Beirut

Confirmed Speakers

• Charles Elachi
  Director of the NASA and Cal Tech Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The talk: How to lead a team of bold explorers that landed the Curiosity Rover on Mars and are exploring our Solar System and neighboring Planetary Systems.
• Imad Saoud
  Aquatic Scientist and Aquaculturist. The talk: Using salty water (sea and ocean) to produce more food, mainly protein, to feed the growing number of people on the planet.
• Amal Al Dahouk
  Marketing Professional and Blogger. The talk: A plan to pull the biggest magical stunt right here in Lebanon! We will be able to transform a herd into an intelligent wise crowd! A refreshing change from the biggest dish of tabouleh, don’t you think?
• Hani Asfour
  Architect and Designer. The talk: Predicting the future and designing work spaces for it. Building learning environments that make you rethink the space around you.
• Loryne Atoui
  Designer and Founder of One Wig Stand. The talk: Taking a different approach to talking about breast cancer in our part of the world and a step towards breaking the social taboo associated with it. The talk will also share the personal inspiration behind the project turned NGO and other stories discovered along the way.
• Salim Zwein
  Engineer and Consultant. The talk: Informing on Thorium, a cheap, efficient, clean and abundant energy source with the capacity to replace Uranium as a nuclear fuel, and turn the nuclear industry into a safe, environmental alternative.
• Peter Mouracade
  Ad man and Mountaineer. The talk: Lessons learnt from mountaineering, and how they can be applied in life to realize extraordinary challenges.
• Zeina Saab
  Founder of The Nawaya Network. The talk: Keep disadvantaged and at-risk youth away from crime, violence, and drugs by connecting them to mentors or to financial, educational, and material resources that will develop their talents and strengthen their skills in areas they are passionate about.
• Farid Chehab
  Honorary Chairman and Advisor to the Board of Leo Burnett MENA and Author. The talk: Getting the Lebanese united behind a national public-private initiative of Economic Development through a series of successive large scale projects, beginning with an overhaul of the Water sector (on an egalitarian and socially responsible basis), in order to awaken a national consciousness.
• Sareen Akarjalian
  Programmer and Cartoonist. The talk: Using comics to critique society and brighten people’s day, and making the case that you can do what you love even if it means doing it on the side.
• Rabih El Chaer
  Managing Director of the Lebanese Transparency Association. The talk: LTA works towards fighting corruption in Lebanon by going beyond writing reports and drafting laws that no one reads. It seeks to engage the youth and community in the process.
• Suzanne Talhouk
  Founder of Feil Amer. The talk: Taking the initiative to revitalize the Arabic language by modernizing it, and reviving its use as a language of creative expression, with the aim of reclaiming our identity and overcoming the inferiority complex towards foreign cultures.
• Christopher Littlefield
  Founder of AcknowledgmentWorks. The talk: Recognition: How people are generally not used to it, don’t know how to deal with it, and have trouble accepting it. Helping people identify what they want to be recognized for and thus promote better communication and relationships at the work place, in families, and generally in all and any situation.
• Marjorie Henningsen
  Educator, Facilitator of the Possible. Co-founder of Wellspring Learning Community, a non-sectarian K-12 international school in Beirut. The talk: Promoting a revolutionary take on early years education by seeing children as competent learners, capable of self directed inquiry (no textbooks), and seeing school as an extension of life rather than a preparation for life.
• Jana Bou Reslan
  Spoken-Word Poet. The talk: Promoting spoken-word poetry as a tool for self-expression, helping the youth voice their issues creatively and nonviolently off the streets.
• Esraa Haidar
  Blogger / Entrepreneur. The talk: Tells her personal story after which she launched a blog called Hijabi where she shares her personal stories and answers all the questions that people usually want to ask a veiled woman (and beyond).
• Beirut Vocal Point
  The Beirut Vocal Point is a nonprofit a cappella close harmony group on a mission to transform musical experiences in Lebanon.
• Walkabout Drum Circle
  Walkabout Drum Circle is a unique Music institute that welcomes students from all ages and backgrounds seeking to find and develop their own voice through drumming.