International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP) held a meeting organized jointly with the DCAF Centre of Geneva on 25-26 November 2016. “Reassessing Beliefs and Belief Systems in the Middle East” gathered a group of 40 participants for discussions on:

• Forced migration and refugees

• Radicalism and violent extremism

• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

• The Arab Spring five years on

The conference’s purpose was to initiate a process which engages influential young people from the MENA region to collaboratively develop solutions and tools to address these challenges. Young academics, entrepreneurs and professionals working in national parliament and government, media organizations, international organizations, think tanks and NGOs, were drawn from over 20 countries across the MENA region, from Tunisia to Iran, from Sudan to Turkey, as well as from Europe and the United States.

All participants of the conference were able to make presentations based on the topic of their choice. Subsequently, they explored what they can do in their countries and across borders to promote positive change by challenging the beliefs and beliefs systems which sustain violence and thwart reform efforts in the MENA region.

A conference report is now available: ISYP-DCAF 1st Conference Report, November 2016

Please direct all additional information & general inquiries to the following email: menaconference2016@gmail.com