Let’s explore alternative voices about and of the Middle East together…
When we talk about the Middle East, what are the first words that come to your mind? War, refugee, extremism, and all other words that are related to the suffering of human beings?
Indeed, the war in Gaza, and the earlier ones that happened in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and so on and so forth indicates the unstable situation in the region. It is related to the legacy of colonialism, the ongoing imperialism, the authoritarianism in the region, sectarianism, the struggling process of “modernization”, this list can go on and on.
However, or because of all these, this is also a region where people are constantly imagining and creating different futures for their lives, communities, and societies. It is a region full of creativity and possibility. There are grassroots initiatives taking pains to bring changes in impoverished communities step by step, with a much equal power relationship. There are religious movements aiming to break away from sectarianism and foster mutual understanding between different religions and beliefs, there are also a confederal democratic experiment that reverberates in the whole world.
Therefore, the first aim of this room is to explore different alternatives. As mentioned above, the Middle East has been a region where people have been taking pains to explore and practice various alternatives they believe in. Their voices deserve and should be heard. Beyond the scope of the understanding provided by the international news regime, we would like to explore alternative voices and different aspects of the Middle East that don’t fit into the dominating propaganda. Moreover, their practices are not only related to the region, but are relevant to the whole world which is struggling to create alternative futures.
The second aim of this room is to provide a platform for different voices to have dialogue, to collide, to argue, and even to “fight”, so that mutual understanding and new knowledge will be generated. David Graeber once said, “we are all, and have always been, projects of mutual creation.” We believe that the new and revolutionary ideas are generated not by a single genius person, but most likely by dialogues and interactions among people and by people. This room will provide a platform for such dialogues to happen, hoping it will generate sparks that can contribute to the imagination of alternative futures of our world.
Forms:
- Reading groups
- Discussion groups
- Lectures
