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The Middle East Institute will host its 68th Annual Conference on Thursday, November 20 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. The event will bring together prominent experts and foreign policy practitioners to delve into the many vexing questions and challenges that have come to the fore in the almost four years of unprecedented change for the Middle East, and to look ahead to what to expect in the coming year.The Middle East Institute will host its 68th Annual Conference on Thursday, November 20 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.  The event will bring together prominent experts and foreign policy practitioners to delve into the many vexing questions and challenges that have come to the fore in the almost four years of unprecedented change for the Middle East, and to look ahead to what to expect in the coming year.The Annual Awards Banquet will take place the preceding evening, November 19. Click here for more information.Agenda (Additional panelists to be announced pending confirmation)9:00AM-10:30AM - A Middle East in Flux: Risks and OpportunitiesJuan ColeRichard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of MichiganAmb. Robert FordSenior Fellow, The Middle East Institute Paul SalemVice President for Policy and Research, The Middle East InstituteRanda SlimDirector for Track II Initiatives, The Middle East InstituteDaniel Serwer (Moderator)Professor of Conflict Management and Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations,Johns Hopkins SAIS, and Fellow, The Middle East Institute10:45AM-12:15PM - Containing the Islamic StateAdel AltoraifiDeputy General Manager, Al ArabiyaCengiz ÇandarSenior Columnist, Radikal, and Senior Columnist, Al MonitorHossein MousavianResearch Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton UniversityBrett McGurkDeputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of StateKim Ghattas (Moderator)Correspondent, BBC2:00PM-3:30PM - Travails of Transition in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and YemenLarbi SadikiAssociate Professor of International Relations and Democratization, Qatar UniversityCharles SchmitzFellow, The Middle East InstituteAmr El ShobakiFormer Egyptian MPFrederic WehreySenior Associate, Middle East Program, Carnegie EndowmentPaul Salem (Moderator)Vice President for Policy and Research, The Middle East Institute3:45PM-5:15PM - After Gaza: Getting Back to the Peace ProcessShlomo Ben-AmiVice President, The Toledo International Centre for Peace; Former Minister of Internal Security and Foreign Affairs of IsraelAmb. Daniel C. KurtzerS. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton UniversityKhalil ShikakiDirector, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (Ramallah), and Senior Fellow, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis UniversityKhaled ElgindyFellow, Center for Middle East Policy at BrookingsLara Friedman (Moderator)Director of Policy and Government Relations, Americans for Peace NowFor further details: http://www.mei.edu/events/2014-annual-conference. 