Description
To imagine a different future, we must first understand the past.
This timely event traces the roots of the Palestinian struggle, beginning with the Balfour Declaration and the legacies of colonial partition. From there, we move to the present reality of blockade, dispossession, and resilience – before turning to the future.
What might Gaza become by 2040? What does rebuilding mean when the land itself is contested? How can sovereignty, healing, and cultural renewal take root?
Through this arc – then, now, and what lies ahead – Gaza 2040 invites us not only to bear witness, but to dream forward. Because every just future begins with the courage to imagine it.
About the Speakers
Dr. H. A. Hellyer
Dr H. A. Hellyer, an internationally recognised expert on geopolitics and security studies in the Middle East and Europe, has operated at the nexus of government policy and think-tanks for the past 20 years. He currently serves as Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, following prolonged tenures at Brookings and Carnegie. Formerly Deputy Convenor of the UK Government’s Taskforce on radicalisation, Dr Hellyer also served in the UK Foreign Office and held positions in Harvard and Cambridge universities. Dr Hellyer is the author of 10 books, 100s of op-ed articles and regularly consulted by media for his expertise. With heritage in England, Egypt, Sudan, the UAE & Morocco, Dr Hellyer lives & works in London, the Middle East, & Washington DC.
Salman Shaikh
Salman Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of The Shaikh Group (TSG), a specialised peace-building organisation dedicated to mitigating and resolving violent conflict, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Shaikh has extensive experience leading mediation and Track II diplomacy initiatives with local actors, governments, and key international actors – with a focus on Syria, the broader Levant, the Gulf region and Iran. Before establishing TSG, Shaikh was the director of the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, where his research focused on conflict resolution, domestic policy, and geopolitics of the Middle East. Shaikh previously worked the United Nations in a number of offices. Shaikh also served as director for policy and research in the private office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bin Nasser al-Missned, the Consort of the former Emir of the State of Qatar.
Lubna Masarwa
Lubna Masarwa is a Palestinian grassroots activist, journalist, and community organiser based in Jerusalem. A seasoned voice in Palestinian advocacy. She co‑founded and directed numerous initiatives aimed at empowering youth and challenging the siege on Gaza. As the coordinator for Palestine’s Alternative Information Center, she also led a “Girls for Leadership” programme in Jerusalem, focusing on nurturing young Palestinian women leaders.
About the Chair
Alexandra Pringle
Alexandra joined Bloomsbury in 1999 and was Editor-in-Chief for 20 years. Her list of Nobel, Booker, Women’s Prize-winning and bestselling authors includes Richard Ford, Esther Freud, Elizabeth Gilbert, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, Madeline Miller, Ann Patchett, George Saunders, Kamila Shamsie, Ahdaf Soueif and Patti Smith. She is on the Advisory Board of the Bradford Literature Festival, a Patron of Index on Censorship, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Fiction at Manchester Metropolitan Festival. She is writing a memoir, Caravan, to be published in the UK and US in 2027.
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