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The year 2022 should put the city of Tripoli back in the spotlight, and in particular the Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF). Included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2018, the site is currently the subject of a conservation management plan drawn up by UNESCO Beirut and funded by the Getty Foundation, a plan that should be completed by the end of 2022. In this context, a team from UNESCO Beirut organized an on-site visit, accompanying the Ambassador of Brazil in Beirut, Hermano Telles Ribeiro, and UNESCO partners from the Directorate General of Antiquities.

Imagined by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, two years after the inauguration of his internationally-recognized city Brasilia, the RKIF encompasses over 15 structures, from the main exhibition space known as the Grand Cover, to the Lebanon Pavilion, the space museum, the open-air theatre, the water tower and the Pyramid. During the visit, Hermano Telles Ribeiro commended the board of the RKIF for having preserved the site with little resources, expressing the gratitude of his country.

Heading the UNESCO delegation, Costanza Farina, Director of UNESCO Beirut, highlighted the common interest of both parties, Brazil and UNESCO, in the RKIF and its preservation, putting a strong emphasis on the conservation management plan of UNESCO, as a critical policy instrument to ensure adequate protection of the heritage value of the fair in any future reuse option.

From his side, Akram Oueida, President of the RKIF board, affirmed that the board members are aware of the heritage value of this complex and are open for potential ideas and projects that would contribute to its protection and development. Radwan Moukadem, a board member, similarly exposed the main issues that face the site, notably the signs of decay of the aging concrete and the outdated function of the complex as an international fair. “Adaptive reuse is the solution”, he said. “Several project proposals were discussed yet none was realized, except for the Minjara project that produces and markets wooden furniture designed by Lebanese and foreign designers and produced through Tripolitan craftsmanship.”

The visit was also an opportunity for the Ambassador and the UNESCO team to understand the different reasons why the RKIF did not function as intended, including an absence of funding. The delegation took note of the degree of degradation to the fabric of the different structures, in view of putting further efforts into supporting its future preservation and development as an important socio-economic and cultural enabler towards sustainability.

The RKIF visit was followed by a walk in the old city of Tripoli, along with the Secretary General of the Higher Relief Committee Major General Mohamed Kheir, starting with the Crusader Castle and all the way to the old souks, where many residential buildings are damaged and in need of urgent repair. Lebanon's most impoverished city, Tripoli is home to over 700,000 people. It has suffered years of neglect and is stigmatized today with violence.