From 10 to 14 June 2025, the third MENA Digital Summer School will take place in Berlin – a hybrid seminar on digital transformation aimed at young professionals from the MENA region. Participants will engage with topics such as digitalisation, strategic planning, and the socio-political dimensions of digital change.
CAIS researcher Dr. Mennatullah Hendawy will lead a workshop on Thursday, 12 June, focusing on the socio-technical realities of smart cities in the MENA region. Using the NEOM project as a case study, she critically examines dominant narratives of digital urban development and invites participants to explore new forms of inclusive decision-making using an AI-powered negotiation platform. Mennatullah Hendawy is part of the CAIS research programme Digital Democratic Innovations and also works at the Technical University of Munich.
The MENA Digital Summer School is organised by the Candid Foundation and supported by partner institutions such as CAIS, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Atingi/GIZ, the Digital Arabia Network, and the University of Hagen.
More information about the MENA Digital Summer School: https://www.candid-foundation.org/home/mds