It is with great pleasure that I announce that Gino’s Blog is a proud partner in this year’s edition of La Nuit des Idées at the Institut Français in Beirut!

What is La Nuit des Idées

It’s a night that mixes between partying, and informed debates and discussions, that happens on the same day in countries and cities around the world, with more than 180,000 people being part of the event worldwide last year!

The event and themes are largely inspired from the May of 1968 social revolution in France, which saw nation-wide strikes, occupations of campuses and even president Charles de Gaulle fleeing the country for a few hours for fear it might spill over into a civil war, or a full-blown revolution.

The events of May 1968 led to a more liberal France, one where a decentralized, spontaneous movement of student and labor unions was able to bring the entire country to a halt and pushed President de Gaulle to call for snap parliamentary elections.

This liberation-leaning movement’s effects is clear in La Nuit des Idées program, with panels discussing gender equality, LGBT rights as well popular uprisings and independent movements calling for reform and more freedom, rights and equality in today’s world.

The Program

I’m personally extremely excited about the round-table discussions, which includes activists and experts from both Lebanon and France.

The first round table will be about “New Citizen Movements and Uprisings” and will discuss movements such as Occupy Wall Street in the US a few years back, all the way up to Beirut Madinati more recently in Lebanon.

The second round table discussion will discuss women’s emancipation, and the current status of women’s rights and gender equality, along with the battles that still face feminism today. The round table discussion will be moderated by my dear friend Rana Khoury which you might know from the Beirut Madinati municipal elections campaign.

The third round table discussion will revolve around sexual liberation and identity, and will be moderated by Beirut Pride founder and good friend Hadi Damien.

Apart from that, the night will kick off at 5:30PM with a live stream direct from Paris starting at 6:00PM sharp. The night will conclude with a concert by KHANSA performing “Oyunu” with Tarek Khuluki and local electronic music artist ETYEN keeping the party going till midnight.

The night will many other events, activities, exhibits and performances, which you can find above in both French and Arabic.

Why You Should Go

• First, it’s free of charge and open to the public.
• Second, it’s more than 6 hours of enlightened, open and uncensored discussions about issues the youth in Lebanon, and around the world, care about.
• Third, if your French is a bit rusty, there will be simultaneous Arabic translation offered for free when someone is speaking in French or something is shown in French.
• Fourth, it mixes partying and concerts, with interactive debates and round tables that will include the audience members, not just panelists being asked questions and responding. This means that in between informed debates, you can go have fun, watch live graffiti artists, grab a bite, see a show, dance a little, then go back to another round table.

I’m personally going because all the topics discussed are what liberal-leaning folks care most about: equal rights, freedom of speech and progressive thinking to get Lebanon and the world out of the mess we’ve been put in by conservatives.

Another thing I love about this event, is it will be at the Institu Français, which means you can’t get censored or banned, like you might on Lebanese soil.

So, book yourselves for January 25, 2018 and don’t forget to RSVP here or below! See you there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/307492899764237/