Forward Thinking hold roundtable workshops exploring the situation in Egypt and Syria, 8th September 2015

Forward Thinking convened a small roundtable workshop on the morning of the 8th of September, to evaluate and assess the current situation in Egypt and Syria. The meeting was well attended and brought together a number of participants from diverse backgrounds including: parliamentarians, academics, political activists from the MENA region and representatives of the international community.Discussions focused extensively on the ongoing refugee crisis and how Europe should respond. Several participants felt it important to acknowledge that, thus far, the heaviest burden had been borne by countries in the region - with Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey taking the majority of Syrian refugees to date. It was also acknowledged that, in the absence of a solution to the Syrian conflict, all policy responses would only mitigate, as opposed to resolve, the flow and humanitarian situation of refugees.Another roundtable meeting was held in the evening of the 8th with the Forward Thinking Fellows, who also discussed the situation in Egypt and Syria. The Fellows are comprised of individuals that are interested in the MENA region or that want to pursue a career in the field of conflict resolution and international affairs and the fellowship is aimed to provide a space in which they are able to develop their thinking and involvement in certain issues.