In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal today, Ann Marlow writes on the "crippled Libyan educational system molded by Gadhafi's 42-year rule" that is being restructured by the Transitional National Council (TNC) to "build the principles of democracy"  by educating students on how to prepare for democracy.  According to the council's education minister, Suliman el Sahli, the Education Working Group are expecting a "soft re-opening" of primary and ...

The State Department's International Religious Freedom in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor awarded a $200,000 grant to the Middle East Media Research Institute for their project dedicated to documenting anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and glorification in the Middle East.  Additionally, the grant will allow for the expansion of MEMRI's ability to monitor the media, translate material into various language, as well as providing an analysis on the topic. ...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that TechGirls, an initiative that encourages innovation and the use of new technologies by young women in the Middle East and North Africa, will be launched next year through the TechWomen program.  The initiative will bring teenage girls from the Middle East and North Africa for an "intensive month of educational activities" in the United States. "Since it seems like technology is evolving so ...

On Monday, the RAND Corporation hosted a Congressional Briefing on the barriers to freedom of expression in the Arab world. The speakers included Lowell H. Schawrtz, Political Scientist, RAND Corporation, Jeffrey Martini, Project Associate, RAND Corporation, and Dalia Dassa Kaye, Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation. For full notes, continue below. For pdf version, click here. Lowell Schwartz began by noting that UN reports have identified three main deficits in the Arab world, ...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) prepares to lend $500 million in emergency aid in an effort to emphasize the focus on social inclusion in Tunisia's development. This loan is part of a larger $1.4 billion package that includes lenders, the World Bank and the EU. In a report issued by the African Development Bank, Tunisia is in need of monetary aid as the current account deficit is expected to reach 7.8 percent ...

The Bahraini government has canceled study scholarships of at least 20 Bahraini students studying abroad in the U.K. for their participation in peaceful protests there.  The government also ordered them all to return to Bahrain immediately. Many of the students have expressed fears that they and their families could be subject to arrest and torture as a result of the governments actions.  Yassir Saig, of the Manchester-based Bahrain Peace and ...

Human Rights Watch reported that Ahmed Mansoor, a member of HRW's Middle East advisory committee, was released from custody after having been arrested on April 8th.  Mansoor was one of the political activists who recently called for an elected parliament in the UAE.  Two other activists are still in detention, including Nasser bin Ghaith, an economics lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Sorbonne. Bin Ghaith's arrest raises the question ...