Belabbes Benkredda - "The Arab Spring is on Life Support"

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Belabbes Benkredda - "The Arab Spring is on Life Support"

Munathara Initiative founder says optimism caused by movement has faded

Mr Benkredda offering his opinion during the opening session

The founder of the Munathara Initiative has said a culture of understanding is needed to move the momentum of the Arab Spring forward. 

Belabbes Benkredda spoke to Salzburg Global whilst attending the current seminar session - co-organized with the Arab Human Rights Fund - entitled ‘Getting Transition Right: A Rights-based Approach towards Diversity & Inclusivity’.

The Munathara Initiative, a Tunisian-based online and television debate forum, aims to foster the participation of youth, women and marginalized communities in Arab public discourse.

In our first session-related podcast, Mr Benkredda discusses the significance of the forum, which provides an opportunity for neglected voices to offer alternative perspectives.

He also calls for a culture to be fostered where opposing views are not seen as threats but as new opportunities for ideas to evolve, thrive and lead to positive change.  

With this in mind, Mr Benkredda suggests three factors to help re-establish a healthy and constructive public sphere and offers his opinion on which issues need to be prioritized in this discourse.

Mr Benkredda acts as a government consultant specializing in public diplomacy and is an occasional television commentator.

Prior to establishing the Munathara Initiative, Mr Benkredda was trained at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany’s Directorate-General for Public Diplomacy in the Middle East.

He has previously worked for the League of Arab States, the Council for Arab-British Understanding, and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt.