Event overview
Join the Migrant Futures Institute for the third and final instalment of our Syria In Transition series
*This event will include a break to accommodate those observing Ramadan. Light refreshments including dates will be available in Room 137 next door
The third in a three-part series explores how Syrian scholars, practitioners, and activists engage with the challenges of urban and cultural reconstruction to imagine and shape Syria’s post-war future. From rebuilding homes to restoring memory, this session examines whose visions are realised in post-conflict recovery.
Ammar Azzouz
Architect and British Academy Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, Ammar Azzouz was born in Homs and researches the impact of war on the built environment. His work - including Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria - investigates how destruction and reconstruction shape cities and their people.
Annie Webster
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, Annie Webster researches how refugee creative practices in Scotland - and more broadly - illuminate the role of arts in post-conflict resettlement. Her work explores stories of reconstruction through literature, theatre, visual arts, and digital storytelling among displaced Syrians.
Abdullah Al Kafri
Executive Director and Co founder of Ettijahat, Abdullah Al Kafri is a playwright, cultural manager, and activist supporting artists from Syria and the wider Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. His work spans cultural policy, strategic planning, and arts education; as an author researcher, he writes on cultural displacement and artistic expression in times of crisis, including On the Margin’s Margin. Based between Brussels and Beirut, he lectures at Beirut’s Institute of Fine Arts and Audiovisual Studies, teaching cultural production sociology, playwriting, and theatre direction.
Miriyam Aouragh
Professor of Digital Anthropology at the University of Westminster, Miriyam Aouragh studies how digital tools and infrastructures shape memory, activist networks, and narratives from the Arab world. Her work engages with reconstruction by examining how online and offline practices influence public imagination and remembrance. Her most recent work on Syria is Syrians know their way - from visual memory making to digital testimonies (2025) published in the Communication, Culture and Critique journal.
Moderator
Dr Sultan Doughan
Co-Director of the Migrant Futures Institute and Lecturer in Anthropology at Goldsmiths, Sultan Doughan is a political anthropologist whose research examines citizenship, memory, and religious difference in Europe. Her work explores how Holocaust commemoration and debates on race and migration shape belonging for Middle Eastern diasporas.
Free to attend but registration is essential
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Mar 2026 | 5:15pm - 7:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
