Program Announcement: The Beirut, Damascus & Gulf Exchanges May-July 2011

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: The Exchange is an effort by Mideastwire.com and its partners to promote engagement and understanding through a variety of city-focused, student conferences in and around the Middle East. The first Exchange was launched in June 2008 in Beirut, Lebanon. Now, several years on, over 150 students from 40 different countries have participated, with many going on to work as diplomats in their home countries, for NGOs serving the region and as social entrepreneurs. This year, we are offering the Gulf Exchange May 22-31 (in partnership with Project Encounter and the Dubai School of Government), the Beirut Exchange June 12-26 and the Damascus Exchange July 2-16 (in partnership with The Syria Report). ********* To view CNN on The Exchange, click here To view AFP on The Exchange, click here To view The Exchange website and previous Programs, click here To view the Gulf Exchange website, click here To apply, or inquire about any of the Exchanges, email info@mideastwire.com ********************** THE GULF EXCHANGE The first Gulf Exchange will take place May 22-31, 2011. The application process is now open. The Gulf Exchange, a flagship initiative of Project Encounter, is a visit program for young influence-makers and future leaders primarily from North America and Europe to the UAE, Qatar, and the Gulf, with an integrated itinerary to deepen understanding of the political, economic, and social dimensions of the Middle East. It is organized in partnership with Mideastwire.com. The 10-day program involves a high-level itinerary in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, consisting of meetings with leading companies, government officials, and civil society representatives. Participants will have closed-door sessions with some of the more high-profile figures in the Gulf, including CEOs, ministers, social leaders, journalists, and others. The integrated itinerary will also include a social and cultural immersion program, with a range of unique experiences organized just for participants of the Gulf Exchange. The application process is open to current or recent graduate students, or young professionals, who show exceptional ability and professional promise. In rare cases, undergraduate students may be considered for the program on a case-by-case basis. The initial deadline for the application is March 31, 2011. The second and final deadline for the application is April 15, 2011. Costs: The Gulf Exchange benefits from sponsors that help defray the costs borne by participants. Participants will have to pay for their own airfare from their home city to Dubai and will pay a subsidized rate for accommodations for the 11 nights ($600 for single accommodation, $300 for double occupancy). Other logistical costs and several meals will be covered by Project Encounter. Participants will be expected to arrange their own visas (most can receive visas on arrival to Qatar and the UAE). Pocket money for other meals, shopping and other expenditures will be needed, and participants will receive guidelines ahead of the trip. For more details, please email apply@projectencounter.org To apply, visit Project Encounter ********************** THE BEIRUT EXCHANGE June 12-26/Application deadline April 15, 2011 Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance In an effort to further its commitment to promoting dialogue and understanding, Mideastwire.com is pleased to announce the Seventh Beirut Exchange program. The two-week program June 12-26, 2011 will engage students from around the world in a multifaceted discussion of some of the key issues facing the region. ********* The Beirut Exchange program rests on three tracks: Academic - Participants will attend a series of lectures and colloquia led by leading academics and public intellectuals. Topics will include: International law in theory and practice in the Middle East; The United Nations as peacekeeper and mediator; Engaging political Islam; Pax Syriana in Lebanon; Asymmetrical conflict: the July 2006 Lebanon war; Human development in the Middle East and other topics. Language - Participants will have the option of attending 20 hours of Arabic language instruction at the Saifi Arabic Institute for Arabic Language in Beirut. Modules for both colloquial and formal Arabic will be available at different levels. Dialogue with Leaders - Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage social, political and economic leaders from across the spectrum in Lebanon - with a particular (though not exclusive) emphasis on exposure to leading Islamist and opposition currents. ********* Previous Speakers (partial list only): ·Omar Bakri, Iqra Islamic Trust for Research and Islamic Studies ·Bilal Baroudi, As-Salam Mosque Tripoli ·Nicholas Blanford, Times of London ·Richard Chambers, International Foundation for Electoral Systems ·Alastair Crooke, Conflicts Forum ·Robert Fisk, The Independent ·Toufic Gaspard, Economist ·Hanin Ghaddar, NOW Lebanon ·Timur Goksel, American University of Beirut ·Judith Palmer Harik, Matn