
Euro-Gulf Information Centre
The Rome Dialogues
The international political environment seems mired in intercon- nected con icts that are showing none of the signs of abating and all the signs of proliferation and contagion. Nowhere is this clearer than in the wider Middle East where the seemingly never-ending story of ISIS, coupled with surging sectarian violence, increased Irano-Saudi tensions and the return to the Kurdish-Turkish war of attrition is paralysing regional integration programmes, gener- ating trans-sector crises (economic, social, political) and spilling over into Europe In the Gulf, regional tensions have recently es- calated while military con ict rages in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. All in all, the Middle East’s prospects for future peace and economic growth are uncertain and liable to yet more sudden disruption.
It is precisely because of this challenging backdrop that the Euro-Gulf Information Centre has tasked itself with establishing a regular meeting of minds – to help tease out some solutions to unfolding crises. The EGIC is built along the notion that such political crises can be overcome; there is no such thing as an in- surmountable challenge in the political world. So, the EGIC has developed the Rome Dialogues to provide people – scholars, journalists, human rights activists, civil society representatives, decision makers – with a neutral space to hold essential conver- sations and it is those conversations that help to construct more accurate narrative, correct errors and generally assist people in understanding often complex issues.
The Rome Dialogues are held each month at the EGIC head- quarters (12 via Gregoriana, Rome, Italy, 00187) and are open to the public. Please visit the EGIC webpages (www.egic.info) for Rome Dialogue announcements.
All sessions are recorded, drafted and then published as Open Access Conversation Transcripts. These are made available as re- search materials and entered into the public domain to that end.
The EGIC is available to answer any questions you may have about the Rome Dialogues.