Culinary craft: Beirut 2090 offers food for thought

The event took place last week at Platform 39 café and arts space in Ashrafieh, the traditionally Christian district. The timing felt pertinent as the future of Lebanese culture and national identity were once again under threat from sectarianism spilling over from the war in neighbouring Syria.

The workshop was accompanied by a graphic design competition that invited participants to depict Beirut in 2090. Entries focused on religion, pollution and apocalypse as young designers revealed their dystopian feelings about their city’s future path. 

Doreen Toutikian, founder of Beirut Design Week and the MENA (Middle East North Africa) Design Research Center, explains that one of her key aims is to use design to help citizens actively visualise ways to improve life in Beirut and to generate intelligent solutions themselves. 

This event is an example of how organisations and brands can use workshops and participation to stimulate focus and direction. By inviting people to actively project a specific vision, they reveal their preconceptions and expectations, and can be encouraged to explore new perspectives – as explored in our Conviviality Culture macrotrend report. 

Look out for our report on Beirut Design Week 2013 later this week.