2016

1) Media and Democratic Transition(2016): in cooperation with the Swedish Institute in Alexandria

Tackling the nature of the problematic relationship between media and the political process in many countries in the Arab region, a relationship that is characterized with overlap to an extent that it is not separable, so it is hard to say that the problems of media can be solved if the system has become democratic. This project came out with a book that deals with a comparison between some Arab experiences: Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, and Morocco. These experiences differed from their political and social context. They varied in terms of the regulations that govern the media field and the scope that it provided in the democratic transition process. In fact, a comparison of these experiences is important because each experience represents a remarkable political context even if they share common features. It deals with a number of topics. First, it deals with the issue of media between established and modern behaviors, then approaches the idea of political polarization and private media with a focus on the Egyptian case, specifically the status of private Egyptian satellite channels. Also, the subject of how to manage the public media institutions that are owned by the state in the German experience compared to the Egyptian context and the challenges that it faces. And it dealt as well as with the subject of media and community and political movements of by reading the experience of Lebanon. In addition to the media – in contexts of post conflict – with a focus on the experience of Yemen from the popular uprising to the armed conflict (2011-2015). The book addressed subject of media in Tunisia after the revolution between the hostility and freedom and marginalization. It focused in Algeria on the experience of media from the year 1962 to the year 2016 through studying the political model, the legal framework, and the economic model in the various ages. Finally, the experience of Morocco with a focus on the impact of political context on the media in Morocco.

2) Project on “Social Justice”: An Alternative Economy (2016) in cooperation with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation – North Africa Office

The project aimed to strengthen the network in the region of stakeholders working in the field of social justice. The aim was achieved through the activities as follows:

– Seminar on social justice between social gaps and the alternative economy.

– A meeting between experts during which the project was presented to the experts in order to prepare and draw a general vision for the dialogue between stakeholders in social justice, and to build on that to draw the vision of the conference.

– Conference on “Social Justice between Social disparities and Alternative Economy in the Arab Region”.

– Training workshops in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco.

– Launching the website “Social Justice Portal”, which collects all literature and initiatives on social justice in the Arab region.

The project came with several outputs, namely Publications, which are two books in Arabic and English, containing all the papers that came out of the conference. The first book dealt with the issue of “social disparities and class distinctions in the Arab region,” and the second dealt with “alternative economics in the Arab region: concepts and issues.” Secondly, Launching the “Social Justice Portal”. And thirdly; Building the capacities of about 15 young men and women from social movements and political parties in each of the four countries (Egypt – Tunisia – Morocco – Algeria), on the concepts and applications of social justice.

3) Project on “Youth and Radical Movements” (2016) in cooperation with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation – North Africa Office

In the midst of the ongoing violence in the world in which an international terrorist wave has emerged led by ISIS, and after it became clear that one of the main features of this wave was the involvement of young people of different nationalities in the attacks, the urgent need for researchers came to start studying and identifying the root causes of this phenomenon. In this context, this project aimed to identify the root causes, and attempted to provide progressive answers from youth and young researchers about the reasons that prompted youth to join these violent groups.

This aim has been worked out by selecting 26 researchers and young people from all over the Middle East and Europe (Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and France) to write research articles on this topic. Researchers and youth were divided into three groups. The first group studied the root causes (socio-economic, cultural, political, or ideological), and the second group focused on studying the regional perspective (Arab Spring countries, stable Arab countries, and the second generation in Europe). The third group focused on a geopolitical perspective that led to youth joining violent radical groups (international, regional, and local). To achieve this aim, a two-day conference was held on youth and violent groups. Out of the conference, a book was published in Arabic and English that contained all the research papers in addition to an introductory chapter on the transformations of violent radical groups.