Zineb Mekouar was born in Casablanca. She studied at the French international school Lycée Lyautey and later graduated from Science Po and HEC Paris before launching her career in strategic consulting, serving in the campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron. Her debut novel “La Poule et son Cumin” (The Hen and its Cumin) tells the story of two radically opposed young Moroccan women and highlights the social and political divisions of contemporary Morocco. Mekouar was nominated in 2022 for the “First Novel” award by the renowned French literary organization Goncourt Academy.

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Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global, is an authority on energy, international politics and economics. Attending Yale University and receiving his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, Yergin in 1983 founded Cambridge Energy Associates. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his work “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power.” His latest book, “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations” was dubbed by NRP as “A masterclass on how the world works.”

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Israeli-French filmmaker Amos Gitai is internationally known for documentaries and feature films about the Middle East and broader Arab-Israeli conflict. As an architecture student in the 1970s, Gitai was wounded during the Yom Kippur War. The experience encouraged him to switch careers and begin making films. He has since created over 90 works of art including feature and short films, documentaries and theater performances. He has been nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival as well as the Golden Lion award at the Venice International Film Festival. His stories delve into the traumas of war and celebration of life in the face of adversity.

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Born in Istanbul, Orhan Pamuk rose to become one of Turkey’s most prominent novelists. His works have sold over 11 million copies worldwide and have been translated into sixty-three languages. In 2006, Pamuk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming Turkey’s first-ever Nobel laureate. His latest novel “Veba Geceleri” (“The Nights of the Plague”) examines the psychology of a pandemic and bridging feelings of loneliness with the details and “beauties of life.”

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Speaking to Gilles Kepel from the Arab World Institute in Paris, renowned French architect Jean Nouvel talks about his experience designing world-famous buildings throughout the Middle East — including in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia — as well as adapting Arabian architectural elements into Parisian projects under the principle that “all architecture is local.”

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Maria Ressa, co-founder, president and CEO of Rappler, the top digital news site leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines, discusses the challenges to independent journalists, especially women, in southeast Asia, the Middle East and worldwide; the impact of hi tech social media companies in stifling free media; her experiences covering Abu Sayyaf, and how terrorist organizations exploited social media platforms to promote violence; and more. Ressa, author of the forthcoming Standing up to a Dictator and other books, won the 2021 Noble Peace Prize for her “freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country.”

Rappler:

https://www.rappler.com/

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HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, who served as head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Directorate from 1979-2001, discusses his book, The Afghanistan File, reflecting on the early support for the Mujahideen against the Soviet occupation, the rise to power of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and their threats to the kingdom and the West, and his meetings with Osama bin Laden.

King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies:

https://www.kfcris.com/en

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Emirati columnist, researcher and founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi speaks with Gilles about his book, Building Sharjah, co-edited with Todd Reisz, which explores how the discovery of oil in Sharjah in the 1970s propelled the Emirati city onto the world stage, as well as the many local, Arab and Persian influences on the art and architecture of the emirate. 

Barjeel Art Foundation:

https://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/

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