A common vision for a progressive Arab world

It has been over three years since a wave of uprisings and the demands for ‘bread, dignity and social justice’ echoed across the Arab world. From the very beginning, European socialists and social democrats have shown their full support for progressive partners in the Middle East and North Africa, as we are all committed to the shared message of ending social injustice and reducing social inequalities worldwide.

Many things have changed since the uprisings erupted in 2010, and it is time to take stock of past and present efforts to build a progressive future for the Middle East and North Africa. The Global Progressive Forum, consisting of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and the Party of European Socialists, together with the Arab Social Democratic Forum, SOLIDAR and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), is organising the conference “A common vision for a progressive Arab world”. It will take place in Amman, Jordan, and the aim is to bring together progressive forces to exchange experiences, enter into dialogue and develop ideas for a new partnership advancing a progressive agenda for social justice.

This conference forms part of a series of events organised by the GPF, the S&D Group and the PES in co-operation with different partners in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings. On 25 September 2013, the GPF and SOLIDAR co-organised a seminar on the Middle East and North Africa, with the aim of contributing to the efforts to foster democracy and social justice. The Global Progressive Forum (PES and the S&D Group) organised the first conference in Tunis after the fall of Ben Ali in 2011, and again in 2012. The latest conference took place in Cairo in 2013, where the establishment of the Arab Social Democratic Forum was announced.