 On July 31, 2026, our Institute and SWANA Future of Work Hub hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on "Assessing the Future of Work for Forward-Looking Universal Social Protection: A Comparative Study of Lebanon and Egypt" as part of the International Studies Association (ISA) 4th Annual Virtual Conference 2026, titled "Order, Disorder, and Reordering."
The roundtable featured IFI Assistant Director Yara Mourad, Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)'s Sarah Anne Rennick and Farah Al Shami, ICARDA's Dina Najjar, and Just Jobs Network's Sabina Dewan, moderated by IFI's SWANA Future of Work Hub Coordinator Samir Nassar. It focused on a study examining shifts in Lebanon and Egypt's labor markets and work relations caused by rapid digital transformations, including AI and the energy transition. The discussion also covered how these rapid digital changes, along with AI and the green transition, are reshaping labor markets, work relations, and social protection systems in Lebanon, Egypt, and the broader SWANA region. "Rebuilding Water Justice in Lebanon: Governance, Accountability, and the Future of Water"7/22/2026
 On July 22, 2026, our institute, in collaboration with the Arab Reform Initiative, the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), the Nature Conservation Center at the American University of Beirut (NCC), and the Lebanese Water Actors Platform (LEWAP), convened a full-day conference titled "Rebuilding Water Justice in Lebanon: Governance, Accountability, and the Future of Water" at the Rotana Gefinor hotel in Beirut.
You can read the conference press release here: AR / EN Closed Conference on “The Levant at the Crossroads: Syria, Lebanon, and a Changing Regional Order”7/16/2026
 On July 10, the Arab Reform Initiative, our Institute, and the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo) held a closed conference titled “The Levant at the Crossroads: Syria, Lebanon, and a Changing Regional Order” at the American University of Beirut, which gathered a select group of academics, researchers, practitioners, diplomats, and policymakers to delve into and examine the state of affairs in Lebanon and Syria amid an evolving regional and geopolitical landscape.
The Middle East, and the Levant in particular, is being remade at a pace that outstrips the analytical frameworks most analysts and policymakers have inherited. From the fall of the Assad regime to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, from the structural shifts in each of Syria and Lebanon, to their renewed bilateral relationship following decades of asymmetric domination from Damascus, all these developments have produced a Levant that is simultaneously in deeper crisis and in more genuine flux than at any point since the 1970s. In light of a changing regional order that is yet to be defined, and Syria and Lebanon in a state of delicate reconfiguration, the discussion attempted to map the contours of what is possible, what is at risk, and what the policy and analytical community can contribute to those who navigate the region to avoid further destabilization or even collapse. As part of the "Lebanon: Towards a Productive Economy" seminar series, our Institute and the Department of Economics at the American University of Beirut hosted a webinar on "Options for Lebanon’s Currency Regime" on July 9, 2026. The webinar featured Patrick Honahan, Ibrahim Jamali, Ugo Panizza, and Nada Mora, chaired by Ishac Diwan.
Speakers presented the pros and cons of various types of currency arrangements, followed by a structured discussion of the relative advantages of the alternatives to the specificities of Lebanon. You can read the webinar's summary here. |
