1. Conferences and debates

Index / Videos / 1. Conferences and debates

casa árabe in youtube

Studying in Lebanon: Challenges to Syrian Refugee Children

Published at 38 12,,, 21 2021

Tenth conference in our program Aula Árabe Universitaria 2, to be given by Professor Carmen Geha (American University of Beirut). After ten years, the Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon are facing a new reality of long-lasting conflict and fear over returning home. Carmen Geha’s conference will analyze the complexities of being trapped in Lebanon, caught up in the middle of a turbulent political reality. The political system for sectarian-based power distribution in the country creates risks and challenges which can be seen in its educational policy towards Syrian youths. How do young refugees experience the educational system and what political realities make up the paths towards their return? The goal of this conference is to help conceptualize the role of education amid situations of uncertainty about the future and how a host country’s politics can influence the lives and future choices of young refugees. Casa Árabe has organized this conference with the cooperation of the bachelor’s degree program in Modern Languages at Nebrija University. Introducing the session will be Laura de la Parra Fernández, director of the bachelor’s degree program and a professor at Nebrija University, and Olivia Orozco de la Torre, Casa Árabe’s Training and Economic Coordinator. Carmen Geha Carmen is an activist and Associate Professor of Public Administration at the American University of Beirut. She specializes in mass political mobilization and the challenges to political reform across the Arab Middle East and North Africa. She is a co-founder of the Center for Inclusive Business & Leadership (CIBL) for Women at AUB, a regional reference on readying gender-inclusive employer policies across the region. She is also a co-founder of Khaddit Beirut (the shake-up), a network of 150+ experts implementing a community-driven roadmap for the recovery of Beirut following the port explosion on August 4th. She served also as Founding Director of the “Education for Leadership in Crisis,” scholarship program for Afghan women at AUB. Carmen manages and oversees large portfolio of research programs and grants in 11 Arab MENA countries focused on women’s economic participation as well as gender, peace, and security. Her work has been published in the Middle East Journal, the British Journal for Middle East Studies, Middle East Law and Governance, Journal of Refugee Studies, and Social Movement Studies among others. Carmen is an activist-scholar and is interviewed regularly on local and international media about events in Lebanon and the region. Carmen regularly advised and consults for top international organizations, UN agencies, and government institutions across the region. She has worked in Libya, Myanmar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq among other places. She has most recently consulted as Senior Gender Advisor for UN Women in Lebanon. Carmen has a PhD in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, she was the 2018-2019 fellow in social sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study. She has been a visiting fellow at the WiSER Institute in Johannesburg, Weatherhead Center at Harvard, and the Watson Institute in Brown University. More info: https://en.casaarabe.es/event/studying-in-lebanon-challenges-to-syrian-refugee-children

ALL VIDEOS IN THIS CATEGORY

IV Arab-Christian Day: Christian archeology on the Arabian Peninsula

Conference given on April, 13th at Casa Árabe in Madrid, by Julie Bonnéric, a researcher at the French Near East Institute (IFPO)

Published at 53 19,,, 16 2016
IV Arab-Christian Day: Christian tradition in the Gulf countries. Conference on "Christianity today"

Conference given on April, 13th at Casa Árabe in Madrid, by Michael O’Sullivan, Financial Administrator at the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia on "Christianity today"

Published at 48 18,,, 16 2016
Islam and Politics: Mythological constructs, past customs and current practices (French)

Casa Árabe and Casa de Velázquez have organized this conference with a view to analyzing the political changes in the Middle East since the Arab Springs. Both directors, Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe and Michel Bertrand, the director of the Casa de Velázquez participated in this round table along with Makram Abbes, a professor of political philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon; Nabil Mouline, a professor and researcher at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris; Karima Dirèche, director of the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC) in Tunisia, and Éric Gobe, a researcher with the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC). More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/islam-and-politics-mythological-constructs-past-customs-and-current-practices

Published at 47 14,,, 16 2016
Arts and Culture: shelter or reflection? (SP/ENG/FR)

Casa Árabe hosted a round table on the role of artists and cultural producers from the Arab world with regards to the current affairs affecting the region. With the participation of Zineb Sedira, artist and founder of ARIA (Artist Residency in Algiers); Ammer Abo Bakr, street artist; Rachida Triki, art critic, curator and Professor specialized in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art; and Nuria Medina, coordinator of Culture at Casa Árabe. This round table frocused on the role of artists and cultural producers from the Arab world with regards to the current affairs and uncertainties that are affecting the region. We tryed to seek answers to questions such as: where do we stand today, after five years of Arab uprising?; what are the most important issues affecting cultural institutions and artists across the region?; which are the perspectives for the youth, and among them, many artists? Although obstacles, extremism and censorship are increasing and affecting many critical intellectuals and artists in some countries, are there signals of a cultural revolution happening behind the headlines? In this regard, how determinant is being the technological change and global connection? In this context of change and instability, how artists and cultural producers deal with the tradition and memory of their cultures? More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arts-and-culture-shelter-or-reflection

Published at 40 25,,, 16 2016
Arab Dawn: Arab youth and the demographic dividend they will bring

Conference given by Bessma Momani, associate professor of the Political Science Department at the University of Waterloo. During the event, Momani was accompanied by Haizam Amirah Fernández, main researcher for the Mediterranean and Arab World at the Real Instituto Elcano, and Leila Nachawati, a professor of Communication at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid and co-founder of the portal Syria Untold. The event was presented by Karim Hauser, who is responsible for the Governance Area at Casa Árabe. Though it may seem implausible to some readers, despite the wave of negative news reaching us from the Middle East and North Africa, many youths who went out in the streets to demonstrate in 2011 continue to campaign for change. Their efforts seldom make it into the Western news, but there are stories which demonstrate the will of these generations to continue transforming the societies in which they live, from Saudi women publishing YouTube videos of themselves driving in Riyadh to an Egyptian television star exposing cultural hypocrisy by using hidden cameras. They are much less dramatic stories than the downfall of a dictator at the hands of the raging masses, but they may end up having a greater social impact. Though the wars in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq lead some to see nothing but a lost generation, the Arab world today is an undeniable source of creativity. In her book Arab Dawn, Momani challenges negative stereotypes of the region and proposes a series of positive changes, as well as discussing the hidden potential of Arab youths. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arab-dawn-arab-youth-and-the-demographic-dividend-they-will-bring

Published at 26 28,,, 16 2016