Join debates and discussions with leading activists from Palestine, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey and Syria who offer analysis of the region which cuts through the picture of confusion and despair in the mainstream media. We will also hear hidden stories of courage and resilience which continue to inspire, five years after the revolutions which shook the region and beyond.
Djam Lecture Theatre, SOAS, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG
£5 unwaged / £10 waged (conference only)
£8 unwaged / £13 waged (conference and music event)
£4 unwaged / £6 waged (music event only)
| Time | Session Name | Speakers |
| 10am – 10.15am | Introduction | |
| 10.15am – 11.45am | Counter-revolution, military intervention and crisis in Syria | Joseph Daher
Muzna Al-Naib Jad Bouharoun |
| 11.45am – 12.30pm | Palestine and the struggle for justice | Omar Barghouti (via skype) |
| 12.30pm – 1.15pm | Lunch | |
| 1.15pm – 2.30pm | Egypt: strategies for resistance | Sameh Naguib
Sherif Azer |
| 2.30pm – 3.30pm | Academic freedoms under threat in Egypt and Turkey | Anne Alexander
Janroj Keles |
| 3.30pm – 3.45pm | Break | |
| 3.45pm – 5.15pm | Sectarian polarisation in the Gulf | Ala’a Shehabi
Adam Hanieh Ahmed Mansoor (via skype) |
| 5.15pm – 6pm | Closing session |
Plus special evening event: Music with Tashkezar in the SOAS Students Union – from 6.30pm
Tashkezar are a seven-piece playing an explosive mixture of all things Eastern – melodies from the wild steppes of Eastern Europe, rhythms from the sandy deserts of Eastern Arabia and harmonies inspired by the trade winds blowing down to East Africa. Hear them on soundcloud here.
Any funds raised beyond the conference costs will be divided between Middle East Solidarity magazine and the campaigns in solidarity with Academics for Peace in Kurdistan and against forced disappearances in Egypt.
Speakers:
Omar Barghouti – One of the founders of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. He will be joining the discussion by Skype.
Ala’a Shehabi – Founding member of Bahrain Watch and co-editor of Bahrain’s Uprising (Zed Books)
Sameh Naguib – Egyptian activist and writer. Sameh is a research fellow in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS
Anne Alexander – Writer and researcher, co-author of Bread, Freedom, Social Justice: Workers and the Egyptian Revolution, one of the organisers of the Open Letter on the death of Giulio Regeni, forced disappearances and torture in Egypt which was signed by 4600 academics and students worldwide.
Joseph Daher – Assistant teacher in the university of Lausanne, Switzerland and has a PhD in Development from SOAS. Joseph is the founder of the blog Syria Freedom Forever. He is a Swiss/Syrian leftist activist.
Sherif Azer – Egyptian Human Rights activist
Adam Hanieh – Senior lecturer in Development Studies in SOAS with a PhD in Political Science from York University, Canada. Adam is an international advisory board member for the journal Studies in Political Economy.
Janroj Keles – Research fellow, Middlesex University and activist with Solidarity with Academics for Peace, which was set up to defend academics under threat from the Turkish government because of their call for an end to Turkey’s war on the Kurdish people.
Muzna al-Naib – Activist with Syria Solidarity and a film-maker.
Jad Bouharoun – Lebanese activist living in the UK and editor of Middle East Solidarity Magazine.
Ahmed Mansoor – Human Rights activist from UAE. Ahmed campaigns over freedom of expression and civil and political rights.
Organised by Middle East Solidarity magazine with support from SOAS Unison, Egypt Solidarity Initiative, MENA Solidarity and Bahrain Watch
Sign up online here: menasolidaritynetwork.com/dayschool2016
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/middle-east-solidarity-dayschool-2016-tickets-20990272470
Organised by Middle East Solidarity magazine with support from SOAS Unison, Egypt Solidarity Initiative, MENA Solidarity and Bahrain Watch
MENA Solidarity Network 