begin proto-typing in order to solve several key issues (gears, sorting mechanism, enclosure). Funding for this stage has been secured by Disrupt.

Potential Partners: S.O.I.L.S. Lebanon, Greenline, Nahnoo, Beirut Recycle: Advocacy plan Municipalities: Incentive system, bins, hubs Recycling Plants: Services, pickup logistics Media Outreach: Branding, campaign Winning the 3000$ is a great motivation to pursue our dream, and make a change and actually make this project blooming.

As a preliminary step, the award will allow us to focus on the first phase, the research and data collection phase. We will be using the award to do some soil tests on site, analyze the soil and accordingly choose the most suitable building technique. It will allow us to do extensive research on different building techniques and enhance our knowledge. We are also considering using some amount for the site preparation, excavation works and foundation works.

FOLLOW-UP & EVALUATION All participants were asked to fill out a survey on the last day of the ideathon.

The results were evaluated and shared with MEC in order to ensure that all the participants were given the right tools to develop their concepts.

In addition, the two teams that were awarded the financial prizes are required to present a report on their progress every six months, in addition to a financial summary.

FINANCIAL REPORT In the Report on the design economy, all costs remained the same apart from exchanging fees of one consultant of social sciences to rewriting and editing the report in the form of an article and publishing it in a business magazine for more outreach. Disrupt!/Design!/ costs remained the same as per the proposal. For details, please refer t the yable on the next page.

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ITEM

TOTAL IN EUROS

REPORT Organizational Management Fees for coordinating between consultants, designers and interns, overseeing project & delivering report -for 6 months at 1000 euros/ month from Dec to Aug

6000

Consultant 1: Economics

3000

Writing & Editing

2000

Photography + Layout Design + Infographics

3500

Transport & Phone bills

1500

Publishing in business magazine

1500

Conference costs for Dissemination

3000

Printing booklets (100+pages) + leaflets

3000

Social media marketing & distribution

1500

SUB-TOTAL REPORT

25,000

DISRUPT!/ DESIGN Organizational Management Fees

2150

Ideathon Trainer Fees

1400

Printed Material for Training

300

Marketing / Flyers/ Banners

450

Site redesign / updates/ translations

350

Online Marketing Campaign

300

Prizes

3000

Venue

1500

Compensation judges/mentors/presenters

500

Award Ceremony

1300

Follow up meeting

0

Catering

3000

Logistics + Transport

300

Photography & Video

450

SUB-TOTAL DISRUPT/DESIGN

15,000

TOTAL COSTS

40,000

THANK YOU FOR READING, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR COLLABORATION.

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EVENT PHOTOS SELECTION

MENA DRC 25 Report 2016

REPORT ON DESIGN ECONOMY PUBLICATION

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