Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world

Past Event
Seminar

Whose Narrative Is It? Supporting Moderate Voices in the Syrian Conflict

Open to the Public

A seminar with Martha Myers, MENA Operations Director, ARK Group.

Date: Time: -
In this May 5, 2011, file photo, a citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and acquired by the AP, Syrians protest against the regime of President Assad, in the coastal town of Banias, Syria.

About

Please note location change: event now being held in WAPPP Cason Conference Room, Taubman Building, Room 102 (15 Eliot Street, Cambridge).

A seminar with Martha Myers, MENA Operations Director, ARK Group.

Everyone, including Bashar Al-Assad, ISIS, the opposition, and Jihadists, has a narrative about what has happened and what is happening in Syria. Everyone villainizes the other.  Everyone represents themselves as the source of salvation, earthly or otherwise. Everyone seeks to dehumanize and demoralize the other.  So whose narrative is correct?  Why is narrative important?  How are narratives being used in this conflict? Can we support some kind of decent outcome by contributing to the cacophony?

Co-sponsored by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) Middle East Forum.

 

Martha Myers has over 30 years of  experience in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, and the Sultanate of Oman. Her professional experience includes having worked for non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and donor agencies. She has conceptualized, designed, and managed a full spectrum of response including humanitarian/emergency, resilience, and development. Areas of particular interest include civil society development, capacity building of people and organizations, gender, and advocacy.