Dr. Ezzeddine Abdelmoula, AlJazeera Centre for Studies’ Research Department Manager and Vice President of the Organizing Committee of the 8th AlJazeera Forum, has announced that the forum’s program this year is slightly different from years past. This includes a decrease in the number of plenary sessions in order to increase parallel sessions, allowing more guests to participate during the three-day forum titled, “Change in the Arab World: Where To?” that will be held 26 through 28 May 2014. Dr. Abdelmoula said, “We hope this step will enrich debate and improve content offered by the forum this year”.
Dr. Abdelmoula further said, “In addition to the keynote speeches and plenary sessions, there will be roundtable discussions, workshops and training sessions, as well as the Youth Forum, one of the main events adding value to the forum”. The Organizing Committee has also allocated an evening of dialogue with AlJazeera Media Network’s top management to allow guests to acquaint themselves more closely with this leading media organization. It will be an evening of open dialogue in which the network’s management will answer questions and interact with guests regarding the network’s performance and future role.
Guests from over fifty countries will participate in the forum, including politicians, media professionals, intellectuals and civil society activists. In this regard, Dr. Abdelmoula said, “We were keen on achieving a global balance of participants in order to reflect the global nature of the forum”. In addition, there is a clear generational balance, with noticeable youth participation alongside more seasoned guests with rich experience.
Choosing speakers was largely based on the forum’s main themes, broadly split into three topics: revisiting processes of change in the Arab world, obstacles to democratic transformation, and future of change. Dr. Abdelmoula confirmed that the forum will host keynote speakers such as former Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh and Prime Minister of the Syrian interim government, Ahmad Tumeh, as well as other prominent figures.
