Middle East Mosaic 2012

The Mosaic is the annual newsletter of the Middle East Initiative. The entire newsletter can be downloaded as a PDF with the link below.

A message from Middle East Initiative Director Hilary Rantisi:

We are proud to report on our work in the 2011-2012 academic year. Building on the momentum of last year’s political changes in parts of the Arab Middle East, we harnessed the research and teaching strengths of the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) community to greatly expand our program offerings.

We held an unprecedented 69 events on campus, many of them related to the Arab transformation. With partners across campus, we brought to Harvard emerging leaders including Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim, Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman, and member of the Tunisian Constituent Assembly Moncef Cheikh-Rouhou. In addition, we hosted a panel that explored the role of civil-society groups in transitioning countries and examined the opportunities and obstacles faced by global philanthropies working with those groups. Together, these activities and others formed part of a broader multi-year project of research that continues to focus on the role of civil society in the region.To meet growing student interest in the Middle East this year, we worked with employers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the occupied Palestinian territories to offer new internship opportunities; granted travel funding to six students to conduct research in the region; and supported the launch of the Kennedy School’s first student-run journal on the Middle East, the Harvard Journal of Middle East Politics and Policy (JMEPP). These efforts and others will continue in the year to come.We give special thanks to our faculty director, Professor Nicholas Burns, our supporters, and students for another exciting year. We look forward to many more together!Building on the momentum of last year’s political changes in parts of the Arab Middle East, we harnessed the research and teaching strengths of the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) community to greatly expand our program offerings.

We give special thanks to our faculty director, Professor Nicholas Burns, our supporters, and students for another exciting year. We look forward to many more together!