Paula Johnson presents at first Arab Philanthropy Conference in Jordan

Paula Johnson, Vice President and Director of the Center for Global Philanthropy, presented April 16-17, 2011, at the first Takaful Conference on Arab Philanthropy and Civic Engagement in Amman, Jordan.  The conference was jointly sponsored by the Columbia University Middle East Research Center (CUMERC) and the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo.  Recognizing the need for increased scholarship and documentation of the rapidly developing fields of philanthropy and civic engagement in the Arab region, the conference hoped to stimulate scholarly dialog to promote best practices and data-based policy making.   

In addition to Johnson, speakers and presenters included researchers, professors, policy professionals and civil society practitioners from some of the top universities and organizations in the United States and around the world.  Johnson presented on the TPI/WINGS study Global Institutional Philanthropy: A Preliminary Status Report that examines regional and global philanthropic trends, commonalities and differences in 24 countries, including the Arab region.  Building upon findings in the report, the conference hoped to address some of the challenges facing philanthropy in the region including the absence of data and institutionalized reporting mechanisms, lack of trust and financial and legal hurdles.

Conference proceedings will be circulated widely and papers will be published in a special journal issue with the hope of further strengthening the fields of social responsibility and philanthropy in the Arab countries and their diaspora communities.