A Quarantine Reading List: Escapist Nonfiction from the Arab World
Readers who need a break from news of Covid-19 and chronicles of disease may find welcome relief in these books from the Middle East and North Africa.
Arab Universities Struggle With Final Exams and Reopening Decisions
The Covid-19 pandemic forced Arab universities to hastily shift classes online–or in some cases shut down completely. Now they need to assess learning and decide how to safely re-open.
Tunisia’s Covid-19 Research Effort Brings Together Many Sectors
Engineering and medical schools are collaborating to design ventilators, and government projects are attracting hundreds of researchers. Industry and investors are helping, too.
The Shift to Online Education in the Arab World Is Intensifying Inequality
The attempted shift to online learning during the novel coronavirus pandemic is increasing inequality in access to education. In some countries, professors and students are suggesting online education be halted altogether.
Why Tunisia’s Once Superior Education System Needs to Reform Again
A long tradition of progressive reform prepared the country for independence in 1957. But now its universities are seen as “factories of unemployment.”
Relief Organizations Help Artists Affected by Covid-19
Funding groups in the Arab world and elsewhere are offering assistance to artists and other creative workers who face difficulties because of the Covid-19 shutdowns.
A Guide to Top Platforms for Online Courses
Al-Fanar Media explores some of the major Arabic and non-Arabic online learning platforms that offer university-level courses at low cost or free.
Coronavirus School Closings Around the World Will Hit Girls the Hardest
Humanitarian groups warn of the potential for increased drop-out rates among adolescent girls, putting them at greater risk of sexual exploitation and early marriage.
Coronavirus Fears Shut Down Universities and Schools in the Arab World
Several countries have closed educational institutions and others are restricting school activities in an attempt to limit the spread of the dangerous new virus, Covid-19.
The Value of Creativity in the Mediterranean Cauldron
An Italian professor suggests that those living in the Mediterranean region take their natural tendency toward creativity as a philosophy and way of life and invest in it even more.
