Friday May 20 will be the launch day of the 2016 edition of Beirut Design Week: started in 2012, it has been bringing the best national and international design to the capital, representing an actual dialogue between professionals, students and design lovers. This year's theme will be the ever-growing topic that will be leading the future of both design and the whole world. With “Growing Sustainability” the festival will investigate how to gain a development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This will result in a multi-disciplinary approach that will hit not just design and ecology but also social, cultural and economic matters.

The theme will be the core of each segment of the rich programme of the festival, that includes a wide range of lectures, talks and seminars by the leading international experts: each happening will be focusing on a certain face of sustainability, either in terms of waste, present and future, or in terms of culture, like Bettina Ritcher will do by analysing "cultural posters” and the sustainability aspect in poster design. The Beirut Design Week is organized by MENA Design Research Center, a non-profit organization that focuses on the role of design in social impact, always taking into account the relevant local and regional context. The summer of 2015 marked the beginning of a major waste management crisis that led to massive protests on a national scale in Lebanon. Design can offer many solutions to the issues that arise from waste management and develop ways for citizens, businesses, and public entities to be involved in the process. This led to the creation of a 2016 edition aimed at finding new solutions through over 100 events organized with the purpose of both informing and creating awareness. The design week will also feature the exhibits of many design collections, with different showcases dedicated to specific styles such as Dutch, Finnish and of course Lebanese. Scheduled from May 20 to 29, the Beirut Design Week – sponsored by leading names such as BMW and DHL – will liven up the capital for 9 days, creating a design, cultural and instructive experience.

INFO: www.beirutdesignweek.org

PHOTO COURTESY: Beirut Design Week