Mission

The Arab Forum for Alternatives is an Arab research organization established in Egypt in 2008 to consolidate the values of scientific thinking in the Arab region and to tackle political, social, and economic issues through objective and independent methodologies. The forum also offers social and political alternatives not only for decision-makers, but for all players in the public sphere such as different political factions and civil society organizations.

The forum mainly aims at creating a society that relies on science as the main reference in the social sciences and as a step towards justice and democracy with both its social and economic aspects and towards the implementation of the principles of citizenship that celebrate cultural diversity and reject all forms of discrimination.

• Lack of independent research centers
• Inadequate interaction between decision-makers and civil society, with the exception of 2011-2013
• Absence of alternatives in the public sphere
• The rise of an extremist discourse on both the religious and political levels in parallel to a global trend the saw the growing influence of the far right

• Respecting diverse political and social contexts in the region
• Belief in universal human values
• Abiding by scientific rules required for conducting research in the social sciences
• Using the values of justice and democracy as the main reference

• The scientific skills of the research team
• Specialized research expertise in different fields
• A 10-year organizational expertise
• Independence through the diversity of researchers’ background and sources of funding

The forum’s mission revolves around providing alternative visions that aim at developing societies in the Arab region, determining the methodologies through which its issues and problems can be tackled, and consolidating the values of democracy, citizenship, justice, and governance. This should be done through linking the scientific to the practical and the academic to field work and through collaboration between decision-makers and civil society. In order for this process to be initiated, it is necessary to develop the mechanisms of interaction with local, regional, and internal organizations working in the field of reform and to contribute to creating in the Arab region a network of players that can carry out such mission.