A critical and participative look at the Middle East Mediterranean

The Middle East Mediterranean Freethinking Platform will officially begin its activities on Thursday, September 21, with a inaugural lecture held by renowned French political scientist and arabist Prof. Gilles Kepel, who also chairs this new platform of discussion on the Middle East Mediterranean to encourage a critical and participative look at the events that are transforming this region and shaping the European continent.

“The Setting of the Postcolonial System in the MENA Region and its Ambiguities” is the first in the series of 10 public lectures, all held by Prof. Gilles Kepel. The inaugural lecture will explore the origins of current geopolitical events in the region, by illustrating the phases, challenges and ambiguities of the process of realization of the post-colonial system, from the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire to the Cold War. The second lecture in the series, which takes place the following day, is entitled “From Nationalisms to Islamism: the Watershed Decade of the 1970s”, will examine the transition from nationalism to Islamism that occurred during the 1970s, a watershed decade for the region from a political, social and economic perspective.

The series of lectures, which will continue on a regular basis until May 2018, will focus on several topics, such as the clash between global powers in the complex game of regional politics, the impact of crude oil and natural gas prices on the stability in the region, the effects of all this on migration, and the Jihadist presence in Europe.

The lectures will be complemented by academic seminars, held by Dr. Federica Frediani, manager of “Inside the MEM”, the global educational component of MEM Freethinking Platform, providing further examination of these topics through critical readings.

A Summer Summit will be hosted in Lugano, in 2018, at which academics, intellectuals, artists, politicians, economists, media and non-governmental organisations will gather and benefit from the privileged location for a neutral dialogue between northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

For more information about the Platform: https://www.usi.ch/en/mem

To register for the lecture series: www.usi.ch/en/iscrizione-inside-mem

To receive information on the Middle East Mediterranean Freethinking Platform: [email protected]