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In times where the collective debate is drowning in alienating dichotomies (with or against) and in a lack of critical thinking of contemporary history, the individual and personal choices - in the political sense of the term - are often hitchhiked.
In that sense, the public scrutiny and the public discourses are shaped by ideological considerations. They are often rooted in a remote past disconnected from the material reality and from the current socio-economic contexts.
 

On top of sustaining the imbalanced power dynamic in place, this leads to mental alienation and to shrinking the spaces of choice for the individuals. In such a set-up, as we see in Lebanon, the available choices are centered around the adaptation to the status-quo - called romantically resilience - or the exile/immigration/withdrawal toward better horizons or the use of arms, armed conflicts and urban violence.
Today, the current collapse in Lebanon pushes us urgently to ask the questions of narratives, choice and focus.

Starting from this paradigm, Zoukak is organizing two encounters:

1. The Panel: Our destiny?
6pm-7:30pm Beirut time, through Zoom

Various practitioners from various fields, economy, history, psychology, sociology and culture are invited to reflect on the following questions:
How do collective choices and orientations in those major areas of societal organization shape the creation of critical thinking and spaces of choice?
What is the current diagnosis on that level in Lebanon?
What lectures are possible of the course of choices since 1990 in relation to the current diagnostic?

Panelists:
Elias Kattar, Historian and University Professor
Layla Sahhab, Professor in Psychology and Psychoanalysis
Marianne Noujaim, Professor in Literature and Theatre
Kamal Hamdan, Researcher in Economy

2. People in Focus: The choice
8pm-9:30pm Beirut time, through Zoom

A number of practitioners from various fields are invited to share their focus in terms of political or cultural act, the sources of their drive, the evolution of their choices and perception of the context, peers and audiences.

Participants:
Alaa Sayegh, Daleel Tadamon
Nadine Moawad, Culture Resource / Mozilla
Assaad Thebian, Gherbal Initiative
Joseph Kai, Samandal Comics
Rasha Gharbieh, Graphème