“I believe that public spaces are a resource to fight inequality and corruption.”

Leadership: Abir Saksouk is an urban planner and architect who believes that societies can play an active role in producing more just and equitable cities. As co-founder of Public Works Studio, she leads the studio in its critical and creative engagement with public policy and urban issues in Lebanon.

Abir also co-founded Dictaphone, a research and performance collective that supports young artists and challenges Lebanese citizens to think critically about their relationship to public and shared space. She is involved with a number of activist groups in Lebanon, where she takes a lead in developing forms of organizing around critical issues, whether at the level of neighborhoods, syndicates, or regions.

Vision: Having been actively engaged in urban struggles for the majority of her adult life, Abir understands the link between spatial inequality and issues of corruption. After years of working at the intersection of people and places, she is eager to expand her thinking on horizontal and collective leadership.