Discussions & Workshops at LAU
An afternoon bringing together different creative voices and perspectives through conversations, discussions, debates, student showcases, and hands-on workshops, all centered around Empathy by Design and designed for students.
Discussions & Debate | 2:00 PM - 6:10 PM
Location: Art Gallery, Gezairi Building
Session 1 | 2:10 PM – 3:10 PM
The Shape of Feeling: Creative Practice Across the Senses
Moderator: Lina Khoury, Theatre Director, Producer, and Academician
Speakers:
Carol Mansour, Filmmaker
Maya Zbib, Theatre Director, Performer, Writer - Co-artistic Director or Zoukak Theatre
Mazen Kiwan, Dancer and Choreographer, University Instructor at LU
Session 2 | 3:10 – 4:10 PM
The City Remembers: Trauma, Recovery, and Beirut’s Future
Moderator: Dima Stouhi, Architect, Business Developer, University Instructor
Speakers:
Samar Hawa, Project & Development Manager at Rebirth Beirut
Soha Mneimneh, Urban Planner and Researcher in Urban Planning and Policy
Khaled Nasser, PhD, Family Communication and Trauma Consultant
Ibrahim Zeidan, Mayor of Beirut
Session 3 | 4:10 PM – 4:40 PM
Empathy as Practice: Building Connection through Creativity
Moderator: Jemma Chidiac, Architect & University Instructor
Speakers:
Nadra Assaf, Artist and Choreographer
Stephany Sanossian, Artist and Designer
Session 4 | 4:40 PM – 5:40 PM
Still Human: Empathy and the Future of Design
Moderator: Rana Salam, Art Director
Speakers:
Nathalie Fallaha, Branding & UxUi Expert
Sinan Abou Hamdan, AI Expert
Adam Jammal, Filmmaker & Creative Director
Miquel Lacasta, Chair of Architecture and Interior Design at LAU
5:40 PM–6:10 PM
Student Debate: Tool or Takeover? Debating AI’s Role in the Creative Workforce
As AI reshapes creative work, two teams of LAU students debate a defining question: does AI expand human creativity, or threaten its value? A conversation about what’s at stake for the next generation of creatives.
Moderator: Vanessa Dammous, Architect & Professor at LAU
Workshops | 5:40–6:40 PM
Gezairi Building, 8th Floor
Useful AI for Creative People
How to Do Less and Create More
Facilitator: Sinan Abou Hamdan, AI Expert
Use AI to simplify repetitive work, develop ideas, and create more without losing your voice.
GB 801
How Trauma Speaks
Facilitator: Carla Oannis Rached, Clinical Psychologist & Compassionate Inquiry Therapist
Explore how trauma shapes the body, beliefs, and the way we relate to ourselves.
GB 802
From Ideas to Creation
An Introduction to Devised Theatre
Facilitator: Maya Zbib, Theatre Director, Performer & Writer
Turn ideas into performance through improvisation, collective writing, and scene building.
GB 803
Inherited / Invented
Facilitator: Stephany Sanossian, Artist
Explore memory and identity through a simple creative exercise inspired by what you carry with you.
GB 804
Student Showcase | 2:00–7:00 PM
Gezairi Building, Courtyard
See what’s taking shape.
An open showcase of work by LAU’s young architects, designers, artists, filmmakers, and performers. Explore ideas in progress, experiments, and works that are finding their form.