mercredi 22 avril 2015

Applications Now Open For Four Upcoming Middle East Politics Conferences (The Exchange) June-July, 2015 -- Beirut*The Gulf*Tunis*Turkey


The Exchange is an effort by Mideastwire.com and its partners to promote understanding and academic enrichment through a variety of city-focused conferences in and around the Middle East and North Africa.

During their stay, typically lasting from one to two weeks, students and professionals from around the world engage directly with some of the leading intellectuals, academics and political leaders in the country - representing a variety of different viewpoints.

The First Exchange was launched in June 2008 in Beirut, Lebanon. Now, seven years on, almost 400 people from 48 different countries have participated, with many going on to work as diplomats in their home countries, for NGOs serving the region, in universities and as social entrepreneurs.

The following four Exchanges will be offered over the coming months:

* The 4th Gulf Exchange (Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Doha), June 6-June 14
* The 3rd Turkey Exchange (Istanbul & Ankara), June 21-July 4
* The 14th Beirut Exchange (Two Week Program), July 5-July 19
* The 6th Tunis Exchange, July 21-July 31

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To view previous Exchange programs in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Tunis and the Gulf, as well as media coverage of our efforts, visithttp://www.thebeirutexchange.com

View the CNN report on The Beirut Exchange at: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/01/21/perry.lebanon.meet.hamas.cnn?iref=videosearch

Beirut Exchange Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/10975175535/

Tunis Exchange Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/342217845855326/

Gulf Exchange (previous program with Project Encounter)
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectEncounter

Turkey Exchange: Istanbul & Ankara (Dialogue for Common Future Association)
http://ortakgelecek.org/en/turkey-exchange/

REQUEST AN APPLICATION for any Exchange via info@mideastwire.com

Note that tuition discounts, beyond standard financial aid allocations for those applicants with demonstrated need, are available for alumni of previous Exchange programs as well as students who wish to attend more than one Exchange. For more information, please email info@mideastwire.com

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THE GULF EXCHANGE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Doha)
June 6-14, 2015
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Application Deadline I April 15, 2015/Deadline II May 1, 2015
Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance
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The Gulf Exchange is targeted towards students and professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of the political, economic and social dimensions of the Middle East, and the Gulf in particular.
The 8-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

Speakers at previous Gulf Exchanges have included:

HRH, Dubai's Ruler and UAE's PM, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum
Emirates Airlines Representative Boutrus Boutrus
Social Worker Widad Lootah
Emaar Chairman Mohammed Al-Abbar
Dubai Ports World Chairman Sultan bin Sulayyem
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Chairman Ahmed bin Sulayyem
Atlantis Hotel Vice President Yahya Idriss
Al Arabiya News Channel Head of News Nakhle El Hajj
Etisalat Spokesperson Ahmed bin Ali
Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai Police Deputy Chief Commander General Khamis Al-Muzeinah
Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdallah
Sultan Saood Al-Qassimi
Al-Jazeera International

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Costs:

* Total Program Costs - $1800; This includes hotel accommodation (8 nights stay at a four star hotel, shared double room with breakfast), one roundtrip flight to Qatar, as well as all transportation costs associated with the program.

* Airfare - $500, approximate from  the European Union.

REQUEST AN APPLICATION via info@mideastwire.com

Visit our Facebook page and ask alumni questions at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/10975175535/

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THE THIRD TURKEY EXCHANGE (Istanbul & Ankara)
June 21-July 4, 2015
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Application Deadline May 8, 2015
Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance
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Dialogue for Common Future Association proudly presents its flagship program, the Third Turkey Exchange, in partnership with Mideastwire.com. The aim of the program is to serve as a platform for its participants to observe, study, and analyze the contemporary debates in Turkey through academic, public, and various types of meetings and visits. The program will host around 20 participants from various countries.

The Turkey Exchange rests on two tracks:  

Academic - Participants will attend a series of seminars led by leading Turkish academics, journalists, businesspeople and public intellectuals. Topics will include: The Gezi Protests and social movements, AK Party and Gulen Movement conflict, Turkey and the ISIS crisis, The future of Turkey-EU and Turkey-US relations; Turkey’s role in the Middle East conflicts; Economic reform challenges now and on the horizon; Pipeline politics and Turkey’s energy role; The AK Party in domestic and regional relations; The Kurdish question; Terrorism and the PKK; Turkey’s constitution and justice system; Women in Turkey; Hydro-politics and Turkish foreign policy, among other topics.  

