Spotlights
Art as Subjected to the Other: Rossistsa Borkowski Discusses How we Conceive of Art
- 09.27.2017
Rossitsa Borkowski, Professor of Philosophy in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, has recently published her new article, an inquiry entitled “On the Way to Ethical Culture: The Meaning of Art as Oscillating Between the Other, il y a, and the Third”. The article in question was published in the eleventh annual volume of the philosophical review “Levinas Studies”, published by Duquesne University Press. Ar
Wadia Ait Hamza Head of the Global Shapers Community
- 09.21.2017
Al Akhawayn University students are dreamers. They don’t content themselves with simply having their diploma—they put it to use: they strive to do more. When Wadia Ait Hamza graduated from AUI in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, he didn’t know where his life would take him. Twelve years later, however, Wadia’s AUI education continues to help him attain new heights with his recent appointment as the new Head of the Global Shapers Community.
Wadia is not new to the Global Shaper community. Since 2013, Wadia has been a Global Shaper as well as the Founding Curator of the Rabat Hub in Morocco. He has worked within the World Economic Forum in various roles, overseeing the MENA region, the Americas, and, most recently, as the Deputy Head of the Community.
Read more: Global Shapers Community Rabat.
Alumnus Taoufik Rabbaa Head of Citibank Maghreb
- 09.21.2017
The ladder of ambition is laden with innumerable rungs—but having an Al Akhawayn University education helps you climb to the top. Taoufik Rabba graduated from AUI in 2000 with an MS in Computer Science, and again in 2002 with an Executives MBA. Newly graduated, Taoufik sought to enter the world of finance in order to make a name for himself. After fifteen years, Taoufik’s hard work has resulted in his promotion as Head of Citibank Maghreb along with managing the Treasury and Trade Solutions for North Africa.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Citibank Maghreb as it gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year,” said Rabbaa. “We will continue to provide the highest standards of products and services to our clients while fulfilling our role as an active member of the Moroccan banking community.”
Read more: “Citigroup Appoints Taoufik Rabbaa as Head of Citibank Maghreb”, “Il fait l'actu : Taoufik Rabbaa, nouveau PDG de Citibank Maghreb”.
Global identities: Embedding the Middle East and the North Africa Region in the Wider World
- 09.20.2017
No. 2, September 2017
MENARA Project Working Paper
This paper outlines the ways in which the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been embedded in global identity processes and structures in the post-2011 period. It assesses MENA social and political developments in relation to global ideational and identity factors. Important among these is the imagined yet increasingly widespread and pernicious idea of a clash between “Islam” and “the West”, (mis)conceived as homogeneous identities. However, as the paper shows, global or universalist identity perceptions, in the form of support for human rights and democratic values, also influence the MENA region. Dynamic global youth identities and cultures also influence an exceptionally “young” region and vie for the loyalty of youth against other identities. Changing dynamics of ethnic and religious identities among diasporas, which link the region with the wider world, modify social and political contexts within the MENA, especially some of its post- 2011 conflicts.
Read full working paper on: http://www.menaraproject.eu/portfolio-items/global-identities-embedding-the-middle-east-and-the-north-africa-region-in-the-wider-world/
MENARA Paper Published: Challenging the State in the Middle East and North Africa: The Role of Identities
- 09.06.2017
The latest collaborative article by Al Akhawayn University, in the framework of the EU/MENARA project, entitled “Challenging the State in the Middle East and North Africa: The Role of Identities” is now published. The study in question is the product of the AUI team composed of Dr. Djallil Lounnas, Dr. Driss Maghaoui, and lead author Dr. Nizzar Messari. Additional contributors also include Al Akhawayn partners from the Instituto Affari Internatzionali (IAI) in Rome, and the Public Policy and Democracy Studies (PODEM) Research Center of Istanbul.
The purpose of this paper is to define and explore challenges to the state, determine their regional roots, and discern their role in shaping identities within the MENA region. The paper emphasizes two key aspects of nationalism in the region. The first aspect concerns the existence of both multiple and layered identities that co-exist within the region while not necessarily clashing with one another. The second aspect discusses how nationalism and national identities are not recent phenomena in the region. The paper demonstrates that there are similarities as well as differences among the three major sub-regions of the MENA area in terms of the impact of identities when put to varying levels of analysis.
