The Tenth Nyon Process meeting, Alexandria 21st-23rd May

From the 21st to the 23rd of May, Forward Thinking and the Swedish Institute of Alexandria, held the Tenth Nyon Process Meeting in Alexandria, Egypt. The Tenth Nyon Process was the first time that the Process had been held in Egypt, and was only the second meeting to be held in the MENA region.   The meeting brought together fifty participants from both religious and secular backgrounds and from across the Middle East, the Gulf, North Africa, Europe and the US. Such diverse participation allowed for an honest discussion to take place on the current challenges facing the region, and on the practical measures participants might take to address them.Discussion at the meeting focused on several topics, including: assessing the current state of the Egyptian transition and the growth of political polarisation in the country; international and regional perspectives on the democratic transitions of North Africa and the challenges posed by political sectarianism, with a particular focus on Syria and Bahrain. The meeting concluded with a broads reflection on the lessons participants had learned over the past two years in the region. Successes and failures were identified and several new initiatives were proposed to enhance cooperation and development.