Almost There Film Festival - 2023 Film Festival OUR ROOTED RIGHTS August 18th - September 2nd 2023 Imagine basil plants protecting tomatoes by repelling insects from it, and tomatoes returning the favor by having deep roots that preserve water, which then keeps the basil plants hydrated. This is one of the many cycles of nature that makes it all interconnected in an infinite chain of life. This might be the easiest way to explain how nature has always organized itself, taking advantage of the diversity of its species to ensure its survival. For the 7th consecutive year, our film festival is built around Human Rights and Migration. This year’s festival is entitled, “Our Rooted Rights”, and focuses on environmental justice.
Wild Relatives Deep in the earth beneath Arctic permafrost, seeds from all over the world are stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to provide a backup should disaster strike. Wild Relatives starts in 2012 when an international agricultural research center was forced to relocate from Aleppo to Lebanon due to the Syrian Revolution turned war, and began a laborious process of planting their seed collection from the Svalbard back-ups. The film follows the path of this transaction of seeds. It captures the articulation between this large-scale international initiative and its local implementation in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, carried out primarily by young migrant women. The meditative pace patiently teases out tensions between state and individual, industrial and organic approaches to seed saving, climate change and biodiversity, witnessed through the journey of these seeds.
The Untold Revolution: Food Sovereignty in Palestine Untold Revolution documents the beginning of the journey of the agricultural movement towards food sovereignty in Palestine, from an emancipatory ideological standpoint that seeks to break away from the dependence on the Israeli occupier and the global monopolistic companies. The movement advocates for the adoption of food production systems that are based on natural resources, local production inputs, values of cooperation, and agricultural practices that are culturally, environmentally, socially, economically, and nationally appropriate for the Palestinian context.
The Land "The Legal Notebook" continues in the film "Al-Muraj," produced in collaboration with the "Beirut DC" Association, presenting the case of Marj Bisri, which it dedicated a full issue to in its monthly magazine. The film narrates the stories of the residents of the Bisri Basin with Al-Muraj, their connection to it, and the memories and stories of their ancestors and fathers within its expanse. Al-Muraj has always been a playground of their childhood, a source of livelihood, and a gateway to knowledge and production. The film also documents the risks of the Bisri Dam through the testimonies of the residents and the data provided by experts and scientists, within an artistic framework brilliantly directed by filmmaker Mohammed Sabah. The World Bank's decision on August 4, 2020, to suspend funding for the Bisri Dam project serves as the beautiful conclusion to the film, highlighting the struggle of the residents of Al-Muraj, along with the revolutionaries, activists, and advocates of Lebanon.
Iraq’s Environmental Struggle against Foreign Rapacity and Local Greed Article Ahwaris in Iraq have been through a series of tragedies over the decades. “We have lived a long history of displacement, oppression and racism. We have always opposed authoritarian governments and any form of authoritarianism. My family was active in opposition to Saddam Hussain. My uncle was killed resisting him in Hor Al-Huwaiza,” explains Ahwari activist and environmental and human rights defender Mustafa Hashim who is part of the “Ahwari Voice-The Ahwari Human Rights network”, one of several self-organized groups in the Marsh lands, the Ahwar (singular Hor), that spread through Southern Iraq and Iran. By Ansar Jasim
Hbs’ 9th MENA Regional Summer School 2023 - Jordan Call For Applications Hbs welcomes applications to the 9th MENA Regional Summer School “It’s More than Just Food: Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture towards Equitable and Justice-based Food Systems in the MENA Region” that will take place between 29 July - 05 August in Amman, Jordan.
hbs concludes the 7th Regional Summer School on Civic Engagement in Urban Sustainable Development News hbs offices in the MENA region held the 7th Regional Summer School in Amman, Jordan under the title “Our Cities Our Future: Civic Engagement in Urban Sustainable Development”. 23 activists, researchers, architects and civil society professionals from 8 Middle Eastern countries participated in the week-long School. They addressed various topics related to architecture and urban sustainable development. Through lectures, discussions, group work, and a field visit, the participants exchanged ideas, shared experiences and got the chance to meet and learn about inspiring initiatives working towards sustainable development in the region.
HORSH BEIRUT FESTIVAL 2018 Event The Horsh Beirut Festival is a public event held each summer in Beirut’s largest green park bringing together people of all backgrounds and age groups to enjoy the green scenery and landscape and partake in a variety of free cultural, artistic and recreational activities.
Horsh Beirut Festival 2016 After the recent opening of Horsh Beirut to the public, Assabil Friends of Public Libraries and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Middle East will soon host #Horsh2016!