A new arrival on the Arab research landscape is the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS), which was recently legally established (in March 2011) as a regional, independent, non-profit organization headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon. The Council is dedicated to strengthening social science research and research capacity in the Arab world. It aims to promote a strong and vibrant social science community by facilitating and supporting networking and the collaborative production of knowledge between individuals and institutions within the region and beyond. Its structure includes a General Assembly, an elected Board of Trustees and a Secretariat headed by the Director assisted by an Associate Director. The ACSS is currently operating out of its host institution in Beirut, the Arab NGO Network for Development.
While this institution has been long in the planning and establishment (since 2005), it is an institution whose time has come. The new developments in the Arab region make clear the need for, and importance of, an institution that would bring together the best scholars working in and on the region to engage in collaborative research, capacity building, networking and dissemination. At full capacity, the ACSS intends to provide research grants and fellowships, especially targeting the younger generation of researchers in the region, and to organize research networks and working groups. Publications, outreach to media and policy and advocacy on behalf of the right to research and academic freedom will all be part of the Council`s mission and functions.
The current Board of Trustees comprises Dr. Rahma Bourqia (Chair), Dr. Ebtisam Al- Kitbi, Dr. Ragui Assaad, Dr. Abdulkarim Barghouti, Dr. Abdel Nasser Djabi, Dr. Ahmed Galal, Dr. Mustafa Hamarneh, Dr. Amr Hamzawy, Dr. Eileen Kuttab, and Dr. Karim Makdisi.
The ACSS is actively recruiting outstanding candidates for the two positions of Director and Associate Director of the ACSS. The Director and Associate Director will be responsible for carrying out the mission and achieving the objectives of the ACSS. Both positions will be based at the ACSS headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. Candidates should hold a Ph.D. (or its equivalent) in the social sciences (and at least 10 years of post-Ph.D. experience for the Director) and must have excellent oral and written communication skills in Arabic and English or French.
To view the complete job announcements, including eligibility requirements and application details:
Please click here for the job posting for Director
Please click here for the job posting of Associate Director.
Any inquiries can be directed to acss@annd.org.
The ACSS website is currently under development and will be launched by early December. In addition, a competition for the design of the ACSS logo has been announced on DesignCrowd and is open to Arab designers and artists either located in the Arab region or in the Arab diaspora, and who thus have deep familiarity of the region. The winning design will be awarded a prize of 1000 USD. If you are interested in participating please click here.
The first research project of the ACSS is planned to begin in winter 2011/2012 and will focus on “Producing the ‘public’ in Arab societies: Discourses, participation, spaces, media.”