Past Conferences
2023-2024 Conference Season Highlights
The Hiwaraat Series launched in the 2023-2024 Academic Year with seven timely and topical conferences offering insights from top practitioners, scholars, and activists. Conference topics included The Invasion of Iraq, Global Histories and Practices of Islamophobia, Afghanistan Regional Symposium, Sustaining the Oasis, Global Energy Cultures, On Palestine, and Gender in Foreign Policy.
Gender in Foreign Policy
Convened by GU-Q’s Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence Androulla Kaminara and GU-Q faculty and staff, this conference addressed gender-informed approaches to foreign policy and diplomacy, the role and risks of AI in policy and practice, and gender aspects of foreign policy in conflict situations with a focus on Gaza, Afghanistan and Sudan.
On Palestine
This symposium, moderated by Mehdi Hassan, featured leading voices on Palestine, and was organized around three thematic areas: justice and accountability, global media narratives and the shaping of public opinion, and avoiding traps in imagining a political future.
Global Energy Cultures: How Energy Shapes Our Everyday Lives
Contributing to a future where sustainable practices take center stage, this conference organized by CIRS in collaboration with Msheireb Museums, delved into energy’s societal, cultural, artistic, and historical impacts through history. Prominent scholars, policy advocates, artists, architects, writers, and activists underscored the pivotal role energy humanities plays in shaping and imagining just and equitable practices for energy systems around the world.
Sustaining the Oasis: Envisioning the Future of Water Security in the Gulf
Hosted collaboratively by GU-Q and Georgetown University Earth Commons, this conference underscored the historical significance of water stewardship and envisioned a comprehensive future blueprint for water security in the Gulf region in the face of a rapidly changing climate. Featuring keynote speaker Malcom Gladwell, this forum charted a trajectory toward sustainable solutions that resonate with the region’s economic and existential urgencies.
Afghanistan Regional Symposium: Confronting the Impasse
Organized by CIRS, this conference gathered leading scholars and policymakers to collectively explore the challenges of international relations and context of the current political turmoil surrounding Afghanistan. Ever since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Afghanistan has been at an impasse with the rest of the world, resulting in political isolation and civilian suffering. Through insightful panels covering the Afghan peace process, climate change and food security challenges, education, and humanitarian concerns, this symposium fostered a nuanced understanding of ongoing challenges and pave the way for informed, impactful solutions.
Global Histories and Practices of Islamophobia
Convened by members of the GU-Q faculty, this conference brought together a diverse collection of professionals, academics, government officials, artists, and students to explore the global, historical, theological, and political dimensions that drive practices of Islamophobia. The conference also provided a platform for public engagement on this pressing issue.
The Invasion of Iraq: Regional Reflections
The 2003 invasion of Iraq marked a critical turning point in America’s relationship with Iraq and its neighboring countries, a region of strategic importance encompassing vital energy and military interests, and reshaped its diplomatic relations worldwide. Convened by the Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar, Dr. Safwan Masri, in collaboration with the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), this conference took a regional perspective to reflect on the profound geopolitical and socioeconomic consequences of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that continue to reverberate across the globe twenty years later.
For general inquiries, contact the Office of the Dean at GU-Q.