Delegation from National Constituent Assembly to Address CSID Conference

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

We are happy to announce that the following three members of Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly (NCA), tasked with writing a new democratic constitution for Tunisia, will be participating at the CSID 13th Annual Conference in Washington DC, on Thursday, May 3, 2012.

Meherzia Laabidi

Vice-President of the National Constituent Assembly

Meherzia Labidi is a teacher and interpreter. She studied at the High School of Grombalia, then at the Ecole Normale Superieure of Sousse (1986). Then, she studied languages at the Ecole Superieure d'Interpretes et de Traducteurs at the Sorbonnes (specializing in economic and legal translations). She holds a Master's degree in Economic translations et a diploma in English literature and theater (in 1992). She taught translations at the European Institute of Human Sciences in Saint Denis, France. She has lectured on "education in multicultural societies", and "women, religion, and society". Since 2006, she is the president of "Believing Women for Peace", an UN-accredited NGO. In 2009, she became a member of the European Council of Civil and Religious Peoples for Peace". On Oct. 23, 2011, she was elected to the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) in Tunisia, tasked with drafting a new democratic constitution for Tunisia, representing al-Nahda Party in France, and on Nov. 22, 2011, she was elected first Vice President of the Constituent Assembly.

Zied Daoulatli

Member of the National Constituent Assembly and member of the Executive Committee of al-Nadha Party

Dr. Daoulatli is a Founding Member of al-Nadha (formerly the Islamic Tendency Movement) and holds a Ph.D in Pharmacology from the University of Reims, France in 1984. When he returned to Tunis in 1984, he joined the Executive Committee of the ITM, only to be sentenced in 1987 for twenty years in jail. He was released one year later, in July 1988, and then re-arrested in 1990 and sentenced to 15 years in jail (including 10 years in solitary confinement) under the Ben Ali regime. He was released in 2004, and he participated as a founding member in the October 18th Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which includes most of the major political parties and human rights organizations. After the Jan. 14th, 2011 revolution which overthrew Ben Ali, Dr. Daoulatli became a member of the Founding Council of the new al-Nahda Party, and a member of the Executive Committee, in charge of relations with investors and the business community. On Oct. 23, 2011, he was elected as a member of the National Constituent Assembly.

Badreddine Abdelkafi

Member and Deputy President of the National Constituent Assembly, in charge of relations with civil society organizations.

Badreddine Abdelkafi is a father of 3 children. He obtained a degree in science from the Faculty of Science (University of Sfax) in 1982. He taught mathematics in two institutes in the city of Gabes for 7 years. He represented southern students in the summit of the Islamic Tendency Movement on April 1981 at which the announcement of a new political party was decided on (which was a first in the history of Islamic movements in the region). He was arrested in 1981 and later imprisoned without trial in 1987 for a period of 8 months. In 1991, he was sentenced to 11 years in jail (for forming an illegal organization) and was released from jail in 2002. He also served as a union leader representing secondary school teachers for three years. After the revolution, he was elected as Secretary General for the Nahda Party in the region of South of Sfax, before he was elected as a member of the National Constituent Assembly. He now serves as deputy President of the Assembly, in charge of relations with civil society organizations and Tunisians who live abroad.

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The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) and The Georgetown University Democracy and Governance program, cordially invite you to a major international conference on:

Democracy in the Arab World:

The Arab Spring:
Getting It Right

Upcoming Events

The Arab Spring: Getting It Right

Dear Friends, Members, and Colleagues:

Join us for the CSID 13th Annual Conference on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the Marriott Gateway Hotel, in Crystal City, VA, bringing together some of the most respected and influential scholars, experts, practitioners, activists, and policy makers from the US and the Muslim World. REGISTER NOW. Early Registration and discounted rates have been extended to April 30th. Also:

Please this announcement to your students, colleagues, friends, and lists who might be interested in attending this conference.

Please consider supporting the conference and CSID by becoming a co-sponsor of the conference ($5,000) or by purchasing a reserved table for the Keynote Luncheon ($1,000). Co-sponsors also receive a reserved table and 10 free full-day registrations. All co-sponsors and reserved tables will be listed in the program booklet.

