Belonging International is a non-governmental organization dedicated to advocating for architecture and planning with a focus on human rights.

Lifta is an abandoned Palestinian village in west Jerusalem, inside Israel. Its inhabitants were displaced during the Israel/Arab war in 1948, an event Palestinians refer to as ‘Al Nakba’ (the catastrophe), which saw two-thirds of the Palestinian population displaced from their homes. Lifta bears witness to the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the socio-religious coexistence that once flourished there, where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived side-by-side for hundreds of years before all were displaced in 1948.

Belonging NGO aims to advocate for Lifta as a Site of Conscience, using memory to activate the experiences of victims while addressing the Israel/Palestine conflict through methods that promote ‘non-recurrence of political violence’. Belonging International believe it is essential to openly discuss historical truths concerning the Palestinian tragedy during the Israel/Arab war within Israel, without those truths being objectified as a form of political violence. Achieving this requires a highly critical and rigorous approach to how methods and practices generate public discussion, which is necessary for any attempt to address the value of Lifta within Israel.

Belonging International is a multidisciplinary practice with an ethos and intent to deliver ‘activism architecture’ and other cultural productions. They underline our investigations from a central perspective surrounding the notion of ‘belonging’. Their campaigns and projects aim to build invaluable capacity, fostering critical discussions and creative interventions that challenge and transform conflict within contested geographies and divided societies.