Social media in the Arab world: Whose friend, whose foe? Caabu / MBI Al Jaber Foundation Event

Caabu / MBI Al Jaber Foundation Panel Discussion: Social media in the Arab world: Whose friend, whose foe?

Caabu and the MBI Al Jaber Foundation will be hosting a panel discussion: Social media in the Arab world: Whose friend, whose foe? The panelists will include former Middle East Editor of the Guardian Brian Whitaker; Mai Noman, Interactivity Producer from BBC Arabic, Fanar Haddad, Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore and journalist and comment writer, Nesrine Malik.

Keep up to date with this event by following Caabu's Facebook page. 

The event is public, so everyone is welcome, but it is important that you RSVP to Joseph Willits (willitsj@caabu.org) to reserve a place. Seats may be limited.

When:Wednesday, 2 July, 6:30pm - 8pm
Where: Macmillan Room, Portcullis House, Houses of Parliament 

Chair: Stephen Williams MP

Click here for directions  

About the speakers:

Brian Whitaker is a former Middle East editor of the Guardian. He blogs about the Arab world at al-Bab.com. Brian is also the author of two books: What's Really Wrong with the Middle East and Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East.  He is currently freelancing.

He Tweets at @Brian_Whit

Mai Noman is the Interactivity Producer for BBC Arabic. In this role she is responsible for coordinating social media and special events with other BBC language services and the BBC World Service. She works across social media, radio, video and text and frequently analyses the social media political space in the Middle East for the corporation. She has contributed to a host of BBC programmes including BBC Trending, Newsnight, Tech Tent, and BBC Arabic's Interactivity programme. Mai is originally from Yemen and has worked and studied in Egypt, Kuwait, the US and UK. She founded and published Yemen's first youth magazine YoOMag before moving to the UK four years ago. 

She Tweets at @mainoman.

Fanar Haddad is a Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. He previously lectured in modern Middle Eastern politics at the University of Exeter and at Queen Mary, University of London. Prior to obtaining his DPhil, Haddad was a Research Analyst at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he worked on North Africa. He has since published widely on issues relating to historic and contemporary Iraq. His main research interests are identity, historical memory, nationalism, communal conflict and minority politics. He is the author of Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity (London/New York: Hurst/Columbia University Press, 2011). His current research focuses on historical memory and narratives of state in the Middle East. 

He Tweets at @fanarhaddad.

Nesrine Malik is a Sudanese-born writer and commentator who lives in London. She previously worked in the financial sector. 

She Tweets at @NesrineMalik.

If you would like to attend this public panel discussion on social media in the Arab world please RSVP to Joseph Willits (willitsj@caabu.org), or get in touch via Twitter. You can also communicate with us on our Facebook group.

You will be able to follow the event on twitter:

@Caabu

To enter parliament, please use Portcullis House entrance, marked 4 on this map.

Allow at least 30 minutes to pass through security.