The Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies will host a conference entitled “Conflict over Gaza: People, Politics, and Possibilities” on March 22-24, 2019 in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at the FedEx Global Education Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The conference will bring together scholars and specialists from think tanks, non-governmental organizations and journalists to discuss the realities of everyday life in the Gaza Strip. Participants will discuss topics such as the Gaza economy, freedom of movement, geopolitics and humanitarian issues in Gaza.
“Rockets fired out of Gaza, protesters shot near the fence, Egypt mediating between Hamas and Israel –when the Gaza Strip is mentioned in U.S. news outlets, it is usually in response to that day’s sensational events with little context provided,” said Shai Tamari, associate director for the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies. “This conference will shed much needed light on current realities in the Gaza Strip, giving participants a deeper understanding of the context of these realities and offering concrete options that can better the lives of Gazans.”
In addition to panel discussions, the conference will highlight Gazan culture, including music, films, food and art, to showcase the beauty that goes along with the challenges of life in the Gaza Strip. The keynote event for the conference will be a performance by Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafer of DAM. The conference will also feature a film festival, “Gaza On Screen,” on Sunday, March 24, screening films that feature the diversity of cinematic work from the Gaza Strip over the past 70 years.
This event will serve as the annual conference for the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, which is composed of the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and the Duke University Middle East Studies Center.
To register and see a list of speakers and a program schedule, visit the conference website.
 
Posted from: UNC Global