Past Conferences
2024-2025 Conference Season Highlights
Reimagining Palestine
Bringing together some of the world’s leading academics and practitioners for a thought-provoking exploration of the future of Palestine, this conference leveraged Doha’s strategic position to offer a unique vantage point on the complex realities of the region.
A.I. Uprising: Opportunities and Challenges for the Future of Work and Its Impact on the Environment
Hosting academics, CEOs, policymakers, and radical thinkers, this conference examined how to direct smart technology to act with conscience, and explore ways of harnessing AI’s potential without leaving humanity behind.
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 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 featuring keynote speaker Malcom Gladwell, 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.
Afghanistan Regional Symposium: Confronting the Impasse
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 organized by CIRS 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 Invasion of Iraq: Regional Reflections
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.