Category Archives: Interests
Turkiye’s Role Reversal Leaves Aid Vacuum in Syria
With more than 48,000 people killed in the Turkey-Syria Earthquake, over 123,000 injured, and 26 million requiring assistance, what happens when the reliable global aid donor, Turkiye–who has traditionally been among the first to provide emergency assistance in Pakistan’s and … Continue reading
Twitter Sentiment Analysis of Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif
Background: Beirut Explosion “Reiterated Iran’s strong and steadfast solidarity with people of Lebanon in call with FM Wehbeh. Iran is sending field hospital & medicine to assist with disaster relief. Iran stands with Lebanon. “ “Our thoughts and prayers are … Continue reading
Blockchain Tech Solutions in MENA
GetReceet’s founder, Omar Barkawi, imagines how blockchain solutions could advance “provenance” goals on a macro-level. Barkawi notes how tracking money and transactions would benefit from blockchain solutions, “tracking food purchase receipts informs health departments without household data identifiers”. Meanwhile, GetReceet’s funder, the Mideast-based Ibtikar Fund, notes how the money movement, financial services, and authentic property documentation remain a challenge, according to the Fund’s COO, Ambar Amleh, who highlighted the “physical stress of carrying and transferring all this cash” between Ramallah and Amman… Continue reading
Filed under Analysis, Interests, Technology, Uncategorized
Middle East History & Theory Workshop Conference at University of Chicago
The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Middle East History and Theory (MEHAT) Conference will take place at the University of Chicago on will be held Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, 2018. This conference, free and open to the public, will feature a keynote … Continue reading
Navigating MENA Markets with CAReem! #YallaCareem
When your competitor outspends you, your business model must be creative at the local level. ~ Abdulla Elyas, Co-Founder of Careem When Saudi Arabia first announced that Saudi women could start driving in 2018, we initially thought: awesome for Saudi … Continue reading
Filed under Interests, Technology
PITAPOLICY Joins Polsky Exchange Because #Startup Ecosystems Overlap
PITAPOLICY, LLC is excited to enlist as a member of the Polsky Exchange, the startup ecosystem facilitated by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, Illinois. Polsky is not just a co-working … Continue reading
Filed under Analysis, Interests, Technology
#OrangeAlert to MENA: This Is Not Normal.
Americans may remember the cryptic “Orange Alerts” created during President Bush’s tenure as our 43rd U.S. President. In response to 9/11, terror warnings came out in color code. Red was the worst: attack occurring. Green was normal. Yellow was in-between. … Continue reading
Documenting #SyriaCrisis: Part 2- Organizations
Last week PITAPOLICY briefly discussed the need for documenting the #SyriaCrisis by distinguishing between individuals and organizations. We argued that documenting narratives of Syrian civilians as individuals –rather than by political affiliations– is necessary to convey to Syrian outsiders. At … Continue reading
Documenting #SyriaCrisis: Part 1- Individuals
Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.~Anne Frank, Author “The Diary of Anne Frank” We remember reading “the Diary of Anne Frank” as part of our required elementary school reading list. For many of … Continue reading
May The Force Be With You. #StockMarkets #Iran #Pakistan #UNResolution
Last week we discussed Egypt’s and Turkey’s stock market activity and promised that we would discuss the stock markets in other populous countries, like Iran and Pakistan, in the MENA region before the new year. We are discussing Iran because … Continue reading
