The MENA Mix: Regional Recap is a monthly video podcast, produced by the Institute for Middle East Options (IMEO). Each episode features rotating experts who unpack and analyze key news stories shaping the Middle East and North Africa.
Our October episode brought together Hala Bugaighis (Co-Founder & Director, Jusoor Center for Studies and Development) and David Wood (Senior Researcher, Center on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding). They discussed key MENA conflicts through mediation and commemoration frameworks, the fragility of the Israel Gaza Ceasefire, the need to amplify the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, tensions in Syria despite initial optimism around new leadership, and the emerging landscape of the Red Sea.
Hala Bugaighis
Hala Bugaighis is a Libyan lawyer, researcher, and women's rights advocate with over two decades of experience in the MENA region. She is the co-founder of the Jusoor Center for Studies and Development, a Libyan think-and-do tank dedicated to promoting inclusive economic growth. Under her leadership, Jusoor has impacted over 1,000 beneficiaries and established LEAP, the first women's business incubator, supporting more than 80 women-led projects. Ms. Bugaighis has consulted and conducted research for a wide range of stakeholders, including the Libyan House of Representatives, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and international organizations such as UN Women, the World Bank Group, and Crown Agents. Her work addresses critical intersections of economic justice, governance, and women’s inclusion.
David Wood
David is a Senior Researcher at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Graduate Institute. With over 20 years of professional experience, David Wood has expertise in mediation, conflict sensitivity, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, stabilisation, and community safety. In 2011, he founded the international peacebuilding organization, Peace Change Initiative. In 2021, he co-founded an initiative to encourage global leaders to take a more ethical approach to commemoration during conflict, “Ethics of Political Commemoration.” From 2018 to 2024, he was a Professor of Practice in peace and conflict studies at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. He has over 50 academic, policy, and journalistic publications. His latest book is Ethics of Political Commemoration: Towards a New Paradigm.