Project case study
MOVE Beirut!
A community wellbeing programme combining Muay Thai practice with reflective workshops, run in Beirut in the wake of the August 2020 blasts.
Context
In the months after the 2020 Beirut blasts, residents were navigating compounding shocks: the explosion itself, a collapsing economy and the pandemic. The need for spaces of physical and mental recovery was acute, and conventional therapeutic services were under strain.
Methods
- Four sessions per week combining Muay Thai training with reflective and educational workshops.
- Co-facilitation drawing on lived expertise — combat sport, community medicine and participatory research.
- Open access to participants across age and gender lines.
Outputs
- Sustained programme of workshops over an eight-week period.
- Documentation, photography and short film material.
- Networks between sport practitioners and community-health partners.
Evidence & impact
- Funded through a UCL Beacon Bursary, demonstrating institutional support for non-traditional engagement formats.
- Established a method for combining embodied practice with reflective wellbeing work in post-crisis contexts.
Relevance
For NGO, humanitarian and civic-participation roles, MOVE Beirut! illustrates a transferable approach to recovery work that takes the body seriously alongside the social and the cognitive.