November 8th, Hammamet, Tunisia - The 6th Hammamet Conference will bring together over 90 leaders building on an existing network of more than 400 emerging and established leaders within the Hammamet network. This year’s conference will be focused on addressing the shared leadership challenge of How to Build Peaceful and Inclusive Societies and will use this gathering of leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and the UK to share fresh insight, ideas and expertise on how to meet this shared leadership challenge.
Over the next three days, discussions will focus on themes such as inclusion and how leaders, regardless of age, gender, nation or sector, need to work together to build inclusion for all, including those who are marginalised and those for whom traditional structures may be hard to reach. It will look at what sort of leadership is needed to bring lasting change, as well as reflecting on how together we imagine, develop and sustain a peaceful and inclusive future.
Speaking at their first conference as Co-Chairs, Libyan Peace Activist and gender specialist Zahra’ Langhi said: “We must look to ourselves, as leaders, to model behaviours of inclusion and accountability. We are required to foster local, national and international collaboration to drive growth, innovate and support equitable development at all levels.”
UK Parliamentarian and former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly John Alderdice added: “We believe that now more than ever, stability across communities, and inclusive, responsible decision-making, is critical to the future prosperity of all countries”.
The Hammamet Conference 2017 is a flagship event organised annually by the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for Education and Culture. It has grown in size each year and is an essential part of the British Council’s activity in North Africa. It helps build mutually beneficial partnerships between emerging leaders from the UK, connecting them to their counterparts in North Africa.
Robert Ness, Director British Council Tunisia, said: “The Hammamet Conference is unique in that it brings together a diverse mix of expertise, experience and nationalities to look at shared challenges that require all levels of leadership to contribute solutions. Robert Ness added; “The conversations that happen here, and more importantly, the connections and relationships that start here are an important part of what we as the British Council do, and this conference is one way we are able to create opportunities for more and more people to connect to each other and understand each other more by discussing issues that impact on us all.”
For more information, please contact:
Imen ZNEIDI I Maghreb Communications Manager M + 216 58 353 606 | Imen.Zneidi@tn.britishcouncil.org
About the Hammamet Conference Series
The Hammamet Conference Series is an annual international platform for dialogue and progress in relations between the countries of North Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia – and the UK launched by the British Council in 2012. It brings together new and established leaders from the worlds of business, civil society, the arts, media, academia and policy to engage in dialogue, build new relationships and identify solutions to critical issues.
https://www.britishcouncil.tn/en/hammamet-conference
Join the Discussions Online via Hammamet Conference Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and also YouTube Channel using #HammametConf.
About the Conference Co-Chairs :
Lord Alderdice, Co-Chair Hammamet Conference
Former Leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Lord Alderdice played a significant role in the negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He was the first Speaker of the new Northern Ireland Assembly and then appointed by the British and Irish Governments to be one of the four members of the Independent Monitoring Commission tasked with overseeing security normalisation in Ireland.
An active member of the House of Lords for over twenty years and (during the UK Conservative/Liberal Coalition) Chairman of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, he has also served as President of Liberal International, the world-wide network of liberal political parties.
A psychoanalytical psychiatrist by profession, he is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, Director of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at Harris Manchester College, Oxford and Chairman of the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in Belfast.
Zahra’ Langhi – Co_Chair Hammamet Conference
Zahra’ Langhi is the co-Founder and CEO of the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, a socio-political movement which promotes peace-building, inclusivity and gender equality. Zahra’ led the advocacy of inclusive electoral systems (the zipper list) in the elections of the National Congress in 2012, which has resulted in women winning 17% of the vote. Zahra’ participated in the UN led peace process. She was also advisor to the Libyan National Dialogue.
In her research she focuses on topics of peace-building, nation-building, metaphysics, mysticism and female spirituality in comparative religions. In 2015, in partnership with United States Institute of Peace, she led a research project which mapped Libya’s religious sector; this led to her co-authoring “Libya’s Religious Sector and Peace Building efforts”. Zahra’ is a TED speaker.
She spoke about “Why the Libyan Revolution Failed and Might Work?” In 2014 Zahra’ was announced in the Guardian as one of ‘Seven Women to Watch in Global Politics’ by the leader of UNDP and the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We work with over 100 countries in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Last year we reached over 65 million people directly and 731 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. We make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive 15 percent core funding grant from the UK government. www.britishcouncil.org