DATE Thursday January 18, 2018 TIME 12:30 - 2:00 pm LOCATION AGSIW SPEAKER Peter Salisbury DISCUSSANT Gerald M. Feierstein MODERATOR Stephen A. Seche RSVP
Globally, computer science and information technology majors in universities are dominated by men. However, in the Middle East, 40 percent of university students specializing in computer science and IT are women. The percentage is even higher in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where women represent 70-80 percent of computer science and IT students compared to 15-20 percent in the United States. Young women in the Middle East majoring in computer science and IT don’t have the perception that it is a man's field. Read more
Ghanim al-Sulaiti is a vegan entrepreneur from Qatar. He combines his passion for conscious living and business through the vegan startups he has created. In 2016, Ghanim co-founded Cambodia’s first plant-based vegan cafe, VIBE. Later he went on to co-found Qatar’s first fully vegan cafe, Evergreen Organics, at The Pearl, which is a community space for sharing information about mindful eating and a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, Ghanim is the founder of an ethical skincare line, Botany. Read more
يواجه الرئيس ترامب تحديات صعبة في الشرق الأوسط في السنة الجديدة، أبرزها صعوبة، إن لم يكن استحالة، التوفيق بين إصراره على إعادة النظر بالاتفاق النووي مع إيران، ورفض الأخيرة القوي لهذا الطلب، وكيفية التعامل مع النفوذ الروسي في سوريا والنفوذ الإيراني في العراق في أعقاب هزيمة تنظيم "الدولة الإسلامية" كقوة عسكرية منظمة
December brought some of the biggest shifts in Yemen’s civil war since a Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict in March 2015. On Dec. 4, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by members of the Zaydi Shiite Houthi movement with whom he had been allied until just a couple of days before. His death has led to newfound optimism in Riyadh and elsewhere that the Houthis can be defeated militarily in 2018. Read more
In the Media
Speaking with World Politics Review, Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young commented on the United Arab Emirates' economy: "The UAE is really in a different position than its neighbors." She continued, "They are the angel of the GCC at the moment in terms of public policy and expenditures."
Speaking with Zawya, Young commented on Saudi women in the workforce: "Women are more likely to have higher education degrees - more than two times the number of unemployed men." She continued, "Saudi women also face a wage gap, especially in the private sector, where average salaries for men are close to 8,000 Saudi riyals a month, and only 5,000 Saudi riyals for women." She also commented on the part-nationalization of the Saudi Binladin Group for The Times.
Outreach
Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish lectured on the regional aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peacemaking efforts at a joint New York University and Brandeis University crash course for faculty.
Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young presented a lecture at the National Defense College of the United Arab Emirates.
Yemen: National Chaos, Local Order
Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Arab Women in Technology
Veganism, Entrepreneurship, and Inspiration in Qatar
In Yemen, 2018 Looks Like it Will Be Another Grim Year
