On Friday, January 29, 2021 AD, Strategic Fiker Center for Studies held the second annual symposium concerned with highlighting the importance of research and opinion centers in the world, bearing the slogan “Why are research centers important in times of crisis?” The symposium was held in cooperation with the American University of Pennsylvania Index for Classification And the arrangement of global research centers.

The symposium included a number of working papers, interventions, and discussions that affected the topic, where Sudanese researcher Dr. Farouk Ahmed presented his paper entitled “Research centers and their importance and roles in facing crises,” in which he pointed out the importance of research centers in general, as they are a source of global awareness and education, and contribute Expressing opinion and advice to decision-makers.

Dr. Wathiq Al-Saadoun presented his paper, entitled “The Role of Thought and Opinion Institutions in Turkey in Facing Corona: Orsam as a Model”, in which he shed light on the experience of the Center for Middle East Studies (ORSAM), and its role in facing the Corona crisis, and making use of the available resources to complete his intellectual message.

The third paper dealt with the “Pennsylvania Index of Efforts and Influence in the Corona Crisis”, presented by researcher Ilham Al-Hadabi, through which she reviewed the most important activities and events organized and supervised by the Pennsylvania Index concerned with following up on the Corona crisis.

Professor Qais Nouri presented his paper in which he tried to answer the question of the future of research centers in the Middle East after the Corona crisis.

It is worth noting that this symposium coincided with 125 seminars held by research centers included in the Pennsylvania Index, and Strategic Fiker Center for Studies has been one of the centers included in the index for two years, and it was able to advance four points according to the criteria of the index and its report for the year