The conference agenda is available for download via this link.
You can register to attend online by following this link. You will receive a Zoom confirmation email should your registration be successful.
You can register to attend in-person by following this link.
Alternatively, you can watch the event live on our Facebook page.
Simultaneous interpretation between Arabic and English will be available both in-person and via Zoom.
The Arab Reform Initiative (ARI), in collaboration with the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS), will host a public conference in Beirut on September 11 and 12, 2023, to launch the new e-book on the theme “Assessing and Producing Knowledge as a Public Good: From Theory to Practice”, within the framework of ARI’s larger project “Knowledge as a Public Good” (K4G), funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
This event aims to delve into comprehensive research studies presented by regional experts, focusing on the contextualization of scholarly contributions within the broader landscape of policy evolution in the Arab region today. It will also explore the concept of knowledge as a public good and evaluate the evolving landscape of academic participation in policy-making, outlining both the opportunities and constraints therein.
Join us for this critical discourse that promises to shed light on how academic scholarship can actively contribute to policy development and public awareness across the Arab region.
About the e-book
The research gathered in the e-book, which comprises 12 chapters produced by a diverse group of scholars and activist-researchers from across the Arab region, proposes a rethinking of the purpose and role of knowledge production both within and outside university walls. The collection explores how knowledge, when conceived as a public good, can contribute to public debates and improve policy outcomes. The various chapters bring together new conceptual insights regarding the processes behind knowledge production, reflections on public policy in the Arab region, and the need for adapted analytical frameworks, as well as testimonies and portraits of individuals and organisations that are producing and disseminating knowledge in a manner to effectively impact policy making and discourse.
The e-book is produced within the framework of K4G, an ARI project which aims to provide academic capacity building and create diverse forums for discussion to help in the bridging of academic expertise and policy development. The project is fostering a new generation of social scientists who are seeking to use their research for the purpose of informing the public sphere and contributing to setting the public policy agenda. These academics’ efforts are an attempt to overcome the unresponsive channels of state-centered policymaking and imagine new approaches to policy change that are anchored in civic participation.