The Mapping Connections project recently concluded an Institute on Mapping Arab Region-China Connections’ convened between 27th – 30th May as part of the Inter-Asia Partnership’s (IAP) ‘Inter-Asia Week’.

This workshop was held as part of a follow up to the 'Mapping Connections: China and Contemporary Development in the Middle East' Beirut workshop of 14-15th January 2023. It was organised in collaboration with the Centre for West Asia and North Africa Studies at the Institute of International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University (IIAS) and the Arab Council of Social Sciences, (ACSS) Beirut. The event was hosted by our colleagues at IIAS in their newly completed offices, and for several participants this was a first visit to China.

On 26 October 2023, Professor Adam Hanieh delivered an inaugural lecture to a newly formed student association at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China – the Tsinghua University Student Association of China-MENA Friendship (THU-MENA).

Building on his research as part of the 'Mapping Connections' project, Adam Hanieh has a new chapter in the upcoming volume, Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region (Pluto Books/TNI, 2023), co-authored by Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell.

Early career researchers from the Mapping Connections project presented their work at a panel convened as part of the Sixth Conference of the Arab Council for Social Sciences (ACSS) held in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 to 28 May 2023. ACSS is a partner of the Mapping Connections project, and their biannual conference brought together close to 400 researchers from the Arab region and the world, as well as the ACSS Board of Trustees, representatives of donor organizations, university presidents, deans, and faculty members in prominent universities around the region.