Date: 21 June 2014Time: 10:00 AM

Finishes: 21 June 2014Time: 6:30 PM

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings Room: Khalili Lecture Theatre

Type of Event: Conference

Conference Programme:

Session I [10:00 am – 12:00 pm]
The character & changing dynamics of the Syrian revolution

• Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies & International Relations, SOAS, author of The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising
• Robin Yassin-Kassab, Author of The Road From Damascus, co-editor of Critical Muslim & PULSE
• Salwa Ismail, Professor of Politics with reference to the Middle East, SOAS, author of Rethinking Islamist Politics: Culture, the State and Islamism

Moderator: Rima Majed, PhD Candidate in Political Sociology, Oxford University, member of Oxford Solidarity For Syria

Lunch Break [12:00 pm – 2:00 pm]

Session II [2:00 pm – 4:00 pm]
Combating media distortions, challenging dominant narratives on Syria

• Bente Scheller, Middle East Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, author of The Wisdom of Syria’s Waiting Game: Foreign Policy Under the Assads
• Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, Co-editor of PULSE, author of The Road to Iraq: The Making of a Neoconservative War
• Scott Lucas, Editor of EA WorldView (eaworldview.com), Professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham, author of The Betrayal of Dissent

Moderator: Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver, co-editor of The Syria Dilemma

Coffee Break [4:00 pm - 4:30 pm]

Session III [4:30 pm - 6:30 pm]
Building solidarity: What concrete forms of action can we take to support the Syrian people?

• Kristyan Benedict, Crisis Response & Tactical Campaigns Manager, Amnesty International UK
• Reem Al-Assil, Member of the activist collective Freedom Days & the Syrian Nonviolence Movement
• Rima Majed, PhD Candidate in Political Sociology, Oxford University, member of Oxford Solidarity For Syria

Moderator: Danny Postel, Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver, co-editor of The Syria Dilemma

Plus a special video message from Syrian playwright Mohammad al Attar—via Beirut

Admission is free and open to all with no pre-registration required.

Organiser: Center for Middle East Studies, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Denver and LMEI

Contact email: vp6@soas.ac.uk

Contact Tel: 020 7898 4330 / 4490

Sponsor: Amnesty International UK, PULSE Media, EA WorldView, Critical Muslim and Oxford Solidarity For Syria.