URI Cooperation Circle members from Morocco along with URI MENA staff participated in the Arab Thought Foundation's 13th Annual FIKR conference (FIKR 13), which was held in the Moroccan city of Skhirat from 3-5 December 2014. FIKR 13 took place with the gracious patronage of HRH King Mohammed VI of Morocco, under the banner of “Arab Integration: The Dream of Unity and the Reality of Division.”
The conference addressed several key topics:
- the dream of Arab unity in the face of division and fragmentation in the Arab region;
- the urgent need for Arab integration in the area of development;
- the outlook for Arab economic cooperation and cultural integration;
- the security challenges in the light of geopolitical transformations.
FIKR 13 also discussed the current role of the Arab League; existing formats of organization; concerns about natural Arab resources; borders and population distribution; as well as a range of other topics on the role of the media, and the protection of the Arab language as one of the fundamental components of the unifying Arab identity.
The Arab Thought Foundation (ATF) is an international, independent nonprofit organization. It has no inclination to any party or religious group. Rather, it is a dedicated initiative that brings together scholars from academia and finance to promote the Nation’s pride in its principles, values and ethics, in an atmosphere of a responsible freedom. ATF is concerned with various knowledge fields, with a goal to unite intellectual and cultural efforts that seek the Arab Nation’s solidarity, renaissance and conservation of its identity.
FIKR 13 brought together intellectuals, decision-makers, thinkers, researchers, and representatives of the private sector. It also invited representatives of civil society, media and youth along with their international counterparts to discuss the most pressing issues facing the Arab region and the world. It created a unique and strategic opportunity, to all participants, sponsors, partners and speakers, for a deep exchange of ideas and experiences, in order to establish a leadership position in the Arab World.
