Four years after the beginning of the so-called “Arab Springs,” the outlook in the region remains unstable. In some countries like Syria, Libya and Yemen, the popular uprisings have turned into disastrous civil wars; in Egypt, the transition towards a democratic government is in stagnation, and Tunisia is still experiencing a very fragile socio-economic situation.

Despite a widespread feeling of despair, the population in many countries continues demonstrating that it wishes achieve significant change and better opportunities to achieve the revolutionary objectives of “bread, freedom and social justice.” Within this context, the story of “social entrepreneurship” needs to be told. The wave of popular movements gave rise to civic initiatives and even new companies that have breathed air into the region’s revolutions, and though unknown by most, they continue to be a phenomenon which must be taken into account.

In order to shed light on this poorly known phenomenon, Casa Árabe and the UNESCO Chair for Conflict Resolution at the University of Cordoba have organized this conference, to be given by Maryam Jamshidi.

A lawyer and writer with more than ten years of experience working on topics related with the Middle East and North Africa, Maryam Jamshidi has had her texts published in several academic journals, as well as media such as Al Jazeera English and TruthOut. She is also the founder of Muftah.org, a digital magazine that focuses on analyzing domestic and foreign affairs affecting the countries in the MENA region. Holder of a degree in Political Science from Brown University, she earned a Master’s degree in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and her PhD from the Law School at the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of the book “The Future of the Arab Spring: Civic Entrepreneurship in Politics, Art, and Technology Startups.”

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