James Phillips, Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at The Heritage Foundation, will deliver the keynote address at the Appalachia Regional Model Arab League (ARMAL) conference, which will be held November 6 – 8 at Hollins University.
Phillips will speak at the Opening Plenary session on Friday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m. in Hollins’ Dana Science Building. His appearance is made possible by a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation.
Hollins Professor of Political Science Ed Lynch, coordinator for this year’s ARMAL conference, said Phillips is one of Washington’s foremost experts on the Middle East and the author of dozens of papers and hundreds of op-eds and blog posts on the Arabic-speaking world.
“Phillips will speak about the failure of socialism in the Arab world, and make suggestions for dealing with the aftermath of the Arab Spring. He’ll provide a fascinating perspective on the region for the delegates,” Lynch said.
Model Arab League is the flagship student leadership development program sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR). ARMAL brings together college and high school students from the Appalachia Region to learn firsthand what it is like to put themselves in the shoes of real-life Arab diplomats and other foreign affairs practitioners. Students act as representatives from Arabic-speaking countries ranging from Morocco to Iraq. At this year’s conference, they will discuss political, economic, social, and environmental issues, as well as the future of the Palestinian people and the vital matter of relations with the State of Israel.
In addition to Hollins, students from Converse College, Fairmont State University, Jacksonville State University, and Washington and Jefferson College are participating, as are local students from Roanoke Catholic High School and William Byrd High School.
ARMAL is one of 22 Model Arab League conferences sponsored each year by NCUSAR. The conference opening session is free and open to the public.
