#balamand

Anfeh, Lebanon

I dragged Ganzeer along to an academic conference at the University of Balamand in Lebanon and it exceeded both our expectations. He wrote this short, thoughtful post on what made it such an exceptional meeting of minds (and hearts):

Overlooking Borders and Making Connections

There were those who spoke of geographical borders, and those who spoke of social borders. Linguistic borders were discussed, as were artistic and disciplinary borders. Three days of borderless talks about borders that were kicked off by a fascinating introduction to the very etymology of the Arabic word for borders (حدود), which shares its root with words like “severe” (حاد), “challenge” (تحدي), “determine” (حدد), “metal” (حديد), and “edge” (حد), which itself is also the word for “limit”.

This was at a conference at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, where I was in attendance with my lovely wife Kelsey P Norman who presented an excellent paper on migration and refugee policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The conference was organized by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and involved faculty members from across a great variety of departments from within Balamand and beyond. Despite the absence of a number of European speakers who dropped out due to “safety concerns”, the conference was still rich and eclectic in subject matter and proceeded with smooth efficiency that not even frequent power cuts could hinder.

The cross-pollination of knowledge brings about a rush of gleeful neuroactivity, one that is largely absent from too many conferences held in the Western world, but more particularly American conferences, where a great deal of emphasis is often placed on the conference’s “brand”, making the actual presentations and talks feel like almost advertising for the conference’s name, which is pushed to the forefront of the event at the expense of everything discussed within. More often than not, the people who present at these conferences do so because they’re either: (A) Getting paid to, or (B) They want to push their “product”, its availability and method of purchase often making up the closing remarks of any talk.

Not at the University of Balamand’s conference on borders, where a genuine desire to share knowledge and learn new things was its core driving force. Something other conference organizers can learn a thing or two from.

Another thing that cannot go unmentioned is the family-like bonds that are formed at conferences like Balamand’s. I’ve been to my fair share of conferences across Europe and the United States, all very professional, but very rarely resulting in the kind of personal connections forged at places like Balamand. This is likely a Lebanese thing, quite possibly a Mediterranean thing, whereby yes, matters of the mind are important, but of equal importance are matters of the heart. Of making friends.

Ganzeer
Chekka, Lebanon
November 26, 2017