The humans that will be presenting

Hours Beirut gather a group of presenters that represent diverse perspectives, both from the Middle East and neighboring regions. The speakers come from the realms of business, culture, and societal organizations.

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Dominique Fularski, IKEA (SE)
Communication Manager

Dominique heads communications for Circular IKEA, a sustainability initiative transforming the company into a global leader in circular business and sustainable practices. At Hours Beirut Dominique will talk about circular product design, new circular customer experience, innovation and sourcing of materials, and the development of a circular supply chain.


Jillian C. York, EFF, (US)
Director International Freedom of Expression

Based in Berlin, Jillian work with examining state and corporate censorship and its impact on culture and human rights at Electronic Frontiers Foundation‘s (EFF). At Hours Beirut she’s going to talk about how to we keep the internet open and safe, and why this is important.


Arianne Orillac, Ideo (IT)
Circular Business Design Lead

Based at Ideo’s London office, Arianne works with businesses around the world to help them design sustainably. At Hours Beirut, she will present what IDEO's Circular Design Guide is and how it can be utilized as a method to build healthy models for businesses and creative output.


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Nicolas Sera-Leyva, SMEX (US)
Digital Safety Educator 

Nicolas works in the human rights and technology realm. At Hours Beirut, he will explore how the architecture of the internet influences and governs identities, and how we as humans can maintain the safety and agency of our virtual selves.



Maya Terro, Foodblessed (LE)
Co-Founder & Executive Director

Maya runs a Beirut based hunger-relief and food-rescue initiative. At Hours Beirut she’s going to talk about her approach to upcycling food waste and reducing the number of people going hungry in Lebanon.


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Jesper Danielsson, Houdini (SE)
Head of Design and Product

Sharing insights and methods on how a fashion company can act sustainably in every phase of its business. Touching on how Houdini work with planetary boundary models and how they’ve created a menu of eatable dishes with composted Houdini garment.


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Monica Basbous, Public Works (LE)
Architect & Urban Researcher

Drawing from research on public space Monica will share methods on how to communicate and maintain the value of spaces that are not being recognized as valuable.


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Lara Houston, Goldsmiths (UK)

Lara will open the seminar by introducing maintenance theory. In sharing cases from her research she’ll contextualize the act of maintenance and talk about why repair matters.



Sabine Choucair, Clown Me In (LE)
Clown & Perfomer

Based on her experience as a humanitarian clown Sabine will talk about maintaining human dignity in bringing people together and inviting them to laugh.


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Nathan Larson, Lumen Projects, (US)
Film composer, Producer and Author

Nathan’s award-winning film music career is long and varied, consisting of over 70 films and TV shows. Larson has created sound installations, curated concerts (he curates the music experience on June 15), produced/played in multiple bands. At Hours Beirut Nathan will share his thoughts on how about culture and music connects to meditation and the human psyche.


Liane Al Ghusain (KW)
Writer and Yoga Teacher

Based in Kuwait Liane writes and teaches with a focus on communication, creativity and culture. At Hours Beirut she will explore global perspectives on personal hygiene, in a session on maintaining the self. How does the Indian government keep people from urinating in public? Why do Muslims have a shattaf culture (and Christians mostly shun it)?


Doreen (LE) and Martin (SE)

Doreen Toutikian and Martin Thörnkvist are the curators and co-organizers of Hours Beirut. They will guide us through the seminar day, put the speakers into context and make sure it all become an interactive gathering. Doreen founded Beirut Design Week & Martin used to run The Conference.



Such amazing persons! We can’t wait to tap into their experiences and perspectives.