This seminar was delivered on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal, and Palestinian political and feminist organizer at Rawa, Soheir Asaad. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit, Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal, and Palestinian political and feminist organizer at Rawa, Soheir Asaad. Rawa is a community-participatory fund advancing trust- and solidarity-based approaches that return power to communities. The panel was chaired by Dr Maryam Alemzadeh, Fellow at the Middle East Centre.

Drawing on lived experience, scholarly critiques, and community narratives, the speakers examined how the donor-driven NGO turn after Oslo reshaped Palestinian civil society—often depoliticizing grassroots activism, fragmenting collective struggle, and entrenching dependency on external funding under long-standing Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza. The discussion then mapped community-based alternatives rooted in self-determination, mutual aid, and indigenous knowledge, and explored how to reclaim autonomous spaces for organizing that resist co-optation and sustain liberatory practice.

By weaving praxis and theory, the event charted actionable pathways beyond NGO-centric models toward moresustainable, rooted, and emancipatory civil society structures in Palestine.

The MEC’s opening Thursday seminar of the 2025-26 academic year was delivered by the former Prime Minister of Türkiye, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan The MEC’s opening Thursday seminar of the 2025-26 academic year was delivered by Ahmet Davutoğlu, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye. Davutoğlu has authored a number of books on foreign policy, including ‘Systemic Earthquake’ and ‘Alternative Paradigms’, which have been translated into several languages. The seminar was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan, Director of the Middle East Centre.

This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 30 May 2025 by Dr Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh Business School, and Chaired by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 30 May 2025. Dr Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh Business School, addressed the topic of ‘Big Tech and the Automation of Genocide in Gaza’. It was chaired by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal.

The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author. The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author.

The Devaki Jain lecture series, established in 2015 by Devaki Jain, welcomes esteemed women speakers from the South. Past speakers have included Dr Graça Machel, Professor Eudine Barriteau, and Dr Noeleen Heyzer.

Rana Husseini is an internationally recognized human rights activist, gender trainer and a senior journalist with more than 25 years’ experience in the Middle East and North Africa. She has published two books, ‘Murder in the Name of Honour’ and ‘Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan’.

This lecture was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author. The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author.

The Devaki Jain lecture series, established in 2015 by Devaki Jain, welcomes esteemed women speakers from the South. Past speakers have included Dr Graça Machel, Professor Eudine Barriteau, and Dr Noeleen Heyzer.

Rana Husseini is an internationally recognized human rights activist, gender trainer and a senior journalist with more than 25 years’ experience in the Middle East and North Africa. She has published two books, ‘Murder in the Name of Honour’ and ‘Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan’.

This lecture was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.

In this talk anthropologist Munira Khayyat revisits the South Lebanon borderland, where she has conducted long term fieldwork in the wake of its almost total destruction after the latest season of war there. In this talk anthropologist Munira Khayyat revisits the South Lebanon borderland, where she has conducted long term fieldwork in the wake of its almost total destruction after the latest season of war there. This talk reflects on ecologies of resistance and survival through storms of war and the steadfastness of life after the end of the world.

Munira Khayyat is Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi and currently also Visiting Professor at NYU New York.

Chaired by Pascal Menoret, Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Professor in the Study of the Contemporary Arab World and Professorial Fellow at Magdalen College.