From left to right: Malek Khadraoui, Wafa Mustafa, and Lina Abou Akleh.
In a world saturated with images, fleeting slogans and viral campaigns, what does commitment still mean? As part of the L’Orient-Le Jour festival at Beirut’s Hippodrome, a panel will explore contemporary forms of activism in the Middle East, at a time when hashtags, algorithms and digital narratives shape political struggles as much as they undermine them.
The discussion, titled “Hashtag Politics in the Middle East: What Activism, for What Impact?” brings together three figures who, in different ways, embody the complexity of a fight that is both personal and collective:
- Lina Abou Akleh, journalist and vice president of the Shireen Abou Akleh Foundation, campaigns for justice in Palestine and keeps alive the memory of her aunt, who was killed on May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin.
- Malek Khadraoui, founder of the independent Tunisian outlet Inkyfada.com, explores the tensions between journalism, activism and post-revolutionary storytelling.
- Wafa Moustafa, Syrian activist and communications manager at The Syria Campaign, fights for detainees’ rights and against the erasure of Assad regime crimes.
The panel, moderated in English by journalist Stephanie Khouri, will be a candid exchange — a pause for reflection on commitment beyond slogans, between private space and public sphere, between personal grief and the major divides of the Arab world.
Through their experiences, the participants will question the power of digital activism. Can hashtags still be tools for transformation, or are they simply mirrors, reflecting hopes without changing reality?
In an era marked by withdrawal and sectarian reflexes, the panel will also address the need to build transnational solidarities, forging connections across borders and imposed identities.
The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m. at the Beirut Hippodrome. It will be held in English, with simultaneous translation in French. Entry is free. Full details on the Un Vent de Liberté festival program are available online.