Dialogue with Leaders - Participants will have the opportunity to meet and engage social, political and economic leaders from across the spectrum in Turkey.      

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Speakers at previous Turkey Exchanges have included:
Mustafa Akyol, Star Dailys
Prof. Talip Kucukcan, Foreign Policy Director, SETA
Cengiz Candar, Radikal Daily
Idris Kardas, Platform for Global Challenges
Hugh Pope, Turkey/Cyprus Program Director International Crisis Group
Ceyda Karan, Journalist
Bülent Kenes, PhD, Chief of Editor Today’s Zaman
Prof. Fuat Keyman, Director of Istanbul Policy Center, Sabanci University
Diba Nigar Goksel, Turkish Policy Quarterly
Idris Kardas, General Coordinator Platform for Global Challenges
Prof. Hasan Koni, Istanbul Kultur Univeristy
Oguz Demir, Istanbul Trade University, Economists Platform
Burcu Gultekin Punssman, PhD, Researcher TEPAV
Faik Tunay, Republican People’s Party MP
Oktay Vural, PhD, Vice President of Nationalistic Movement Party Group
Tariq Al Hashimi, Vice President of Iraq
Nuh Yilmaz, PhD, Marmara University, Star Daily
Zeynep Baser, TESEV
Dr. Asaad Asaad, Chairman of Support Center of Psychological and Personal Development of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

Institutions:

Prime Ministry, Office of Public Diplomacy
AK Party Foreign Affairs Presidency
Prime Ministry, Housing Development Administration (TOKI)
Information Technologies and Communication Agency (BTK)
Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA)
Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD)
Hrant Dink Foundation
Neve Salom Synagouge
Turkish Radio Television (TRT)
Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul
Religious Affairs Presidency
Greek-Orthodox Patriarchy

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Program Format:
The first nine days of the Exchange will take place at a 4 star hotel in downtown Istanbul (program opens at 6pm on June 21), although there will be several bus trips to meetings arranged outside the conference center. After that, three days of the Exchange will be spent in the capital, Ankara, where a series of meetings with political and diplomatic leaders will be convened. The final day of meetings on July 4 will be held in Istanbul at the hotel (program closes by 6pm on July 4).

Costs:
* Tuition - $2,000; Early Bird Application ($1,750) applies until  March 20, 2015. The last day for applications is May 8, 2015.

* Accommodation - $845; Our group rate is $65 per night, per person for a shared double room in 4 star downtown hotels in Istanbul and Ankara with breakfast and all taxes included. Participants residing in Istanbul have the option of off-site stay during the duration of the program. The hotel will be announced to those participants enrolled in the program.

* Airfare - $400; Approximate from the European Union. First class coach travel to and from Ankara is included in the overall tuition cost.

* Optional Cultural Excursion - $300; Participants will have the option of joining us on a trip to Edirne, the historical capital of the Ottoman Empire before Istanbul, located at the intersection between Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria. The additional cost for the excursion is $300 which includes bus transportation, one hotel night stay and all meals and taxes.

To apply, visit: http://ortakgelecek.org/en/turkey-exchange/

Please address any questions to exchange@ortakgelecek.org

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THE FOURTEENTH BEIRUT EXCHANGE (Two Week Program)
July 5-July 19
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Application Deadline I April 15, 2015/Deadline II May 1, 2015
Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance
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The two-week Beirut Exchange program rests on two tracks:

Academic - Participants will attend a series of lectures and colloquia led by leading academics and public intellectuals in Lebanon. Topics will include: The Arab Uprisings; The Syrian conflict and its regional implications; The Islamic State; The Special Tribunal for Lebanon; The United Nations as peacekeeper and mediator; Engaging political Islam; Asymmetrical conflict: The July 2006 Lebanon War; Human Rights in Lebanon and the wider Middle East; Sectarianism and its deployment, as well as a range of other topics.

Dialogue with Leaders - Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage leading social, political and economic actors from across the spectrum in Lebanon.

NOTE: Due to the current security situation in Lebanon, the Fourteenth Beirut Exchange will generally restrict its meetings in and around Beirut, although at least one trip to the North and one trip to the South is planned.

