DESCRIPTION AND METHODOLOGIES
The 2018 Summer School was co-organized by the University of Minho, the Global Platform for Syrian Students and the IUAV University (Italy), with the support of ESCWA - NAFS (United Nations - Economic Commission for Western Asia - National Agenda for the Future of Syria). This Summer School aimed at bringing together participants who are overwhelmingly Syrian or from a Syrian background -preferably students or junior professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, urban planning, landscaping architecture, or those with a keen interest in and knowledge of Syria and the region.
This Summer School was driven by the goal of achieving close cooperation with international organizations and partners in order to develop synergies, enhance collaborative coordinated actions and create multiplier effects.
The 2018 Summer School on “Rebuilding Syria from Within” aimed at achieving four main goals: 1) providing participants with some background information on the most significant cultural, social, economic and governance-related internal structural factors (root causes) which contributed to the making of the conflict; 2) guiding participants in looking at and assessing the most significant cultural, social, economic and governance-related impacts of the conflict as a pre-requisite for identifying policy deficits, developing policy alternatives for future reconstruction plans; 3) providing participants with the opportunity to focus in detail on a number of Syrian cities and develop elements of a personal vision for these cities, just as they would tackle an in-house architectural work focused on a rebuilding project; 4) launching a platform/network of mentoring partnerships that will stand as a hub for university and industry collaborations on this topic.
The program of the Summer School combined lectures/debates, small group discussions, studio workshops, studio breakout sessions, special events and cultural events.
