Beit Ebla: Our Ikigai

Ikigai – the reason for being. Our why – the thing that makes us get out of bed in the morning. Where heart, talent, needs, and sustainability meet in a shared direction.

In a world that is increasingly marked by darkness, turmoil, falsehoods, and uncertainty about the future, it’s easy to lose our footing. It can feel as though the light is fading, that hope is slipping away.

But in the midst of this, I have found a glimmer of light. A direction. A source of strength that gives me the energy to continue. To keep believing in change. To keep making my voice heard. To keep challenging what has long gone unchallenged.

That glimmer of light is found in community.

In community, I have found strength, courage, inspiration, resilience – and love. It is carried by people, places, and stories. It lives in old tales, in the slogans of rebellions, in the fight for human rights, in the persistence of journalism, in art, craftsmanship – and in those of us who refuse to give up.

For far too long, the narrative about people from the Middle East and North Africa has been shaped by others. We have been reduced to stereotypes – seen as lesser, less civilized, more prone to conflict. Our voices have been silenced, our experiences cut down to headlines about war, flight, and violence. Our richness has been made invisible.

We will no longer accept that.

Beit Ebla was born from the need to take back the narrative. To highlight the complexity, creativity, and beauty that define our lives. We are a cultural house without walls, a living platform where the heritage of the MENA region meets the present. A place where our stories can flourish, where our expressions take center stage – on our own terms.

We celebrate duality. The beauty of living between worlds. We turn to you, who have ever felt unseen, misunderstood, or rootless in the space between cultures. Here, you will find a home. A space where Arab and North African cultures can take their rightful place with pride and authenticity.

Through our events – film screenings, art exhibitions, poetry nights, concerts, and conversations – we invite you to experiences that touch and transform. Not to explain who we are, but because we already know. To celebrate it.

Our ikigai is exactly that: to create space for what is too vast, too nuanced, and too rich to be reduced to a single story. We do this for our parents, for our children, for ourselves – and for the future.

Beit Ebla is not only ours. It is yours, too. Welcome home.