University ·Nadim Houry, Human Rights Watch ·Farid El-Khazen, AUB ·Eli Khoury, Quantum Communications ·Karim Makdisi, AUB ·Sayyid Mohammed Marandi, Tehran University ·Michael Miller, European Commission ·Ibrahim Mussawi, Al-Intiqad ·Omar Nashabe, Al-Akhbar ·Nir Rosen, Journalist ·Osama Safa, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies ·Paul Salem, Carnegie Middle East Center ·Michel Samaha, Frm. Republic of Lebanon ·Milos Struger, UNIFIL ·Fawwaz Traboulsi, AUB ·Michael Young, Daily Star ********* Costs: Tuition - $2,000; Partial financial aid is available for those students and individuals that can demonstrate need. Note that this year, the Beirut and Damascus Exchanges can be taken together at a discounted rate. The tuition for both programs, before financial aid, is set at $3,500, with one "break" week June 27-July 1 occurring at the student's discretion in either Syria or Lebanon. Accommodation - Recommended accommodation is at our facility, Saifi Urban Gardens. Room rates vary depending on arrangements, but generally fall within the range of $300-$500 for the duration of the program. Alternative accommodation is available upon request. Airfare - $800, approximate from the European Union. Please note that all academic programming will take place at Saifi Urban Gardens, Gemmayze, Beirut. Tuition is 50% refundable up to three days before the program commences should the situation in Lebanon warrant a cancellation by Mideastwire.com. (Airline tickets and accommodation should be purchased with travel insurance.) ********************** THE DAMASCUS EXCHANGE July 2-16/Application deadline May 1, 2011 Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance In an effort to further its commitment to promoting dialogue and understanding, Mideastwire.com, in partnership with The Syria Report, is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the Second Damascus Exchange. The two-week program July 2-16, 2011 will engage students from around the world in a multifaceted discussion of some of the key issues facing Syria and the region. ********* The Damascus Exchange program rests on three tracks: Academic - Participants will attend a series of seminars led by leading academics and public intellectuals in Syria. Topics will include: Economic reform challenges; The evolving relationship between Syria and Turkey; Syria's role in the Middle East peace process; Arab nationalism; Hydro-politics in the Levant; and, Doing business in Syria: Barriers, opportunities and practices, including several other topics. Language - Participants will have the option of attending 20 hours of Arabic language instruction. Modules will be available at different levels. Dialogue with Leaders - Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage political, economic and religious leaders in Syria. ********* Program Format: The period 9am to 11am (Sundays-Thursdays) will be taken up by small group Arabic instruction. From 11am to 1pm there will generally be a lunch break at the student's discretion. From 1pm to 5pm - and often from 7pm to 9pm - the academic seminars will be held at the hotel where students will listen to presentations from speakers and engage in a moderated discussion on the specific topic. On some nights, optional leisure activities will be offered. Weekends are broken into three parts: Friday mornings the entire group will board a bus and travel to meet with a prominent political/religious leader; a lunch break will ensue. In the afternoon, a second such meeting will take place. On Saturdays, the entire group will travel to different sites across Syria. All transportation costs are included in the tuition. ********* Costs: Tuition - $2,000; Partial financial aid is available for those students and individuals that can demonstrate need, including being a current recipient of financial aid. Note that this year, the Beirut and Damascus Exchanges can be taken together at a discounted rate. The tuition for both programs, before financial aid, is set at $3,500, with one "break" week June 27-July 1 occurring at the student's discretion in either Syria or Lebanon. Hotel - The conference will take place at the Fardoss Tower Hotel. Under Mideastwire.com's group rate, shared double rooms are available for approximately $70 per night, per student, including all taxes and breakfast ($980 for the 14 nights of the program). Single rooms are available for approximately $130 per night. For the hotel website please visit, www.fardosstower.com. Note that less expensive accommodation is available upon request at nearby hotels/hostels. Airfare - Airfare rates vary depending on point of origin and the exact flight period. Note that July is the tourist high season in Syria so participants are advised to book their air travel as early as possible. ********** Our Partner: The Syria Report is the leading source of economic, business and financial information on Syria. The website features a large database of economic news, the only online directory of Syrian corporations, a weekly tenders list and an events section. For more information, please visit: http://www.syria-report.com/index.asp

