RABAT, MOROCCO—DECEMBER 6, 2022—The N7 Initiative, a partnership between the Atlantic Council and Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, is hosting the N7 Conference on Education and Coexistence from December 5-7, 2022. The conference, held with the support of the Kingdom of Morocco, convenes experts from Israel and Arab and Muslim countries in government, civil society, and academia to discuss further regional cooperation and produce actionable policy recommendations.
“The N7 Initiative continues to be a source of compelling ideas for ways normalization can benefit the citizens of the countries that now have diplomatic relations with Israel,” said William Wechsler, who leads the Atlantic Council’s work on the Middle East and North Africa and serves as senior director of the N7 Initiative. “We are proud that the governments of the region, and the US administration, look to the N7 Initiative as a key partner in the important work they are undertaking in the Negev Forum and other groupings.”
Oren Eisner, President of the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, explained the purpose of the conference: “It is critical to the future of normalization that the region’s younger generations engage with each other and learn from each other. Our Conference on Education and Coexistence is designed to produce actionable policy recommendations for the region’s governments that will increase cooperation and foster tolerance in education.” Eisner added, “We are thrilled to bring the N7 nations together to the conference and are grateful to the participating governments for working together to develop stronger and lasting friendships in the Middle East.”
The conference on Education and Coexistence will be followed in 2023 by a conference on Agriculture, Water, and Food Security in the United Arab Emirates, and a conference on Regional Free Trade.
“Progress in bilateral Israeli-Arab relationships since the Abraham Accords has been impressive. But now it must be matched by work to build multilateral programs and institutions that will lead to true regional integration, and demonstrate the benefits of normalization to the citizens of the countries involved,” said Ambassador Daniel Shapiro. “The N7 Initiative represents the most comprehensive non-governmental sponsored undertaking to achieve these goals.”
More information about the N7 Initiative, its publications, events, leadership, and senior fellows can be found on the Atlantic Council website. For press inquiries, please contact Emily Milliken at emilliken@atlanticcouncil.org.
