Sabine Sciortino, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action and Director of the French Institute of Lebanon. (Credit: Marielle Salloum Maroun.)
The Night of Ideas returns to Beirut on Thursday, May 15, from 7 p.m. to midnight, with an invitation to think about the world differently: to reflect together, to dialogue freely, to create without borders.
Organized by the French Institute of Lebanon, in partnership with L'Orient Today, this international event takes place this year at Beit Beirut, an emblematic site of urban memory and resilience, for an evening marked by intellectual exchanges, poetry, music and live art.
Under the theme "Power to Act," this 10th edition opens with the biting and committed illustration of cartoonist Bernard Hage (The Art of Boo), followed by a presentation of the book Beirut, April 13, 1975 by Marwan Chahine (Belfond editions), an intimate narrative at the intersection of collective memory, introduced by journalist Sophie Guignon.
The evenings' highlight will be a poetic and musical reading with Rima Abdul Malak, former French Minister of Culture, poet Rita Bassil, and violinist Jack Estephan. A round table will then bring together Pierre Haski, a columnist on France Inter, and Dominique Edde, novelist and essayist, in a conversation moderated by Anthony Samrani, co-editor of L'Orient Today. The finale is expected to be free and vibrant: a DJ set by Nasri Sayegh/Radio Karantina, blending sound archives, electronic poetry, and recomposed memory.
Visitors can explore the immersive exhibitions by Hkeeli, spread over three floors, where artistic installations, testimonies, and performances give new life to the buried stories of the civil war. The evening will be drawn to a close by Gros and Lacombe, in partnership with the festival Ça Presse (Lyon's International Meetings of Press Drawing and Media). A rich program that the cultural cooperation and action adviser to the French Embassy and director of the French Institute of Lebanon, Sabine Sciortino, deciphers for L'Orient Today.
Why was the theme "Power to Act" chosen this year, and how does it resonate with the current Lebanese context?
"Power to Act" is the chosen theme for the 10th edition of the Night of Ideas, which will take place in 2025 in about one hundred countries and nearly 200 cities. Generally speaking, this theme invites us to think about major ongoing geopolitical upheavals, which lead to new power relations and create new polarizations between regional blocs or systems of governance. It also questions the role of civil societies and individuals and how they can effectively participate in public deliberations and decision-making.
But this generic theme, once applied to Lebanon, finds even greater resonance. The country is indeed at a pivotal moment in its history, after the months of war passed last fall and with a new government displaying a reformist ambition. Leads people to the questions of their civic engagement, how they can concretely help shape the world of tomorrow, and with what means. The Night of Ideas aims precisely to offer these spaces for reflection and free expression during a unique evening.
How was the programming for this Night of Ideas in Beirut constructed? What were your curatorial intentions?
It seemed essential to us to first take into account a particular dimension of this year, that of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War. This is what led us to imagine holding the event for the first time at Beit Beirut, while the latest editions were more traditionally held on the campus of the French Institute of Lebanon.
The priority was to identify a panel of guests able to build a coherent intention, embracing the main lines of the Night of Ideas: debates, engagement, interactions, all in an artistic and festive dimension. This is how we started by scheduling the grand debate that will bring together Haski, journalist, and Eddé, novelist and essayist well known to the Lebanese public. Samrani, co-editor of L'Orient Today, will host this meeting around the question "What remains of the world of yesterday?"
Alongside this highlight of the evening, the arrival of Malak, former French Minister of Culture of Lebanese origin, aims to offer a step aside through an enchanting poetry reading, accompanied by violinist Jack Estephan and poetess Rita Bassil.
The offbeat perspective of press cartoonist Bernard Hage in the introduction, as well as the presentation of Marwan Chahine's book: Beirut, April 13, 1975, autopsy of a spark, which obviously takes on a particular resonance in these places, complete the programming. The evening will end with the musical and festive intervention of Nasri Sayegh and Radio Karantina.
What dialogue do you hope to foster between Lebanese and French speakers, especially in a place so steeped in memory as Beit Beirut?
The essence of the Night of Ideas in Lebanon is to make French and Lebanese thinkers, artists, and writers interact. The grand debate that brings together Haski and Edde, hosted by Samrani, perfectly illustrates this. In the background, our wish, is to bring out original perspectives, to cross views, to make us reflect with different ideas and, sometimes, perhaps, to make us evolve, change.