Awesome blog of the day

I came across Eman Al Nafjan's 'Saudiwoman's Weblog' while I was reading about the disappointing turnout in protests in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. The blog looks great. I look forward to reading more of it.

http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/

Topics outside of my dissertation that interest me: Part 1 of many

Awareness of several related issues has sparked an interest in prison reform. First, the lamentable condition of prisons worldwide deserves attention. Second, the predilection of those engaged in political campaigns in the United States to 'get tougher on crime' has contributed to prison overpopulation. There are many other related issues related to prisons that nag me, such as the perverse relationship between corporations and penal facilities. However, my dissertation rules my life (or at least I want it to), and I am trying to sideline my interest in prisons until I have completed my PhD. I am writing about it here because I have embarked on a new dissertation thinking/writing process that requires me to consider what distracts me from writing in order to improve and hasten the dissertation completion process.

Here, in honor of this distraction, I include 2 tidbits.

Criminal defense attorneys are often asked “How can you defend those people?” Here’s one attorney’s answer (from 1980):

Those guilty of serious crimes merit the wrath of our society. But almost no one deserves the hell holes that we call jails and prisons. There is almost no case I would not defend if that meant keeping a human being, as condemnable as he or she may be, from suffering the total, brutal inhumanity of our jails and prisons…

– John B. Mitchell, “The Ethics of the Criminal Defense Attorney–New Answers to Old Questions,” 32 Stanford Law Review 293, 320-21 (1980). Reprinted in Rhode & Luban, Legal Ethics, 5th ed. (Foundation Press), 305-6.Link here for those with HeinOnline access.

And...

HM King visits women's pavilion at Marrakech local prison

(I've included the full article here since I can't get the URL to work).

Marrakech - HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid, visited, on Friday, women's pavilion at Marrakech local prison where the Sovereign enquired about accommodation conditions of the women prisoners.

- The Monarch enquires about actions carried out by the Mohammed VI Foundation for women prisoners and their children.

- HM the King enquires about actions carried out for ex-prisoners as part of post-imprisonment monitoring.

- The sovereign enquires about construction of a centre for post-imprisonment support in Marrakech, worth 3.5 million Dirhams.

On this occasion, HM the King visited the vocational training centre for women. The centre prepares women prisoners for integration in labour market in dressmaking, bakery trade, cake-making and functional literacy.

The Sovereign also visited the day nursery set up to accommodate six children accompanying their mothers.

HM the King enquired about the different actions, carried out by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Reintegration of Prisoners, benefitting 27 women inmates in Marrakech prison and 32 children living with the prisoners' families and totaling 530,000 dirhams.

These actions include paying for the school and training fees of 12 minors, providing financial support for 8 guardians caring for prisoners' kids, and helping 8 children of working age have access to job market. They provide also for the necessary health care, income-generating actions benefitting 7 inmates who will be released soon, and regularizing administrative situation of 9 inmates and their children (15) not registered in the civil status records.

The Sovereign enquired also about actions implemented by the Foundation for the benefit of former prisoners as part of the post-incarceration follow-up, namely providing jobs for 7 former inmates and a 430,000 dirham-funding for 10 Micro projects.

The Monarch was given explanations on the Post-Incarceration Center to be built in Marrakech for an amount of 3.5 million dirhams. Stretching over 500 square meters in Hay Hassani neighborhood, the facility will comprise a reception hall, a computer room, a meeting room and seven offices for people in charge of psychological, administrative and social assistance.

Last modification 03/05/2011 07:26 PM.

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Where you can come to hear about how illiterate women are transforming governance!

I will be presenting my dissertation research on the role of illiterate women in political change at the following three conferences.




Virginia Social Science Association Annual Conference
3:15 – 4:45 PM, Saturday 26 March 2011
Potomac River Room, Webb Center, Old Dominion University
Norfolk VA USA


and

1st Annual Intercultural Communication Graduate Research Expo

10am until 5pm, Saturday 9 April 2011--my presentation will be sometime between 1-2:30 (program)

The Commons building

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore MD 21250

and


Women’s Worlds 2011 “Inclusions, exclusions, and seclusions: Living in a globalized world”
3-7 July 2011
co-hosted by the University of Ottawa, and Carleton University
Morning plenary sessions will take place at the Ottawa Convention Centre
Ottawa Canada