Opening of “The Arab World is Changing” Conference
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Co-organized by the BA Dialogue Forum and the Arab Reform Initiative, “The Arab World is Changing” Conference was opened on Monday, 12 December 2011.
The Opening Session was moderated by Dr. Sameh Fawzy, Deputy Director of the Dialogue Forum, who said that the Conference aims at observing the political transformation that the Arab World is currently witnessing, and studying the changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Libya, in light of the results of the parliamentary elections in Tunisia, and the first phase in Egypt.
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, talked about the constitutions in the Arab Spring countries. He also tackled the importance of re-considering several concepts such as citizenship, the civil society and the role of media.
Basma Qadmany, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative, stressed on the urgency of moving from the stage of reform to that of change. She maintained that the Arab youth have their own vision but the societies still do not trust them enough.
In his speech, George Isaac, Co-Founder of Kefaya (Enough) Movement, called on intellectuals to speak to people on the streets instead of talking to one another in closed meeting rooms. He mentioned that this day commemorates the first demonstration led by Kefaya movement in 2004, after which the culture of fear was broken for good.
Political Researcher and Activist Ibrahim El-Huddiby pointed out the emergence of the new “political elite” phenomenon in the Egyptian revolution, who allied with the current administration and repeated some of the old regime practices. He stressed the need for a new elite in the next phase.