On Saturday 4th November journalists, academics and commentators with many years of personal experience in the region met to debate the myriad challenges that face the nations of the Middle East, as well as Britain’s continuing role and the prospects for a peaceful, prosperous future.

A full summary of the report can be downloaded here.

This is also available as seperate pdfs broken down by topic.

• Setting the Scene (Introduction with Shirley Williams)             
  

• Economics
  
• Democracy
• No Deal
  
• Islam in Britain
  
• The media panel
• Whither Britain?

Democracy:
indigenous movements or imposed by the West?

In November 2003 President Bush predicted "The establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic revolution."

Elections in Iraq and Afghanistan clearly represented an historic development but the ongoing violence suggests that democracy imposed by the West, may not be long-lasting. This meeting seeks to address the possibilities of genuine popular democracy flourishing across the Middle East in the future. The demographics of the region suggest a generation poised to demand the same rights and freedoms that their satellite televisions and internet connections reveal in the West.

Go to the discussion.

The Media Panel
Street and Elite: The view of journalists on the ground

For many of those fascinated and disturbed by the political and social dynamics of the Middle East, journalists provide the first point of contact with a region that remains enigmatic despite decades of international focus.

What biases do the media bring, do they reflect what's actually happening on the ground and how much do their actions effect the agenda?

Go to the discussion here.

Our panel brings together representatives of the media to discuss their experiences of many years reporting from one of the most dangerous and inscrutable regions of the world.

	Donald McIntyre is a senior foreign affairs correspondent for the Independent newspaper with a record of dispatches from the ground that have illuminated the crises in the Middle East for many years.
	Dr Abdel Monem Said is a former advisor to the Amir of Qatar and as a member of the Egyptian Press Syndicate, is one of the most respected commentators in the Egyptian Media. He is also a prolific author and chronicler of political developments across the region.