Dear colleagues and friends,
On behalf of our organising team, I am pleased to share with you our MENASP Network Decennial Review. We have thoroughly appreciated the occasion to work on this document and hope you will agree that it marks an important moment in our shared journey, one that is worth pausing to reflect on.
The MENASP Network began in 2012 with modest means and a simple ambition: to build an epistemic community around social policy in the MENA region. What followed was a collective effort driven by genuine commitment, rigorous research and a shared vision for justice and inclusion.
In the years since, we’ve grown into a research network of international standing, bringing together academics, civil society actors, donor organisations and policy practitioners. We’ve held conferences and webinars, developed collaborative projects and created a space where knowledge, ideas, and experiences could be exchanged with openness and respect.
Throughout, the challenges facing social protection and welfare in the MENA region have only grown more complex and politically charged. And yet, I remain hopeful that excellent research, grounded in collaboration and informed by a shared social vision, will always find its way forward. It is this belief that continues to shape the MENASP Network today.
In 2023, we found a new home at the University of Birmingham, while remaining deeply grateful for the support of the University of Bath over the years. With this move, we hope to expand our reach and build new alliances in the global social policy community.
I invite you to read the Decennial Review and take pride in what we have achieved together – not just as a network, but as a community committed to meaningful change.
Warm thanks to all of you – near and far – for your continued support of this initiative.
Rana Jawad
Professor of Global Social Policy
MENASP Network Convenor
University of Birmingham, UK