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View a previous full program for the Beirut Exchange at: http://www.thebeirutexchange.com/images/stories/products/1_-_ScheduleJan2012.pdf

Monday, January 5
9am – Nicholas Noe, Mideastwire.com
1:30 – Ayman Mhanna, Samir Kassir Foundation
4pm – Omar Nashabe, Consultant for the Defense Counsel at the STL
7pm – Jihad Yazigi, The Syria Report

Tuesday, January 6
9:30am – Karim Makdisi, American University of Beirut
1:30pm – Discussion section
3:30pm – Bashir Saade, Edinburgh University
6pm – Anne Barnard, New York Times
8pm – Nicolas Pouillard, Institut Français du Proche-Orient

Wednesday, January 7
10am – Discussion section
12:30pm – Shadi Karam, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister
2:15pm – Nick Blanford, Times of London/Daily Star
4pm – Ibrahim Moussawi, Al-Manar TV
5:30 – Liz Sly, Washignton Post

Thursday, January 8
9am – Alice Arrue, UNIFIL
10:30am – Angelina Eichhorst, EU Delegation to the Lebanese Republic
11:30am – Ahmed Fatfat, Future Movement
1:30pm – The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Staff
7pm – Abdullah Dardari, United Nations

Friday, January 9
9am – Makram Rabah, Georgetown University
11:30pm – Zizette Darkazally, UNRWA
4:30pm – Sami Gemayel, Kataeb
7pm – Mohammad Obeid, Hizbullah

Saturday, January 10
10:30am – Vincent Battle, Former US Ambassador
12pm – Ali Hamdan, AMAL
4pm – Mustapha Alloush, Future Movement

Sunday, January 11
1:30pm– Trip to the South (“Resistance Museum at Mleeta,” weather permitting)
5pm – Walid Jumblatt, Progressive Socialist Party

Monday, January 12
10am – Rabih Shibley, AUB
1pm – Alain Aoun, Free Patriotic Movement
2pm – Antoine Zahra, Lebanese Forces
3:30pm – Eli Khoury, Saatchi & Saatchi/Quantum
5pm – Hanin Ghaddar, Now Lebanon
8:30 – Dinner @ Muzzienne Restaurant

Tuesday, January 13
9:30am – Ali Qanso, Lebanese Armed Forces General Directorate
11:30am – Mohammad Afif, Hizbullah
1pm – Nadim Houri, Human Rights Watch
2:30pm – May Akl, Free Patriotic Movement
4:30pm – Becharra Rai, Patriarch of the Maronite Church
7pm – Nadim Gemayel, Kateab

Wednesday, January 14
10am – Ali Fayyad, Hizbullah
11:30am – Mohammad Qabbani, Former Sunni Mufti of Lebanon

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Costs:

Tuition - $1800; Partial financial aid is available for those students and individuals that can demonstrate need.

Accommodation - $840; Except for those students already residing in Lebanon, we recommend that all participants in the Exchange reside at the conference hotel during the duration of the ten day program. The hotel, located near Downtown Beirut, is priced at $60 per person/per night, including all taxes and breakfast, for a shared double room (we will arrange for sharing). Single rooms are available for $110 per night. Note that we will also arrange for less expensive, private housing near to the conference room which will be priced at approximately $40 per person, per night.

Airfare - $400, approximate from the European Union.

At the discretion of the student, tuition is 50% refundable up to three weeks before the program commences. (Airline tickets and accommodation should be purchased with travel insurance.)

REQUEST AN APPLICATION via info@mideastwire.com

Visit our Facebook page and ask alumni questions at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/10975175535/

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THE SIXTH TUNIS EXCHANGEJuly 21-July 31, 2015
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Application Deadline I April 15, 2015/Deadline II May 1, 2015
Limited spaces available/Rolling acceptance
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As with our other Exchanges, the ten-day program will engage students from around the world in a multifaceted discussion of some of the key issues facing Tunisia and the wider region. The Tunis Exchange program specifically rests on two tracks this Summer.

