Edwar Hanna and Nour Harastani, founders of Syrbanism, discuss the initiative's plan to empower the Syrian people and contribute to Syria's reconstruction process as part of the meet the finalist series for the Mohamed Makiya Prize 2019. 
We would like to express our gratitude for the great effort and professionalism of Mrs. Rima Al Sammarae.

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What is the main vision that drives Syrbanism?

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We believe that cities belong to people, and that people should have an essential role in designing their own experiences in their urban settings. We also believe that the architect’s role in the MENA region should shift from being purely a building designer to a facilitator who realises the needs of people in urban settings through the design process of placemaking. These beliefs developed over the years, and crystalised as we started to question our role in rebuilding our country after the start of its destruction in 2012.

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One of my inspirations was also working with the Community Architect Network (CAN) in Cambodia while doing my master’s at UCL. This network works to establish a link between groups of young architects and professionals in various countries and connect them with communities. Upon my return, Nour and I realised that we didn’t have a similar model for Syria, or the MENA region in general, so we began to think about how to create one.

In the context of limited information, but high anxiety, about current and upcoming urban policy developments in Syria, we decided to establish Syrbanism. We did this in an attempt to address the need for people to engage with policy development and speak to others, with opinions and thoughts based on factual knowledge and accurate resources rather than rumour.

We aimed to help a diverse group of people debate and analyse comparative situations and options, and hopefully spark better decision-making and advocacy about urban rights in the Syrian context, as well as an international sustainable development goals (SDG) agenda to ‘leave no one behind’.

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"In the context of limited information, but high anxiety, about current and upcoming urban policy developments in Syria, we decided to establish Syrbanism. We did this in an attempt to address the need for people to engage with policy development and speak to others, with opinions and thoughts based on factual knowledge and accurate resources rather than rumour." - Edwar Hanna

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to read the full interview