STOCKHOLM – Twenty researchers and professors from the Middle East and North Africa are gathering in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday to meet with Swedish researchers. The topic of the two-day conference is “Changing notions of citizenship – past, present and future”. Professor Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Egyptian researcher living in Europe, will participate as guest speaker. Ramadan has been conducting extensive research on identity and citizenship among European Muslims. The Swedish Institute in Alexandria and the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (SRII), in collaboration with the Swedish Research Council and the Centre of Civilisation Studies and Cultural Dialogue, Cairo University, are initiating this conference series on “Changing notions of citizenship – past, present and future”. The first one will take place at the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. The primary objective of the conferences is to promote research co-operation in the Social Sciences and the Humanities between researchers in Sweden, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region). Their intention is also to serve as a stepping stone for further networking and research collaboration between researchers in Sweden and the MENA region. Within the theme of ‘Citizenship', they aim at opening avenues for further co-operation and mapping future research areas. They are structured as two consecutive conferences, linked by a common process, theme and participation. After Stockholm, the second conference will take place in Istanbul (spring 2012). The Swedish Institute in Alexandria is holding today a public discussion on citizenship in Stockholm as part of the conference. Tariq Ramadan, professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Oxford University, and professor Li Bennich-Björkman and Johan Skytte, professor of Economics and Political Science, Uppsala University, will be the keynote speakers. Ambassador Birgitta Holst-Alani, the director of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria, will give the opening speech.
