The College of Public Policy (CPP), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), is hosting the 10th Annual Association for Middle Eastern Public Policy and Administration (AMEPPA 2021) conference from December 7-8. Academics, practitioners, and graduate students are exploring the latest disciplinary advances and insights with a focus on regional and international development. 

The theme “Understanding History, Negotiating Policy and Administration, and Moving Forward'' frames discussions on the continuously evolving patterns of public policy power and influence across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. International participants are considering new geopolitics and how modern public policy and administration reflects the past. An overarching focus is new interactions with issues such as pandemics, refugee and humanitarian crises, climate change, migration, and social media. 

On its first day, the conference witnessed the participation of nearly 80 attendees from more than 12 countries. The opening plenary featured remarks by Dr. Leslie A. Pal, Founding Dean of CPP; Dr. Michael J. Benedik, Provost of HBKU; and Dr. Ghada Barsoum, AMEPPA President, Associate Professor and Chair, Public Policy and Administration Department, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, The American University in Cairo. The keynote address by Dr. Alexander Dawoody - the association’s founder - reflected on “AMEPPA's 10th Anniversary: Looking Back to Look Forward”.

Adopting a global approach, proceedings of the conference include nearly 20 panels, roundtables, and keynote addresses by Dr. Clyde Wilcox, Interim Dean, Georgetown University in Qatar; as well as Dr. Hamid Ali, Dean, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Sessions cover digital governance and public service delivery; foreign aid and humanitarianism; labor migration; health policy and crisis management; economics and trade in a multilateral world; governance in post-socialist countries; and social policy’s future in the region. Policy and governance tools under discussion include CPP’s COVID-19 Policy Tracker on MENA responses to crises.  

“For the past 10 years, the AMEPPA conference has been a platform for thought leadership that contributes to the region’s governance and policy reforms. CPP is honored to build on this by hosting AMEPPA 2021 at Education City. Emerging ideas, new lessons from experience, and timely research findings are highlighting interdisciplinary orientations and new possibilities for policy and administration in the region,” said Dr. Pal.

Dr. Barsoum added: “Since its inception, our annual meeting has been a gathering where great ideas are debated and innovative approaches are reached, supporting the AMEPPA community to maintain its drive to create meaningful change. I am positive that this 10th meeting, held with the generous support of CPP at HBKU, will inform and enrich research agendas on key policy and administrative questions.” 

AMEPPA is the premier forum for public policy and administration scholarship in the MENA region. The conference’s program was developed in collaboration with the Conference Organizing Committee, which is chaired by Dr. Kim Moloney, Assistant Professor, CPP, and comprises CPP’s Dr. Darryl Jarvis, Professor; Dr. Anis Ben Brik, Associate Professor; Dr. Ozcan Ozturk, Assistant Professor; and AMEPPA Vice President Dr. Rabia Naguib, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.