To request a free media pass (limited number), please send your name and affiliation to rouabah@islam-democracy.org

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY

13th Annual Conference

The Arab Spring:
Getting It Right

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Marriott Gateway Crystal City
1700 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA

EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS ON APRIL 30

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.             Registration
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.            Opening Statements


�       Dr. Tamara Sonn, Chair, Program Committee
�       Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, CSID President

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.                  Panel 1

____________________________________________________________________

Getting It Right I:
Elements of Successful Democratic Transitions
(Moderated Roundtable)

Chair: Daniel Brumberg, Georgetown University

�       Steven Heydemann, U.S. Institute of Peace

�       Jason Gluck, U.S. Institute of Peace

�       Alfred Stepan, Columbia University

�       Laith Kubba, National Endowment for Democracy

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.         Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.       Panel 2

____________________________________________________________________

The Arab Spring:
Regional and Global Impacts

Chair: Richard Martin, Emory University

� Religion and the Arab Spring: Global Context and Implications - Brian Grim, Pew Research Center

� Changing Regional Politics - Marc Lynch, George Washington University

� A View from Syria - Radwan Ziadeh, Syrian National Council; Carr Center for Human Rights, Harvard University

� A View from the Gulf - Caryle Murphy, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

� Arab Spring and Its Effects on Regional Alignments - Aylin Unver Noi, Gedik University, Turkey

____________________________________________________________________

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Keynote Luncheon

Future Prospects for Islam & Democracy After The Arab Spring:
The Example of Tunisia

Keynote Speakers:

Meherzia Laabidi

Vice-President of the National Constituent Assembly

Zied Daoulatli

Member of the National Constituent Assembly and member
of the Executive Committee of al-Nahdha Party

Badreddine Abdelkafi

Member and Deputy President of the National Constituent Assembly,
in charge of relations with civil society organizations.

Presentation of the Muslim Democrat of Year Award
Rached Ghannouchi

(via video-conference from Tunis)

____________________________________________________________________

2:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Panel 3

____________________________________________________________________

Getting It Right II:
Islam and Democratic Transitions

Chair: Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University

�   Islam and Democracy in the 21st Century: Beyond Old Debates - John Voll, Georgetown University

�   Islam and Democratization in the Context of the Arab Spring - Jocelyne Cesari, National Defense University

�   Youth Civic Engagement in the Arab Region:  An Analysis of Drivers and Outcomes - Jon Kurtz, Mercy Corps

�   Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Islamic Centrism, and an Emerging Fiqh of Citizenship - David Warren, University Manchester

.   Ten Promising Trends in the Middle East's New Human Rights Landscape - Shadi Mokhtari, American University

3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.       Break

4:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.       Panel 4

____________________________________________________________________

Challenges Faced by Specific Countries

Chair: Abdulwahab Alkebsi, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

�   Algeria, the Arab Spring, and the Waving of Islamism's 'Red Flag':  Prospects for a Genuine Change in Algeria - Anwar Haddam, Movement for Liberty and Social Justice (Algeria)

�   Serve or Rule:  Egyptian Security Sector and the Much-Needed Reform - Marija Marovic, Balkan Center for the Middle East, Serbia

�   Tunisia's Economic Challenges - Seth Rau, Tufts University

�   Post-War Transitions in Syria - Daniel Serwer, Johns Hopkins University

____________________________________________________________________

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Concluding Keynote

How Can the US and the International Community Support Arab Democracy?

Invited Keynote Speakers:

Congressman Keith Ellison

First Muslim Representative in Congress

Carl Gershman

President, National Endowment for Democracy

Senator John Kerry

Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate

Mohamed Salah Tekaya

Ambassador of Tunisia to the United States

This conference is Co-Sponsored by:

___________________________________________________________________

Where & When

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Marriott Gateway Crystal City
1700 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA

Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy

1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 601

Washington, DC, 20036

202-265-1200