Presented in partnership with the Melbourne Festival.
Since December of last year, across the Middle East, dictatorial regimes have toppled and people power has triumphed. But what does this much-heralded wave of revolutionary fervour mean in the longer term? Amidst the strikes and protests, demonstrations and civil uprisings, is the ‘Arab Spring’ a turning point for resistance movements around the world, and what are the implications for other entrenched conflicts in the region?
Featuring
Robert Bowker
Dr Robert Bowker is a specialist on Middle East and Islamic issues and an Adjunct Professor at Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies until December 2012 (ANU).
Prior to his appointment in 2008, he served with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), undertaking five postings in the Middle East, including as Australian Ambassador to Jordan (1989-92) and as Australian Ambassador to Egypt (2005-08). At different periods in his diplomatic career, he served as Director, External Relations and Public Information, and subsequently Senior Adviser, Policy Research, of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza and Jerusalem.
Samah Hadid
Samah Hadid is the National Director of The Global Poverty Project. She has campaigned widely on social justice and women’s rights issues.
Samah was selected as the 2010 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, and completed a fellowship with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her advisory roles have included Youth Representative on the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, member of Amnesty International’s Diversity Steering Committee and a member of the UN Expert Meeting Group on Youth. She has been listed as one of “50 women we must admire” by the Herald Sun, and voted as one of the top 100 Leaders of Tomorrow by the St Gallen Institute.
Hamish Macdonald
Hamish Macdonald is Senior Foreign Correspondent on the Ten Network’s 6pm with George Negus. He shares hosting duties with Hugh Riminton in George’s absence.
Born and raised in the Snowy Mountains town of Jindabyne, Hamish left Australia in 2003, working initially for the prestigious UK Channel Four News before moving to the Al Jazeera Network. Named Young Journalist of the Year in the UK in 2008, Hamish more recently anchored the International Emmy nominated coverage of the Georgia-Russia war live from Tbilisi.
Highlights from his journalistic careers so far involve spending extended periods reporting from the frontline of the war in Afghanistan, street riots across Asia and investigated secret border incursions between India and China as well as oil industry corruption in Cambodia. Hamish has honed his interviewing skills on numerous world leaders and senior figures in South East Asia’s Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network.
Hamish also specialises in presenting major news events live from location. He has anchored coverage of the UK, US & Afghan elections, the G20 summit, the Georgia-Russia war from Tbilisi and the Sichuan Earthquake from China. During his time with Al Jazeera Hamish hosted the flagship Newshour program as well as investigative program People & Power and debate program Inside Story. He also stood in for Sir David Frost on Frost over the World.
Fethi Mansouri
Professor Fethi Mansouri, Director of the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation, holds a Chair in Migration and Intercultural Relations, School of International and Political Studies, Deakin University.
His publications include Australia and the Middle East: A Frontline Relationship (2006); Political Islam and Human Security (2008); Islam and Political Violence: Muslim Diaspora and Radicalism in the West, (2007); Identity, Education, and Belonging: Arab and Muslim Youth in Contemporary Australia (2008); Youth Identity and Migration: Culture, Values and Social Connectedness (2009); and Migration, Citizenship and Intercultural Relations ( 2011). His forthcoming books include: Muslim Diasporas and the Challenges of Representations and National Belonging (2012); and The Arab Revolutions in Context: Socio-Political Implications for the Middle East and Beyond (2012).
Rima Ahmad Alaadeen
Her Excellency, Mrs Rima Ahmad Alaadeen, is the Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Australia, having taken up this post in 2010.
Prior to her current posting, Her Excellency served as the Director of Human Rights and Human Security Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has served in the Jordanian Diplomatic Corp for over two decades, with postings in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She has a degree in law and also studied defence theories at the Jordanian Royal Defence Academy.