ANNOUNCEMENT

Second World Congress 
for Middle Eastern Studies

Amman, Jordan, 11-16 June 2006

RIIFS is pleased to announce that it has been chosen to organize and host the Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2), which will take place in Amman, Jordan on 11-16 June 2006. This will be the first time that experts on the Middle East drawn from all over the world and all branches of the humanities and social sciences (including economics, political science, media studies and others) will assemble together in the region to share and exchange their research, experience and ideas, and to discuss the challenges of methodology vs. theory and praxis vs. politics and their possible resolutions. It promises to be an unprecedented event that will finally bring Middle Eastern studies to the Middle East.  

Initiated by the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), the First World Congress was organized and hosted by the University of Mainz in 2002 and attracted over 2000 scholars, experts and students from around the globe. It involved the participation of the European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), the British, French, Italian and German Middle East studies associations (BRISMES, AFEMAM, SeSaMO and DAVO) and other similar organizations in North America, the Middle East and the 14 other member countries of EURAMES.  

RIIFS now extends its own invitation to all of the institutions and organizations that took part in the First World Congress and requests that they inform their members about WOCMES-2 and consider how they may contribute to its success. In particular, RIIFS asks that they begin coordinating their 2006 activities with the WOCMES-2 Secretariat in the autumn of 2004, organizing panels, workshops, symposia and major conferences under the WOCMES-2 umbrella.  

This invitation also applies to other associations, research centres, university departments, international organizations and institutions which did not take part in the First World Congress, but which are involved in the study of the Middle East, North Africa and the Muslim states of Central Asia in addition to those areas of the world directly or indirectly affected by developments in these regions. Calls for papers from individual scholars will be sent out in 2005.  

Local and international media and high-ranking decision-makers involved in political, economic and cultural spheres are also expected to attend the Second World Congress and to disseminate, in the months that follow, the new ideas and interpretations that they encounter there. The working language of the congress will be English, with some French and Arabic.  

Because the Second World Congress will actually take place in the Middle East, the cultural program is expected to be particularly rich. Organizers are presently considering two book fairs (Arabic/International) involving book-sellers, publishers and authors; exhibitions of modern Arab art by Jordan’s national and local galleries; other exhibitions related to various aspects of Middle Eastern studies; a film festival with panel discussions; and concerts featuring musicians from across the Arab world. The timing will also be advantageous since the weather will be pleasant and many academics will be on their summer break, leaving them with ample time to explore Jordan’s well-known tourist attractions (such as Petra, Jerash, Madaba and Mount Nebo), as well as those in neighbouring countries, during their visit to the region.

RIIFS is presently redesigning its website and the new version is expected to be up and running early next year. Once it is online, users will be able to click on the WOCMES-2 icon appearing on the home page in order to obtain more information and to register for the Second World Congress. Until that time, any further announcements will be sent out by list-serv and will also be posted on the RIIFS home page. Communications from the representatives of institutions and organizations interested in participating, as well as other urgent requests for further information, may be addressed to the e-mail address given below.

We look forward to hearing from friends and colleagues, old and new, in the coming months.

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President of WOCMES-2

HE Ambassador Hasan Abu Nimah, Director of RIIFS

Baker al-Hiyari, General-Secretary of WOCMES-2

WOCMES-2 Secretariat

Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS)

P.O. Box 830 562, Amman 11183, Jordan

Tel.: 962 6 4618051; Fax: 962 6 4618053

E-mail: wocmes2@riifs.org