Cities as crossroads

Cities have historically served as key spaces for cultural exchange, coexistence, and conflict, especially across the interconnected regions of Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. In the next Maqha-Conversation we will bring together three speakers to examine the dynamics of multiculturalism in cities, exploring historical continuities, cross-regional exchange, and approaches to fostering intercultural understanding in urban settings.

We invite all of you to contribute to the discussion by sharing how you see cities as hubs for cultural understanding, and what your dream multicultural city would look like! Whether you’re passionate about urban life, migration, diversity, or simply curious about the role of cities in shaping human connection, come and join the next Maqha Conversation to share your view on the topic!

Where Cultures Meet: Cities as Crossroads

Consulting, Capacity, Control: Foreign Actors In Arab Public Policy (Muscat)

It was a wonderful workshop in Muscat, and I was honoured to contribute my experience with UNESCO (paper title: Why UNESCO Matters in the MENA Region: Policy, Knowledge, and Social Transformation) to the AGYA working group ‘Dynamics of Transformation’ that explored the role of consultancies in policymaking across the Arab world, from education reform to energy strategy, and examined ways to incorporate local leadership. This will be the foundation for a future publication.

Before Borders: Pre-colonial routes and worldviews in the Southern Mediterranean (Fez)

My presentation “Before Borders: Pre-colonial routes and worldviews in the Southern Mediterranean” for the conference/workshop on perceptions of the League of Arab States.

Date: 17 December 2024

Organizer: AGYA / L’Université Privée de Fès 

City: Fez

Event link

Berlin and the life and afterlife of an essay (Berlin)

I will be giving a lecture at Bard College Berlin regarding the impact of my 2019 essay, On the need to shape the Arab Exile Body in Berlin, and how it has been received and mediated over the years with different audiences in Germany and across Europe, and how it is being re-read in light of the rise of German illiberalism and xenophobia.

The City and the Port: A dialogue between Alexandria and Marseilles (panel event)

It was an honour to moderate the Port-City dialogues event between the scholars and writers of Alexandria and Marseilles, with Alaa Khaled, Mohamed Adel Dessouki, Anne Millet, and Philippe Pujol. We explored the role of port cities after empire, and how ports shape the identities of these two magnificent cities of the Mediterranean.

Date: 3rd December 2024

Organizer: French Institute Alexandria

City: Alexandria

Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/2012594592549423

Silent Communities and Knowledge production: French Museums and Colonial Violence (Cairo)

Date: 22 September 2024

Venue: Goethe Institute Cairo

Moderating Dr. Faouzia Zeraoulia’s lecture on knowledge transfer and colonialism in the Maghreb, with a focus on Algeria. We had a spirited discussion on how knowledge production was reshaped through Francophone and Anglophone colonialism in Algeria and Egypt. This was part of the conference, Knowledge Transfer: Interdisciplinary Approaches Between Arts, Science And Society organized by AGYA.

Voices from the Arab Diaspora: Public Intellectuals, Literature, and Exile (Doha)

It was an honour to be invited to speak on a topic close to my heart and sharing the panel with stellar figures as Lebanese author Dima Issa and Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa, and moderated by legal scholar Noha Abouleldahab. It was an enriching discussion with a massive turnout in Doha, and it was refreshing to talk about Gaza without any attempted censorship. Thank you to the Middle East Council for the invitation and organising the “Voices from the Arab Diaspora: Public Intellectuals, Literature, and Exile” event.

The video of the event can be viewed below.