Sustainability and Design Education: Case Study: Lebanon

Abstract

After twenty years of civil war and continued political and economical turmoil, concern for ecological issues is not a priority to most Lebanese. Lebanese students in higher education design programs are typically not even familiar with the term sustainability. Literary research found that a handful of NGOs, global corporations, local businesses and the Ministry of the Environment are currently addressing ecological issues in Lebanon, but merely on a surface level. Living within an ecologically diverse yet deteriorating country the Lebanese must take action immediately. From this, the question arose: How can design education in Lebanon be modified to encourage sustainability? A qualitative analysis of sustainability progress within design education outside Lebanon was conducted. By having faculty as question-asking facilitators and reference providers, students as content-creators capable of self-run critiques as well as program and course revisions made to be green-focused potential to modify Lebanese design education exists. Examples are provided that combine the literary findings of existing sustainable activities in Lebanon with pedagogy progress outside Lebanon to create program titles, course titles, project descriptions and student actions with community collaborations in a Lebanese context. The integration of sustainability within design education can serve as catalysis for environmental change in Lebanon.