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HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan and
Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO
THE MALTA CONFERENCES
Instability and uncertainty in the Middle East,
combined with water scarcity, global warming,
nuclear proliferation and lack of civil society,
creates a growing threat to the world. To address
these challenges, the Malta Conferences Foundation
organizes biennial conferences, bringing together
scientists from 15 Middle Eastern countries (Bahrain,
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates) together with six
Nobel laureates and US and EU scientists for five
days. Most of these Middle Eastern scientists
cannot easily meet face-to-face to exchange
information and discuss collaboration and
cooperation because their governments are
hostile to each other. The Malta Conferences
are the only platform where scientists from these
15 countries can work together on solutions to
regional problems.
Six conferences have been held. Malta V, in 2011,
was held by invitation at the headquarters of
UNESCO in Paris, and was opened by the Director
General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and HRH Prince
Hassan of Jordan. Malta VI, in 2013, was held in
Malta and was opened by the President of the
Republic of Malta, Dr. George Abela.
The common language of science helps to
overcome chasms of distrust, building tolerance
and understanding, improving the relationship
between the Muslim world and the US, and among
Arabs, Iranians and Israelis.
Two Egyptian students
Please Support the
Malta VII Conference
Malta Conferences Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Donation by Check
Malta Conferences Foundation, PO Box 162,
Sharon, MA 02067-0162 USA
Donation by Credit Card
Secure online credit card payments can be
made through PayPal on our website:
www.MaltaConferencesFoundation.org
Donation by Wire
Please contact Morton Hoffman, Treasurer,
at hoffman@bu.edu for information.
Thank you for your support of Malta VII, which will
be held in Rabat, Morocco, in November 2015.
Your kind generosity will help further the prospect
of peace in the Middle East.
Malta VII
For further information, please contact:
Zafra Lerman, President
Malta Conferences Foundation zafra@zafralerman.com
November 2015
Rabat, Morocco
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©2015 Malta Conferences Foundation (03.15)
What Participants Have Said
IRAQI PARTICIPANT:
“It’s the first time for me and my friends from Iraq (that)
we met Israel scientists and experts. I found them very
friendly, kind and active. I think the conference was very
important, but more important was this opportunity
that we met Israeli people.”
JORDANIAN PARTICIPANT:
“I think the conference represents a very important
step in the way of cooperation between researchers in
the Middle East away from the politics; it also removes
the barriers between the people of this region left by
politicians.”
US Ambassador to Malta, Gina AbercrombieWinstanley, and Iraqi singer Mustafa Al-Amar
EGYPTIAN PARTICIPANT:
“We have only one nationality here – and that’s
science.”
SAUDI ARABIAN PARTICIPANT:
“Now we are already sharing greetings and
looking for deeper collaborations and support to
each other.”
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PARTICIPANT:
“The conference should work towards creating
a pressure group from among scientists in the
area to work for enhancing harmony and peaceful
coexistence.”
Malta VII Workshops
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Environment: Air and Water Quality
Sustainability of Resources, Energy and Materials
Science and Technology Education at All Levels
Nanotechnology and Material Science
Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products
Chemistry Safety and Security
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Malta VII Plenary Lecturers
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji* (France)
Robert Grubbs* (USA)
Roald Hoffmann* (USA)
PALESTINIAN PARTICIPANT:
“I came to help push peace forward.”
Danny Shechtman* (Israel)
TURKISH PARTICIPANT:
“I believe the Conferences contribute to the
mutual understanding of the people from
different cultures, ethnic, religious, and political
backgrounds, thereby opening the door for a
lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Martin Karplus* (USA)
Ada Yonath* (Israel)
* Nobel Laureates
PALESTINIAN PARTICIPANT:
“Despite the preoccupation of our lives, I am glad
that we have occasions like these, which give us a
chance to reconnect and express our warmth for
each other.”
ISRAELI PARTICIPANT:
“May we all have better times in our region. A dream
starts with one little step. Let’s hope the Malta
Conferences will inch eventually towards this step.”
Opening Ceremony for Malta VI with the
President of the Republic of Malta, Dr. George Abela
Malta Conferences Foundation
International Advisory Committee
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji*
(France)
Robert Langer (USA)
Yuan T. Lee* (Taiwan)
Mostafa El-Sayed (USA)
Jean-Marie Lehn* (France)
Richard Ernst* (Switzerland) Rudolph Marcus* (USA)
Marye Anne Fox (USA)
Mario Molina*
Harry Gray (USA)
(USA/Mexico)
Mary Good (USA)
Gil Omenn (USA)
Dudley Herschbach* (USA) Richard Silverman (USA)
* Nobel Laureates
Tim Hunt* (UK)
Board of Directors
President
Zafra Lerman
Vice President
Ann Nalley
Secretary
Iona Black
Treasurer
Morton Hoffman
Howard Alper
Hassan Bazzi
Catherine Costello
Choon Ho Do
Majeed Foad
Lynn Hogue
Charles Kolb
Martin Moskovits
Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci
Leiv Sydnes
Ed Wasserman
Walter Kohn, Nobel Laureate Participant said:
“Our Middle East Chemistry meeting was for me –
a thrilling experience. The friendly and cooperative
tone, excellent presentations, from basic science to
urgent local and regional problems; the banquets
with opportunities for informally meeting colleagues
with very different backgrounds and perspectives – all
united by our love of science and commitment to its
use for the benefit of mankind. I was a postdoc at
Bohr’s Institute for Atomic Physics in Copenhagen in
the early 1950’s. From Niels Bohr, I learned not only
many wonderful things about science as science,
but also the exceptional opportunity science offers
to open up national, ethnic, political and religious
boundaries. His Institute is a successful example
of these principles, as is the great Research Center
for High Energy Particle Research (CERN) in Geneva,
to whose establishment he was passionately
committed. Malta seems to me to follow in the
same great tradition. May it continue to go from
strength to strength.”