June 28, 2013 – On 26th June 2013, Karama presented at this year’s IQPC conference on Information Operations (IO). The conference in London gathered experts from various governments and international organizations in order to discuss IO best practice, with particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa.

Alexis Everington, Senior Advisor to Karama, provided an assessment of the Arab Spring before going on to highlight the importance of the international community proactively engaging key stakeholders, such as local women and youth groups, in the transition phase.

Karama believes that whereas the international community mostly succeeded in avoiding key mistakes during the regime change period, this has not been the case during transition. Notably, locals in countries from Tunisia to Yemen view the international community with growing cynicism for not delivering visible and tangible proof and for adopting a policy that is grounded in words less than action.

There are myriad reasons behind this change in stance from the international community – from natural risk aversion to the rapid turnover of staff in country (and consequent loss of ‘corporate memory’). Karama called on the international community to see the transitional period as one where more work than ever needs to be done in supporting key civil society groups. Only through such initiatives can we ensure that values such as freedom and democracy continue to grow unopposed by worrying trends such as the politicization of Islam and the suppression of women’s rights.

For more information, please contact Alexis Everington at Alexis@el-karama.org.