Geo-Strategic Issues in the Middle East and South Asia
Tuesday, April 12
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This plenary session will examine strategic challenges facing policymakers in the United States and throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Among the issues to be addressed are the recent wave of political uprisings that have swept through the Middle East and North Africa, the continued extremist violence in Pakistan, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. How should the U.S. view this remarkable dynamism in the region and what, if any, is the appropriate role for the United States?

Bottom up change: Civil Society, Youth, and Social
Entrepreneurship
Wednesday, April 13
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In light of recent events in the Arab world, what role do bottom-up processes play in effecting change, economic development, and political reform? How can the private sector and civil society address the socio-economic challenges that Muslim-majority countries continue to face? How are community development efforts and macro-level policies linked and in which areas can they be strengthened? How can the U.S. foster these developments appropriately? Are there resources that can be shared through NGO actors? While examining these issues globally, countries of focus will include Egypt, Indonesia, and Morocco.

The Libyan Crisis
Wednesday, April 13
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Moderator:
Margaret Warner, Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
Panelists:
Ali Suleiman Aujali, Former Libyan Ambassador to the U.S.
John McCain, Senator, U.S. Senate

The Challenges of Democracy
Wednesday, April 13
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Moderator:
Margaret Warner, Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
Speakers:
Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman, Coalition of Change and Hope, former
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jaber al-Jaberi, Member of Parliament, Republic of Iraq
Nabil Fahmy, Founding Dean, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy,
American University of Cairo; former Ambassador of Egypt to the U.S.
Ibrahim Kalin, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Republic of Turkey

The Role of the Media in Shaping Perceptions
Thursday, April 14
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This plenary session will bring together influential journalists from the U.S. and Muslim-majority countries to discuss the role of the media and the public in shaping perceptions. Issues to be examined include how the media shapes the public view just as public appetite may influence the stories that receive coverage. For example, how does the media affect public perception of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan? Does the media focus too much on inflammatory stories, and if so, how does this shape public perception? How do different societies view these issues? And in particular, what is the public perception of the American Muslim community, and how can these issues be addressed?