How can community stay connected during isolation? Ghyda Helou is our first international guest, from Byblos, Lebanon. She is the co-founder of "Jarak Online" an online platform that aims to get people to get to know their neighbours during COVID-19. 

Thank you to the lovely Ghyda for sharing her time and thoughts with us. 

[TIMESTAMPS] 

• ☺️Meet Ghyda Helou [0:00 - 5:53] 
• 🏡What is ‘Jarak’ ? [6:00 - 13:00 ] 
• 💪Thawra (Revolution)& Diaspora Relations [13:00 - 21:00]   
• 👯Building friendships through Jarak [21:00 - 23:00] 
• 👀'Non-Places' activated during October 2019 in Beirut [23:00 -33:00] 
• 🌎Solidarity Diaspora Gatherings in Melbourne [33:00 - 36:00]
• 🌇How to join the neighbourhood?[36:00-40:00] 
• 🏢Byblos-Jbeil in Lebanon & 'Building' vs 'Village' Neighbourhood cultures in Lebanon. [40:00 - 46:00]
• Positive experiences on social media, and missing Lebanon [46:00- END]

Follow 

@JarakOnline (Online neighbourhood community) 

@Ghyda_Helou (Collage Artistry) 

@leb.historian  (Chloe Kattar PhD Candidate in Lebanese History) 

@CultureCult_SYN @bec.maa & @maria.konidaris 

Music by Chad Crouch ‘Rainbow’ via Free Music Archive. Licensed by Creative Commons.  

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Welcome to our first podcast of 2020!

With the wonders of remote recording, Becs set up a makeshift studio in her bedroom and spoke with Nadine Lebde. A triple threat - Physiotherapist, academic researcher and creative writer in Sydney, Australia. 

Just as Nadine’s skill set is diverse, so was our chat! 

Topics include, growing up Arab in Australia, reclaiming being a ‘nerd’ and  balancing academic life with creative projects.

About Nadine Lebde (Bio supplied by guest) 

"Nadine Lebde is an Australian-Lebanese writer from Western Sydney. She has an Honours degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Sydney, and her research has been published in the British Medical Journal’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Nadine was selected to be a reviewer for the StoryCasters Project, an initiative for emerging culturally diverse writers run by Sweatshop in collaboration with Diversity Arts Australia. Her creative non-fiction piece was shortlisted for publication in the anthology "Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity" (2019) edited by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Sara Saleh. In 2008, her student blog was nominated for Edublog’s international award “Best Individual Blog”. Nadine is a member of Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement, a WestWords Academian (2020), and has performed at Bankstown Poetry Slam as well as the Surry Hills heat for the Australian Poetry Slam."

Show credits:

Producer & Editor: Rebecca Maakasa 

Guest: Nadine Lebde. 

‘The Margerine Tub’ story & artwork referenced in the episode is from Amaliah_Com via Instagram 

The music you heard is ‘International Promenade’ via Free Music Archive.

You can keep up with Culture Cult on our facebook page    

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Extended interview with Becs in conversation with fellow solidarity protester Amir.

Amir flew to Lebanon a day after this was recorded and is currently supporting the movement on the ground. You can keep up with him on @ppprnce on instagram.

A third solidarity protest will be held this Sunday 3rd of November at Lygon Street Argyle Square 4-7pm. The international energy is needed now more than ever to keep the pressure up and to innvigorate our family and friends in Lebanon as they enter their second consecutive week of action. 

Follow our continued coverage @culturecult_syn and @melb2beirut. 

[email protected]

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Day #9 of the Lebanese Revolution

Rebecca Maakasa attended the second solidarity protest in Melbourne, juggling a recorder, camera, and Lebanese flag in her hands to capture your voices, pride and unity. 

Follow @melb2beirut on Instagram to see the action in colour!

Produced by Rebecca Maakasa for the Culture Cult on SYN.  

Thank you to SYN Media Volunteer Declan Jones for his assistance with this coverage. 

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Rebecca Maakasa stood alongside her fellow Lebanese diaspora on Sunday and recorded their voices. 

Under one flag we are united, here your voices are heard! 

Tomorrow 6pm Argyle Square, Lygon Street Melbourne Round 2 we gather as a global community under one flag! our people want and need. Peace, stability and security aka basic #HumanRights

💚@culturecult_syn I will be there to hear YOU!

👍Bring your flags, voice and pride
👎Please no chants targeting specific people or groups.
#ثورة #كلنيعنيكلن

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"What aspects of the Lebanese Culture do we want to share with the world through cinema?" 

Becs speaks with LFFAU (Bank of Melbourne Lebanese Film Festival) Co-Director Jessica Khoury at the screening of 'Wanted' at Melbourne Central Hoyts 11th October 2019. 

FULL INTERVIEW HERE 

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The 2019 Bank of Melbourne Lebanese Film Festival Australia runs throughout the country between August to November.

Becs speaks with festival Co-Director Jessica Khoury as the crowd fills in to the screening of 'Wanted' (مطلوبين). 

A sharing of culture through the screen can bring diverse audiences together, and who doesn't enjoy the feeling of a crowd united in laughter? 

LFFAU brings cinema that shows the multifaceted stories of Lebanon, and last year they premiered Nadine Labaki's Oscar Nominated 'Capharnaum'. The team certainly have a good eye for spotting these stories first! 

This is the second time the leg of the festival has been showcased in Melbourne, featuring 'Wanted'  (Dir. Nibal Arakji 2019), 'Good Morning' (Dir. Bahij Hojeij 2018) and 'On The Footsteps Of Christ Dir. Philippe Aractingi 2018). 

Interview - Rebecca Maakasa, recorded at Melbourne Central Hoyts Cinemas Friday 11th October 2019 8:45pm

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SEASON FINALE 

July 2019

It's a Culture Cult party, to celebrate and wrap up our seasonal program.

Featuring a live dabkeh-folk dance lesson with Bellydance with Zabelle.

Music Credit: http://freemusicarchive.org/ Curator: Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

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• Maria heads to Live At The Greek in Melbourne and speaks to John Kostarakis and Antonia Tsamis. 
• Becs reflects on lessons learned in building empathy at Digi Engage 2019, including her encounter with Arno Michaelis a former white supremacist who now serves to spread messages of forgiveness and inclusivity. 
• Becs and Maria discuss an impressionable quote by Nadir Nahdi "If you don't define yourself someone else will..." (Nadir is a social-change maker and creator of BENI.)

Say ciao/yassou/marhaba/salut at [email protected]

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In episode 9 we transformed the Culture Cult into a cafe! ☕️🍰

• 🇮🇹An interview with Mario Maccerone, of the iconic Mario's Cafe in Brunswick Street, Melbourne.
• 🔮 Funda of 'Divine Tarot Energy' reads our coffee cups, making predictions for our future. 
• 🍹💃🏻Becs recaps 3ZZZ's 30 Year Ball Celebration and the 25th Annual Reclink Community Cup between the community broadcasters of Melbourne and local musicians. 

Say ciao/yassou/marhaba/salut at [email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/culturecult_podcast/ 

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