2015: 7th edition
The seventh edition of the Beirut Spring Festival coincides with the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Samir Kassir. It presented an extensive program between May 3 and June 6, 2015 in a variety of venues in Beirut, bringing together talents from Lebanon, Palestine, France, Libya, the UK, the US, Spain, Chile, Jordan, Syria, Canada, Germany, Egypt, Tunisia and Ireland. Produced by the Samir Kassir Foundation with the contribution of sponsors, the festival featured a series of lectures, a light installation, a film program, a photo exhibition, a change-makers forum, and a massive multimedia light and sound performance in downtown Beirut - all free of charge to festival-goers.
Samir Kassir spent his career writing about the people's thirst for freedom and democracy, and the reforms the Arab world desperately needed to bring about change and prosperity.
Samir Kassir foresaw the Damascus Spring, believed in the potential of the Arab people, and predicted the end of the ruling republican dynasties. More than any other intellectual, he showed the deep connection between the Palestinian dream of free statehood and the establishment of a democratic regime in Syria and the sustainable independence of Lebanon. Moreover, Samir Kassir reconciled two concepts that were historically considered antagonistic: Lebanese sovereignty on the one hand, and Lebanon's commitment to the broader Arab cause of liberation on the other.
The ten years that followed the assassination of Samir Kassir were probably the most eventful in the Arab world. Regimes have fallen; others cling to power by committing horrific crimes against their people. Information technologies have transformed the way Arab citizens communicate and participate in public life. Some dreams have been fulfilled; most others are still in the making.
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Samir Kassir's assassination, the Samir Kassir Foundation will organize the largest and most diverse Beirut Spring Festival ever.
The 2015 edition of the festival will also be an opportunity to
- Remember Samir Kassir as one of the most visionary Arab intellectuals;
- Pay tribute to Beirut, which has defined the meaning of resilience like no other city;
- Reflect on the issues and values that Samir Kassir cherished; and
- Look to the future of the struggle for change, freedom and democracy in the region.
The 2015 edition of the festival will also be an opportunity to:
- Remember Samir Kassir as one of the most visionary Arab intellectuals;
- Pay tribute to Beirut, which has defined the meaning of resilience like no other city;
- Reflect on the issues and values that Samir Kassir cherished; and
- Look to the future of the struggle for change, freedom and democracy in the region.
The 2015 Beirut Spring Festival will last a month, starting on May 3, which the United Nations has declared World Press Freedom Day.
It will also commemorate what would have been Samir Kassir's 55th birthday on May 4, Lebanon's Press Martyrs Day on May 6, and the assassination of Samir Kassir on June 2.
