It is with utmost pleasure and excitement that I announce to you the opening of MARCH Lebanon’s newest peacebuilding project: Hona Beirut.

https://www.facebook.com/HonaBeirutCafeBKaffak/

Hona Beirut comes after the huge success of MARCH’s Kahwetna in Tripoli. What started as a cafe staffed and run by former fighters in Beb El Tebenneh and Jabal Mohsen, quickly grew into a cultural hub that houses not only a cafe, but a recording studion, a cinema/theater and dozens of capacity building classes, events, exhibitions and performances.

In Beirut, MARCH felt that the need for public, safe green spaces was dire, which is why after months of scouting, our team found a disused plot of land owned by the Municipality of Beirut, just across from Horsh Beirut. After removing all the rubble and old cars and motorcycles, MARCH set out to install its prefabricated structure, as well as plant the surrounding outdoor space. This is the gorgeous final result:

The Grand Opening THIS Saturday

This Saturday, we have a jam-packed lineup at Hona Beirut, and we can’t wait to have you there! You can RSVP on Facebook here.

https://www.facebook.com/HonaBeirutCafeBKaffak/

Several bands, rappers, circus performers and DJs will make sure you have an amazing time, with several of the acts on the roster debuting in MARCH’s many projects in Akkar and Tripoli.

Hona Beirut will be run and staffed by young men and women from Beirut’s most marginalized neighborhoods, such as Tarik Jdideh and Khandak El Ghamiq and more. The cafe comes with an adjacent recording studio, where nascent talents who live in our beloved capital can come, create and record their music, free of charge!

Apart form that, Hona Beirut will have many classes offered, such as language courses, computer skills, graphic design, photography musical composing, songwriting, choreography and much, much more.

Most importantly though, Hona Beirut will be a safe space where the city’s youth can come and hang out and have a good time. It will create stable jobs, and help the young men and women who frequent it build up their CVs and skills to get the jobs they seek.

Lastly, Hona Beirut transformed a plot of land that was used as a dump, into a beautiful green space that is accessible to everyone every day, unlike most parks in Beirut which are off-limits for most of us!

See you on Saturday, starting 4PM!