On 15 November 2018, we hosted a stakeholders’ meeting in Istanbul with twenty-nine participants, including academics, experts, and representatives from civil society and international humanitarian and development organizations from Europe and the MENA region, as part of the Middle East North Africa Regional Architecture Project (MENARA). Through two panels of expert presentations and facilitated discussion, the participants addressed present challenges, ongoing transformations and future opportunities facing societies across the region, as well as the role of international organizations in addressing these challenges and opportunities.

The meeting report summarizes the discussion during that meeting in two broad parts, focusing on the region’s challenges and positive developments respectively and is further divided into sections by issue subject. A sets of policy recommendations are provided at the end of the report.