Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Program Manager – GRC Environmental Security and Sustainability Program, participated in the Science and Policy Forum, a pre-meeting for the second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 2), which took place at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya on 19-20, May 2016. The Gulf Research Center participated in the meeting in its current capacity as the Global Focal Point of the Science and Technology Major Group of UNEP.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the GRC Foundation in Geneva, participated as an expert in the Geneva Center for Security Policy’s Leadership in International Security Course, a course designed to increase the conceptual and leadership skills of high-performing professionals, who seek to address the world’s most pressing security challenges. Participants in the course prepared a 10-year strategic analysis report on “UAE version 2026: Towards a stable MENA” in their role as a Special Strategic Planning Unit for the President of the UAE with Dr. Koch evaluating their report and presentation and participating in a discussion about the report itself.
Dr. Koch also took part in a panel discussion entitled “Oil Addiction: Saudi Arabia” organized by the MENA Initiative of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (HEI) in Geneva. The event brought together students from the Graduate Institute to engage in a wide-ranging discussion on the political and economic dimensions of the oil debate in Saudi Arabia. Prof. Giacomo Luciani, a trustee of the Gulf Research Center Cambridge, also participated in the deba
Dr. Christian Koch participated in the workshop on “Iranian-Saudi Perspectives on the Refugee Crisis: Regional Support for the Departure Contexts Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen,” held in Bonn, Germany and organized by the East-West Institute and the Center for Applied Policy Research with the Orient (CARPO). Dr. Koch chaired the panel on “Regional Support for the Stabilization for Afghanistan” and spoke on the Panel entitled “Regional Support for Conflict-Resolution in Yemen.” The event brought together 25 participants from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Europe.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Program Manager – GRC Environmental Security and Sustainability Program, participated in the launching ceremony of the Arab Development Portal and the regional Workshop on Sustainable Development Goals organized by the United Nations Development Program (MENA region office), which took place in Amman, Jordan on 25-27 April 2016. Dr. Raouf participated in the working group that focused on environmental issues.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Program Manager – GRC Environmental Security and Sustainability Program, participated in the 91st Rose-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly - Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group, which took place on 20-22 April 2016 in Rabat, Morocco. The event was hosted and co-organized by the Parliament of Morocco. Dr. Raouf delivered a presentation entitled “Environment, Water and Security in the Middle East.”
Dr. Christian Koch participated in the discussion on the release of the Eighth Annual Arab Youth Survey entitled “Inside the Hearts and Minds of Arab Youth” and held at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. The Arab Youth Survey 2016 explored attitudes among Arab youth in 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa based on 3,500 face-to-face interviews. Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller that published the survey, presented the findings following by an overall discussion on the survey’s results.
