King’s College London hosted the first of a three-part series of conferences organised by the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (IMES).

Navigating North Africa in 2020: Dominating Narratives and New Perspectives saw some of the foremost scholars, researchers, and experts working on challenges and opportunities facing the North Africa region share their research and insights with a global audience.

The event, held on 6 October, took place online and was attended by hundreds of people watching on Zoom and YouTube.

The conference featured three panel discussions and audience Q&As. The conference was prefaced with a keynote address from George Hodgson, Head of North Africa Joint Unit, Middle East and North Africa Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Mr Hodgson spoke about the region’s growing “strategic importance” to the UK and highlighted the collaborative work that had been taking place between the government and counterparts across North Africa.

You can view the recordings for each session below.

Panel 1: Political Islam across North Africa: Withered to irrelevance or continuous influence, chaired by Professor Katerina Dalacoura, from the London School of Economics and Political Science

Panel 2: Religious voices and peace: From grassroot peacebuilding movements to leading religious leaders and their impact, chaired by Professor Michael Willis, Director of the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford

Panel 3: Trans-regional threats and challenges: Terrorism, migration and smuggling, chaired by Professor Jonathan Hill, Director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, King’s College London

Organisers, Negah Angha and Inga Kristina Trauthig, from King’s Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, said: “The conference provided a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to share a platform with leaders in the field of Middle Eastern studies, exchanging ideas and engaging in conversation about a region that is ever-changing and developing rapidly.

“We are thrilled so many people from around the world were able to join us and we’d like to extend our thanks to everyone who took part and helped to make the conference such a success.”

The second IMES conference will take place in Autumn 2021 which will be focused on the Gulf and Iran; the third in Autumn 2022 focused on the Levant and Israel. For more updates please follow @KingsMiddleEast and @MenaKcl.