In November 2014 the Lutfia Rabbani Foundation organized a conference on ‘The Arab Future & the role of Europe’ as part of the Dialogue Platform. The conference in the Peace Palace was a gathering of Arabs and Europeans to reflect upon the Euro-Arab relationship. Under the leadership of BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet and with a keynote presentation by United Nations diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, panelists from a broad spectrum of fields addressed the challenges of political transition, economic development, education and social engagement. Read more »
Archives for November 2014
Why should Qatar reconcile with Egypt?
Ever since the popularly backed coup in Egypt in July 2013, there has been a break in relations between Cairo and Doha affecting not only ties between both states but also other matters of interest. It is time for Qatar to re-evaluate its relationship with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and learn from past mistakes. Rebuilding ties with the Egyptian people, before the government, is an important step in this direction. Read more »
The Arabian Gulf in the Social Media Era
In this interview with SAMAR, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi discusses his writings, the increasing influence of social media and the challenge of censorship in the Gulf, as well as the position of Arab media and citizens before and after the events known as the “Arab Spring.”
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Marwan’s exhibition reminder of Syria’s cultural destruction
In numerous corners of the Arab world, modern and historic artifacts are at best being neglected and at worst being destroyed. Libya, Iraq, Palestine and Algeria have all suffered conflict in the past few decades, but none more so than Syria, which has seen centuries-old communities, markets, architecture and art that took years, sometimes decades, to construct suffer decimation in a matter of months from regime and rebel artillery. In Syria, after the weapons are laid down and the foreign mercenaries depart, it will be the Syrians themselves who rebuild the country. Read more »