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Nuclear Power Plant Exhausts

Refuting the case for nuclear in the Middle East

Article
Although the epicenter of the world’s petro- economy, countries in the Middle East understand the need to diversify away from fossil fuels. To do so, some also bet on nuclear energy. The need to transition is most strongly driven by broader regional priorities to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and grow the economy while also providing jobs for the increasing population of young people. At first glance, nuclear seems an apt tool to help the region meet these dual objectives. However, Middle Eastern countries would be better served by investing resourced pegged to nuclear in the more promising solar and wind industries.
By Joelle Thomas

Latest Publication

Call for Applications | Global Feminist Pitch

Feminist resilience and resistance on social media

The circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the striving of women and LGBTIQ+ activists worldwide. The Global Feminist Pitch will give eight feminists the opportunity to implement their project ideas on the theme of "Feminist Resilience and Resistance on Social Media”.

The deadline for submitting an application is midnight CET on May 15, 2021

Apply Now!

Böll.Global 7: Vaccine geopolitics and its implications

An online conversation series on the consequences and management of the pandemic

Tuesday, 11. May 2021
17:00 – 18:30

No country is safe from COVID-19 until all countries are safe from COVID-19. To overcome a pandemic of this magnitude, vaccines must be made available fast. So far there is no coordinated global vaccine policy for their distribution. Boell. Global looks at how the much-needed vaccine equity for all can be achieved.

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Visit the Online Platform

10 years since the start of the Syrian revolution and the demands of the revolutionists are yet to be met. In light of this day, HBS has the pleasure of inviting you onto its virtual platform, Still Our Right. The platform will be online from Monday 15th of March 12 PM until Thursday 1st of April 12 AM, highlighting the projects HBS has supported throughout the years to shed light on the goals they hold and the rights they demand.

Statehood & Participation

Lokman Slim, 2005, at the Hangar, the venue of Umam Documentation and Research Centre, Dahiyeh Beirut.

Statement on the Assassination of Lokman Slim

Statement
We are deeply shocked and saddened by the death of writer, activist and film director Lokman Slim. Lokman had gone missing Wednesday evening in South of Lebanon and was found murdered in his car this Thursday morning. A friend and partner of the Heinrich Böll Foundation for many years, Lokman Slim and his wife Monika Borgmann founded and managed the Umam Research & Documentation Center in Ghobeiry, a southern suburb of Beirut where exhibitions, discussions and installations took place in its hangar. Their work dealt with the trauma of survivors of political violence, state arbitrariness and torture in both Lebanon and Syria. In 2018 and 2019, the Heinrich Böll Foundation showed Lokman and Monika's film Tadmor about the systematic torture and humiliation in Syrian prisons, in which former political prisoners from Lebanon had re-enacted their horrific everyday life in Syrian custody. Lokman was one of the staunchest independent critics of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, and despite the numerous threats he and Monika received, he continued to be an important, eloquent, provocative and argumentative commentator during political discussions. With this news, Lebanon has lost a courageous and outspoken fighter of injustice and political censorship.
Drawing by Theo Louk

Kohl's last issue for 2020 is finally OUT!

Journal
Queer Feminisms has been a year-long in the making. This issue started with a writing workshop, titled “Queer Feminisms,” that took place in the midst of a revolution. In its tangible form, it continues to contemplate ways to engage with queer feminisms as they have been conceptualized and experienced in Arabic-speaking countries in particular,  as well as transnationally. Our understanding of “queer” – as a contextual political positioning that brings social justice struggles together, rather than an “imported” theory that exists in isolation – has informed the many processes of assembling this collection.  
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Environmental Justice

hbs concludes the 7th Regional Summer School on Civic Engagement in Urban Sustainable Development

News
hbs offices in the MENA region held the 7th Regional Summer School in Amman, Jordan under the title “Our Cities Our Future: Civic Engagement in Urban Sustainable Development”. 23 activists, researchers, architects and civil society professionals from 8 Middle Eastern countries participated in the week-long School. They addressed various topics related to architecture and urban sustainable development. Through lectures, discussions, group work, and a field visit, the participants exchanged ideas, shared experiences and got the chance to meet and learn about inspiring initiatives working towards sustainable development in the region.  
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Conflict & International Politics

Ghouta, Douma - Spring 2017

Denmark: Flawed country of origin reports lead to flawed refugee policies

JOINT STATEMENT
Denmark decided as the only European country to lift the refugee status of a number of Syrian refugees based on its conclusion that Damaskus is safe for return. This policy is largely based on the Danish Ministry of Immigration's "Country of Origin" report of 2019. A number of experts quoted in these report, among them Dr. Bente Scheller, Heinrich Boell Stiftung speak out against how their expertise was used to justify a step that is not in line with European policies. In this statement, they urge the Danish government to revise their policy and respect international law that requires a safe, voluntary and dignified return for which they do not see the conditions met. #SyriaNotSafe #Syria #Denmark
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Culture & Dialogue

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Our Films & Videos

Hani Al Sawah's (aka Al Darwish) second album “MALAHI” (Arabic for “Temptations”) now available on Youtube.

The music album, a project in collaboration with the Heinrich Boell Beirut Office, tells the story of how the years of conflict in Syria has influenced individuals’ way of thinking regarding revolutions, war and politics, and their implication on the day-to-day lives and relations including ideas of identity and belonging.  

More Videos

Dossier: United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP24) Katowice, Poland – 2 to 14 December 2018

Dossier
The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place from 2 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland. Delegates from the Heinrich Böll Foundation Offices worldwide and their partners are represented in the COP 24. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, Beirut office – Middle East is supporting journalists from the region to travel and report on the conference from Katowice. The following web-dossier includes publications, written and audio-visual media coverage of the Katowice Climate Change Conference from the Heinrich Böll Foundation delegates and journalists in English, French and Arabic.

Perspectives Issue #15 - Unboxing the Game: the Obvious & the Obscure

Dossier

Politics are brimming with metaphoric references to games – be it the famous “Great Game” as the diplomatic confrontation of great powers in Asia at the beginning of the 20th century was referred to, the understanding of strategic moves in a region as a “chess board,” war “theatres” or references to the “players,” the strong of them framed as “actors,” the weak as “pawns”, or the crazy ones behaving like “wild cards.”

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