At a time when the world is traversed by conflicts and major upheavals, creating these debates, provoking these confrontations of ideas always with kindness, in the emblematic memorial framework of Beit Beirut, provides a mise en abîme conducive to reflection.
The collaboration with Hkeeli introduces a strong memorial dimension. What role does the civil war play in this edition?
As mentioned, the choice of venue is not coincidental. Rather than staying within the walls of the French Institute of Lebanon, we wanted to be present at Beit Beirut for this Night of Ideas 2025, which takes place just a month after the 50th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese civil war.
Beit Beirut is a powerful memorial symbol, full of history, and still bearing all the war's scars. Its unique position, on the former demarcation line, questions the history of Beirut and forces us to put the past in dialogue with the present. The Hkeeli initiative is daring, by the choice of its organizers to cross the views of artists, architects, and creators around the issues of memory and identity.
Although the civil war is not the main theme of this edition of the Night of Ideas, it is a factor that influences its entire programming. The presence of Chahine and the presentation of his book illustrate this.
What is the significance of having figures like Rima Abdul Malak or Pierre Haski participate in this event?
I think their participation highlights the importance this meeting has gained over the years. The Night of Ideas is one of the highlights of the French Institute of Lebanon's cultural program. It is followed each year by nearly 500 people, and it is definitely an anticipated moment for its loyal audience. Hosting journalist and geopolitical columnist from France Inter Pierre Haski and former Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak in formats that make them interact with Lebanese personalities and artists is a great pride for us.
How does the DJ set by Nasri Sayegh/Radio Karantina integrate into the intellectual continuity of the evening's theme?
The DJ set by Nasri Sayegh/Radio Karantina is deeply integrated into the continuity of the evening's theme, even forming a kind of sensitive synthesis. More than just a musical performance, his intervention is an artistic memorial act: by drawing from Lebanon's pre-war sound and visual archives – popular songs, excerpts from cult films of the golden age, sound fragments of a bygone era – Nasri Sayegh recomposes a collective emotional landscape. It's not just about entertainment, but about resonating with buried memories, reactivating a memory often overshadowed by stories of war.
The DJ set thus becomes an act of poetic and political reappropriation of space. It extends the reflection undertaken throughout the evening on memory, reconstruction, and collective imagination, by inviting the audience to feel, to remember differently, and perhaps to re-enchant a place too often perceived only through the prism of conflict.
What message do you hope to convey to the public, particularly to young people, through this evening?
Perhaps the message that nothing is written, that it is important to always question, think, interact, debate. That ideas are the engine that moves things forward, and that young generations, in particular, have a particular responsibility to envision the world of tomorrow. The Night of Ideas setup is a space that makes this possible. I hope that young people, students, activists, and actors in civil society will come to make this setup their own and make it theirs.
Beyond this evening, how can we ensure that the "power of ideas" does not remain a pious wish but becomes a driver of action?
Victor Hugo said that "nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." Of course, it would be presumptuous to think that ideas alone can change the world. But they have this peculiarity of being able to open up the field of possibilities. They must then be embodied and carried concretely by individuals, collectives, and association movements. Hence the importance of civic engagement, to tackle reality and concretely move the lines. Lebanon has an incredibly rich civil society, which can play a key role at this pivotal moment in the country's history.
Free entry, subject to availability.
Rima Abdul Malak, between intimate memory and collective memory, at the National Library A must-attend event for lovers of culture, politics, and personal stories. On Wednesday, May 14, at 6 p.m., the National Library of Lebanon, in the Sanayeh district, will host a unique meeting with Rima Abdul Malak, former French Minister of Culture. The event, hosted by Anthony Samrani, co-editor of L'Orient-Le Jour, promises an emotional and reflective dive into the past, through the lens of the minister's personal photo album. Over a dozen carefully selected photographs, witnesses of different eras and places, Rima Abdul Malak will evoke her journey, her Lebanese roots, her cultural engagement, and her significant memories. Each photograph will serve as a starting point for a broader conversation, between self-narrative and a look at collective history. A meeting where the intimate illuminates the political, and where images become the vectors of an embodied, generous, and deeply human speech.