Newsletters

47 Items

Study group members at the Harvard Art Museum

Sultan Al Qassemi

Investigating the Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art

| Dec. 08, 2021

This fall, Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, an Emirati columnist and researcher who specializes in social, political, and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf and the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation in the UAE, joined the Middle East Initiative as the Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar. One of the ways he has engaged with the Harvard community and shared his expertise is through his study group, “Investigating the Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art.” 

View from the Arab World

Fall 2020

In the fall, the Middle East Initiative (MEI) launched a new event series titled USA 2020: The View from the Arab World. Co-hosted by MEI Faculty Director Tarek Masoud, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman Professor of International Relations, and MEI Visiting Fellow Karim Haggag, Professor of Practice at The American University in Cairo, the series features dialogues with Arab thought leaders on the 2020 US elections and America’s changing role in the Middle East. Here we focus on Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National, an English language newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. 

- Middle East Initiative, Belfer Center

Middle East Initiative Mosaic 2019-2020

Aug. 01, 2020

The 2019-2020 issue of the Middle East Initiative Mosaic newsletter highlights MEI programs and activities during the academic year. This year's issue features the work of students, fellows, faculty, and staff on public policy issues in the Middle East, including a focus on innovative research on the challenges and opportunities facing the region from our scholarly community, Kennedy School students' remarkable contributions on campus and in the region, a dynamic year of public engagement, milestones for our community, and more!

teaser image

Staff Spotlight: Julia Martin

| Spring 2020

To say that the Middle East Initiative (MEI) has shaped Julia Martin’s life would be an understatement. When she was a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, Julia invited a friend to join her for an MEI film screening of The Band’s Visit. Amr accepted. Before long, they became husband and wife, and they are now raising three children together. 

Today, Julia serves as MEI’s Assistant Director, managing its programs, budgets, and strategic planning.

teaser image

Spotlight: Tarek Masoud

| Spring 2020

Our Spotlight in this newsletter is on Prof. Tarek Masoud, Faculty Chair of the Middle East Initiative (MEI).  In talking about MEI, Masoud says the Initiative is one of the most important ways in which HKS and Harvard engages with the contemporary Middle East. “It’s a bridge," he says. "My goal to make it into a superhighway.”

 

 

 

teaser image

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Building Bridges with the Middle East

Spring 2020

The Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) is tackling changes in the Middle East with a multi-pronged approach. By bringing together the world’s top academic and policy experts to debate issues at the core of the transformation, and by providing a range of on-campus, field experiences, and other opportunities for students and research fellows, MEI is helping develop the next generation of Middle East leaders and scholars and providing policy-relevant research on challenges facing the region today.

teaser image

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Building Sustainable Relationships, Energy, and Security in the Middle East

Spring 2020

While the Middle East Initiative is focused entirely on the MENA region, several other Center programs are also working on issues related to the Middle East, including Future of Diplomacy, Geopolitics of Energy, and the Managing the Atom.

- Middle East Initiative

Remembering Princess Banderi AR Al Faisal MPP '98

    Author:
  • Samia Sekkarie
| Dec. 20, 2019

It is never easy to bring about lasting social change. It is even harder to do so as a woman, in a place where women’s rights have historically been curtailed. And to use one’s position of influence as a means of improving the lot of others less fortunate, is commendable. Princess Banderi AR Al Faisal, a leader of Saudi civil society who received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from HKS in 1998, exemplified all of that. She dedicated her life to advocating for vulnerable people in Saudi Arabia. While she passed away unexpectedly this year, in just 46 years of an incredible life, she has created a legacy for generations to come.

MEI Mosaic 2018-2019 Cover

Andrew Facini

- Middle East Initiative, Belfer Center

Middle East Initiative Mosaic 2018-2019

| Dec. 20, 2019

The 2018-2019 issue of the Middle East Initiative Mosaic newsletter highlights MEI programs and activities during the academic year. This year's issue features the work of students, fellows, faculty, and staff on public policy issues in the Middle East, including a focus on innovative research on the challenges and opportunities facing the region from our scholarly community, Kennedy School students' remarkable contributions on campus and in the region, a dynamic year of public engagement, milestones for our community, and more!