Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 20:46:29 +0200
From: "Guenter Meyer" <[log in to unmask]>
EURAMES Info Service 13/04: Announcement of WOCMES-2

Dear colleagues and friends,

Please find below the announcement of the Second World Congress for
Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2), which will become the most
outstanding event in Middle Eastern studies in the year 2006.

It is very important to start as soon as possible with the preparation
and organisation of panels, symposia, conferences, and exhibitions to be
held under the umbrella of the World Congress.

Best regards,
Guenter Meyer
Centre for Research on the Arab World (CERAW) University of Mainz

_____________________________



Announcement: Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies

Amman, Jordan, 11-16 June 2006

The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) is pleased to
announce that it has been chosen to organize and host the Second World
Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2), which will take place in
Amman, Jordan on 11-16 June 2006. This will be the first time that
experts on the Middle East drawn from all over the world and all
branches of the humanities and social sciences will assemble together in
the region to share and exchange their research, experience and ideas,
and to discuss the challenges of methodology vs. theory and praxis vs.
politics and their possible resolutions. It promises to be an
unprecedented event that will finally bring Middle Eastern studies to
the Middle East.

Initiated by the Middle East Studies Association of North America
(MESA), the First World Congress was organized and hosted by the
University of Mainz in 2002 and attracted over 2000 scholars, experts
and students from around the globe. It involved the participation of the
European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), the British,
French, Italian and German Middle East studies associations (BRISMES,
AFEMAM, SeSaMO and DAVO) and other similar organizations in North
America, the Middle East and the 14 other member countries of EURAMES.

RIIFS now extends its own invitation to all of the institutions and
organizations that took part in the First World Congress and requests
that they inform their members about WOCMES-2 and consider how they may
contribute to its success. In particular, RIIFS asks that they begin
coordinating their 2006 activities with the WOCMES-2 Secretariat in the
autumn of 2004, organizing panels, workshops, symposia and major
conferences under the WOCMES-2 umbrella.

This invitation also applies to other associations, research centres,
university departments, international organizations and institutions
which did not take part in the First World Congress, but which are
involved in the study of the Middle East, North Africa and the Muslim
states of Central Asia in addition to those areas of the world directly
or indirectly affected by developments in these regions. Those working
in fields that were under-represented at the First World Congress (for
instance, political science and economics) are especially urged to
participate. Calls for papers from individual scholars will be sent out
in 2005.
Local and international media and high-ranking decision-makers involved
in political, economic and cultural spheres are also expected to attend
the Second World Congress and to disseminate, in the months that follow,
the new ideas and interpretations that they encounter there. The working
language of the congress will be English, with some French and Arabic.

Because the Second World Congress will actually take place in the Middle
East, the cultural program is expected to be particularly rich.
Organizers are presently considering two book fairs
(Arabic/International) involving book-sellers, publishers and authors;
exhibitions of modern Arab art by Jordan's national and local galleries;
other exhibitions related to various aspects of Middle Eastern studies;
a film festival with panel discussions; and concerts featuring musicians
from across the Arab world. The timing will also be advantageous since
the weather will be pleasant and many academics will be on their summer
break, leaving them with ample time to explore Jordan's well-known
tourist attractions (such as Petra, Jerash, Madaba and Mount Nebo), as
well as those in neighbouring countries, during their visit to the
region.

RIIFS is presently redesigning its website (www.riifs.org) and the new
version is expected to be up and running in October 2004. Once it is
online, users will be able to click on the WOCMES-2 icon appearing on
the home page in order to register for the Second World Congress and to
obtain more information. Until that time, any further announcements will
be sent out by list-serv and will also be posted on the RIIFS home page.
Communications from the representatives of institutions and
organizations interested in participating, as well as other urgent
requests for further information, may be addressed to the e-mail address
given below.

We look forward to hearing from friends and colleagues, old and new, in
the coming months.

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President of WOCMES-2 HE Ambassador
Hasan Abu Nimah, Director of RIIFS Baker al-Hiyari, General-Secretary of
WOCMES-2

WOCMES-2 Secretariat
Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) P.O. Box 830 562, Amman
11183, Jordan
Tel.: 962 6 4618051; Fax: 962 6 4618053
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
www.riifs.org