SWEMENA Conference 2024

This interdisciplinary annual conference reflects SWEMENA’s main objective to bring together different communities of researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers across Sweden with an interest in the Middle East and North Africa region SWEMENA encourages the dissemination and discussion of new research on Middle Eastern politics and society and provides a network for scholars, students, policy-makers, and others with related research interests. 

Conference Program

Please note: presentations should not be more than 15 minutes to leave space for the discussant and Q&A

THURSDAY 22 AUGUST

11:00-12:00 Registration and Lunch

12:00-13:00 Opening Session

• Opening remarks by Karin Aggestam, CMES Director, Lund University 
• Keynote address by Charlotta Sparre, former Director of the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the MENA: How can we bridge the gap between analysis and practice? Reflections on enhanced exchanges between academics, practitioners and policy makers

13:15-14:45 Panel Session A

• A1: Migration, Diasporas and Integration
• A2: Environmental Politics in the Middle East – Destruction, Resistance and the Quest for Environmental Democracy
• A3 Roundtable: The 7^th of October and the Subsequent War in Gaza – Local, Regional and Global Impacts and Responses

15:15-16:45 Panel Session B

• B1 Roundtable: Humanitarianism in the Middle East
• B2: Dust Storms in the Middle East – Vulnerability, Causes, Strategies and Technologies
• B3: Armed Conflict, Security and Defence
• B4: Conducting Fieldwork in Arab Societies – Reflections on Positionality and Extractivism

FRIDAY 23 August

9:00-10:30 Panel Session C

• C1: Representations of Palestine Across Time and Space
• C2: Enhancing Water Cooperation in the Middle East – Challenges and Opportunities
• C3 Roundtable: The Orient There and Back Again. Multidisciplinary Reflections on MENA Research and Sweden 1974-2024
• C4: Diasporas as Transnational Actors

10:45-12:15 Panel Session D

• D1: Probing the Politics of Memory and Myth: Museums, Cultural Heritage, and Historical Narratives in the Middle East
• D2: Adapting to A Changing Environment in the Middle East and North Africa
• D3: Democratic Politics and Gender in the Middle East
• D4: Islamic Culture, Ethics and Religion

12:15-13:15 Lunch at Tegnérs

13:15-14:45 Panel Session E

• E1: Cultural Identity and Architecture in Turkey and Jerusalem
• E2: Mediation and Diplomacy
• E3: Grassroots Peacebuilding, Coexistance and Civic Education

15:00-16:00  Closing Session

Conference Venue

The venue for the conference is the Department of Political Science at Lund University. The building is called 'Eden' and is located on Allhelgona Kyrkogata 14 in Lund city centre, a 10 minute walk from the central train station.