Where: King’s College London
When: 13-14 May 2025
Due to exceptional demand, registration for this event is now closed.
Tuesday, May 13th
09:00 – 09:45 – Arrival and Registration of Participants
09:45 – 10:00 – Welcoming Remarks from Dr Shiraz Maher, ICSR
10:00 – 11:15 – From Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to the Government of Syria: Challenges and Opportunities
- Dr Shiraz Maher, ICSR (chair)
- Ann Snow MBE, UK Special Representative for Syria
- Dr Haid Haid, Chatham House
- Robin Yassin-Kassab, Prisons Museum
11:30 – 12:45 – Political Transition of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
- Rima Maktabi, Al Arabiya (chair)
- Noah Bonsey, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
- Mazen Gharibah, London School of Economics
- Dr Aaron Zelin, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Dareen Khalifa, International Crisis Group
12:45 – 14:00 – Sandwich Lunch for all Attendees
14:00 – 15:15 – Jihadist Future and Foreign Fighters
- Rym Momtaz, Carnegie Europe (chair)
- Dr Jerome Drevon, International Crisis Group
- Orwa Ajjoub, Malmö University
- Mina al-Lami, BBC Monitoring
15:30 – 16:45 – Transitional Justice
- Murtaza Hussain, Drop Site (chair)
- Raya Homsi, The Syria Campaign
- Mouhanad Sharabati, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression
- Karla Quintana, Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic
Wednesday, May 14th
09:00 – 10:00 – Arrival and Registration of Participants
10:00 – 11:15 – The Role of Women in the New Syria
- Siba Madwar, King’s College London (chair)
- Zaina Erhaim, Journalist
- Jelnar Ahmad, Consultant
11:30 – 12:45 – Syria’s Political Economy
- Nour Al Ali, Bloomberg (chair)
- Zaki Mehchy, London School of Economics
- Karim Khwanda, Conflict-Resolution Practitioner and Entrepreneur
- Dr Joseph Daher, University of Lausanne
12:45 – 14:00 – Sandwich Lunch for all Attendees
14:00 – 15:15 – Disinformation, Online Campaigns and the Role of Arab Media
- Dania Akkad, Middle East Eye (chair)
- Fadah Jassem, The National
- Razan Rashidi, The Syria Campaign
- Gareth Browne, The Economist
15:30 – 16:45 – Insights from Syria’s Rebel Fighters
- Michael Weiss, The Insider (chair)
- Dr Rahaf Aldoughli, Lancaster University
- Dr Nafees Hamid, ICSR
- Broderick McDonald, University of Oxford
- Nils Mallock, ICSR
16:45 – 17:00 – Closing Remarks from Dr Shiraz Maher, ICSR
Throughout the conference we will be offering opportunities to participate in Nobody’s Listening: The Forgotten Voices of Sinjar; a ground-breaking virtual reality experience that transports viewers to northern Iraq using a blend of 360-degree documentary film-making, stunning Yazidi artwork and the latest virtual reality technology. A unique branching narrative set in Kocho village, Sinjar, enables users to hear from a young Yazidi woman abducted and sexually enslaved by ISIS, from her brother who survives a massacre, and from an ISIS fighter who attacks the village.
You can book your slot for this experience here.
