Driving social and economic development in the MENA region: the role of international organizations - Stakeholders' engagement meeting report

On 15 November 2018, the Center for Public Policy and Democracy Studies (PODEM) hosted a stakeholders’ meeting in Istanbul with twenty-nine participants, including academics, experts, and representatives from civil society and international humanitarian and development organizations from Europe and the MENA region, as part of the Middle East North Africa Regional Architecture Project (MENARA). Through two panels of expert presentations and facilitated discussion, the participants addressed present challenges, ongoing transformations and future opportunities facing societies across the region, as well as the role of international organizations in addressing these challenges and opportunities. This report will summarize the discussion during that meeting in two broad parts, focusing on the region’s challenges and positive developments respectively and is further divided into sections by issue subject. Two sets of policy recommendations are provided at the end of the report.