Track 1: Academic Seminars. Participants will attend a series of lectures with leading academics and public intellectuals in Tunisia. Topics will include, among others:

- The history and internal transformations of Ennahda, including organizational and ideological evolution since the revolution;

- The post-revolutionary evolution of the UGTT, Tunisia's powerful labor union, and its role in politics (including implications of its role as primary mediator in the National Dialogue of late 2013);

- Composition, platforms of, and alliances between major parties (including Jebha Chaabia, Nidaa Tounes, Hizb Joumhouri, and Afeq Tounes) with a view toward the next elections;

- State of the Tunisian economy, including regional inequalities, budget transparency and decentralization, etc.;

- Institutional and legislative reform needs following the passage of Tunisia's constitution, focusing particularly on reform of the Ministry of Interior (security sector) and Ministry of Justice (judicial sector), Tunisia's two most problematic ministries;

- Human rights in the new Tunisia (addressing issues such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, status of women, use of torture and the terrorism debate);

- Salafism, its composition (political, quietist, jihadi) in Tunisia and its relationship to and implications for party politics, stability, and governance moving forward;

- Taking stock of what Tunisia has done regarding transitional justice, what steps are planned to realize the recently passed transitional justice law, and what more needs to be done;

- The role of the media and civil society organizations;

- Youth politics and activism within and outside formal party structure.


Track 2: Dialogue with Leaders. Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage leading social, political, religious and economic leaders from across the spectrum in Tunisia.

Speakers at the five previous Tunis Exchanges have included:
Abdelfattah Morou (Ennahda Party)
Rached Ghannouchi (Ennahda Party)
Mehrezia Laabidi (Ennahda Party)
Imed Dehmi (President, Congress for the Republic Party)
Taieb Bakkouche (Secretary General, Nidaa Tounes)
Lazhar Akremi, (Nidaa Tounes)
Hama Hammami (Popular Front)
Meriem Bourbuiba (Former Hizb Joumhouri)
Maya Jribi (Hizb Joumhouri)
Adnen Haji (UGTT, Leader of the 2008 uprising in Redeyef)
Mounir Ajroud (President, Leagues to Protect the Revolution)
Mohamed Belkhouja (President, Reform Front/Salafist Party)
Habib Kazdaghli (Manouba University)
Taieb Ghozi (Imam, Grand Mosque of Kairouan)
Michael Ayari (International Crisis Group)
Ahlem Belhaj (President, Tunisian Association of Democratic Women)
Kamel Laabidi (National Authority for Information and Communication Reform)
Amna Guellali (Director, Human Rights Watch)
Bochra Belhaj Hamidi (Lawyer)
Hamida Ennaifer (Co-founder, Islamic Tendency Movement)
Salaheddine Jourchi (Co-founder, Islamic Tendency Movement)
Youssef Seddik (Philosopher)
Fabio Merone (Researcher, Gerda Hinkel Foundation)
Radwan Masmoudi (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy)
Amira Yahyaoui (Al-Bawsala)
Sihem Ben Sedrine (Transitional Justice Commission)
Slim Amamou (Blogger, Former Minister)
Yassine Ayari (Blogger, leading figure in the revolution)

Institutions:

UGTT (Tunisian General Labour Union)
Jibha Chaabia (Popular Front)
Ennahda Party
Nidaa Tounes (Call for Tunisia)
Congress for the Republic (CPR)
Leagues to Protect the Revolution
Jibhat al-Islah (a leading Salafist party)
Ettakatol Party
Afeq Tounes Party
Hizb Joumhouri Party (formerly PDP)
Union of Tunisian Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
High Authority for Audio-Visual Communication (HAICA)
Nessma TV
Kalimat Radio
Nawaat
Ettounsia Newspaper
Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (Les Femmes Democrates)
Ministry of Women's Affairs
Human Rights Watch, Tunisia
Ministry of Transitional Justice and Human Rights
Tunisian Observatory for a Democratic Transition
Al-Bawsala (government monitoring NGO)
Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH)
Amnesty International, Tunisia
Tunisian Network for Social Economy
Tunisian-American Chamber of Commerce
Tunisian Association of Young Entrepreneurs
Governorates (meeting with governors of Sidi Bouzid, Gafsa and Sfax)
Manouba University
Tunis University
Ministry of Religious Affairs
Ministry of Finance
International Center for Transitional Justice
Tunisian Judges Association
Tunisian Lawyers Association

(To view previous schedules for the Tunis Exchanges, visit www.thebeirutexchange.com)
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Program Format:
The Tunis Exchange will be held over ten days, mainly at the conference room of The El-Hana International hotel in downtown Tunis. It is recommended that students stay at the hotel since most meetings will take place in the hotel conference room. Off-site meetings during the ten days will entail bus travel as a group in and around Tunis, including to the National Assembly. At least three days of the program will entail travel to other cities and regions in Tunisia for meetings with local activists, intellectuals, academics and political/religious leaders, including in Sidi Bouzid, Gafsa, Redeyef and Sfax.

