Launch: From Politics to Policy - Building Regional Resilience in West Asia and North Africa

Under the patronage of HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, on behalf of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, the WANA Institute and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung were pleased to launch their new book on April 18. From Politics to Policy: Building Resilience in West Asia and North Africa is an anthology of research conducted by the WANA Institute between 2015 and 2016 in the areas of human security, social justice, and sustainability.

HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan delivered the keynote speech, in which she emphasized that peace is not merely the cessation of war. She noted that "peace is a process to be built between people who work towards a shared goal. It is our responsibility to break out of our self-inflicted paralysis, to find the courage and the political will to create a climate for regional cooperation, and a security system grounded in evidence-based strategic planning, human solidarity, and pluralist human dignity."

The keynote speech was followed by a discussion of the book by co-author Adel Elsayed Sparr, Senior Adviser to the National Coordinator against Violent Extremism at the Government Offices of Sweden; Prof. Dr. Dorit Schumann, Vice President for International Affairs at the German Jordanian University; and Dr. Ayman Khalil, Director of the Center for Security Studies at the University of Jordan. Professor Schumann concluded her talk by stating that "this book is not only a must-read for each politician in the WANA region, but should be present in each library and each university library as well."

Photos by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung