Official Launch
27 September, 2007 (Royal Society of Edinburgh)
The Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW) held 
its official launch on Thursday 27 September 2007 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The Centre seeks to enhance understanding of the Arabic-speaking world by bringing together world-class scholars from the Universities of Edinburgh, Durham and Manchester. The Centre will provide a co-ordinated approach to teaching and research in the field of Arab world studies, while focusing on intensive Arabic language learning. The Centre, the first initiative of its kind, is funded by a grant from the Language-Based Area Studies Initiative, a collaboration of the following funding bodies: the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The intention is to seek significant outside sponsorship to extend the life of the Centre beyond the initial 5 years; and alongside this, more modest external sponsorship for the outreach activities of the Centre. These will be aimed at the user community at large: business and banking, police and health professionals, local government, schools, journalists and other media professionals, charities, NGOs and other groups.
Delegates at the launch included embassy representatives, high officials of the three universities, centre staff, CASAW students, representatives from the funding bodies, key academics in the field, and more. The launch was accompanied by the Centre’s first annual lecture, which was given by Professor George Saliba of Columbia University. Professor Timothy O’Shea, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Edinburgh University, and Professor Robert Hillenbrand, the Centre’s director, delivered opening remarks. The launch concluded with a reception following the lecture.