Costs:
Tuition - $1300; Partial financial aid is available for those students and individuals that can demonstrate need as well as alumni of our previous programs. All bus travel, transportation from the airport on arrival and other program costs associated with the full 10-day Exchange are included.

Accommodation - $500; Eight nights of the program will be spent in Tunis, while at least two nights will be spent at hotels outside of Tunis. Room rates vary depending on arrangements, but generally fall within the range of $50 per night, per student for a shared double room (breakfast and taxes are included). Alternative accommodation, including in a single room, is available upon request.

Airfare - $350, approximate from the European Union.

REQUEST AN APPLICATION via info@mideastwire.com

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About The Exchange Co-Directors:

Baybars Orsek (Istanbul-Ankara) holds his bachelors degree in international relations from Istanbul Bilgi University and obtained a masters degree in conflict analysis and resolution from Sabanci University. Mr. Orsek is currently pursuing his PhD in Political Science at Yeditepe University. Between 2012-2013, Orsek worked with the Platform for Global Challenges as the Organizational Coordinator where he coordinated many events dealing with international issues. He is also the founder of the consulting firm Istanbul Solution Center and is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors at The Dialogue for Common Future Association.

Monica L. Marks (Istanbul-Ankara & Tunis) is a North Africa analyst, Rhodes Scholar, and visiting fellow at Columbia University's Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion. Her work, which focuses primarily on Islamism and institutional reform in Tunisia, has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed academic publications and news outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times, Foreign Policy as well as think tanks such as the Barcelona-based Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), the Carnegie Endowment, and the Brookings Doha Center. A former Fulbright Scholar to Turkey, Ms. Marks returned there to work as an instructor at Istanbul's Bogazici University in 2013 and again in 2014. Ms. Marks is based, however, in Tunisia, where she has also moonlighted as a freelance journalist for The New York Times and she frequently comments as a Tunisia-based political analyst on programs including BBC, France 24, and NPR. Ms. Marks is a doctoral candidate at St Antony's College Oxford. Her doctoral research is supported by the European Research Council in conjunction with the Institut de Recherches et d’Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman (IREMEM) in Aix-en-Provence.

Ferdi Ferhat Ozsoy (Istanbul-Ankara) received his undergraduate diploma from City University of New York at Brooklyn College where he triple majored in History, Political Science and Education. He is currently completing his MA on International Relations at Istanbul Bilgi University and is working at the Platform for Global Challenges at Istanbul Bilgi University as an Organization Coordinator, organizing seminars, conferences and panels on foreign affairs. Mr. Ozsoy is one of the founding members of the Dialogue for Common Future Association and serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Nicholas Noe (Istanbul-Ankara, Gulf, Tunis & Beirut) is currently a co-editor of the Heinrich Boell Foundation's journal on the Middle East, Perspectives, the editor of the 2007 book, "Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah" (Verso), Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the Beirut-based news translation service Mideastwire.com covering the Middle East media and the Co-Director of The Exchange program which now counts almost 400 student alumni from 48 different countries. He regularly provides commentary for Al-Jazeera International, BBC, CNN and several US and European publications and is the author of a White Paper for the Century Foundation entitled: "Re-Imagining the Lebanon Track: Towards a New US Policy." Mr. Noe's op-eds on the region have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy Magazine, Asia Times, The National and The National Interest.

Yamen Soukkarieh (Istanbul-Ankara, Gulf, Tunis & Beirut) is the Co-Director of the Beirut Exchange program. Since graduating in 1999 with a Communication Media Degree from the Lebanese American University in Beirut, he has worked as a producer and cameraman for numerous Lebanese and international films, media productions, documentaries and journalists including CNN, Arte and Al Jazeera among others.

Leila Hatoum (Gulf & Beirut) is a media professional with 15 years experience in the field who has worked with prestigious local, regional and international media outlets including Al Arabiya News Channel, The Wall Street Journal,  CBS TV  and The Daily Star. Ms. Hatoum has also worked for the United Nation's UNOCHA and UNIFIL. She is a Co-Founding Partner of Mideastwire.com and a Co-Director of The Exchange program and holds a masters degree in international public law with an emphasis on humanitarian law.

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