About the Forum

Muhammad Ali Luqman’s considerable creative cultural bequest served as the catalyst for the creation of the Academic Forum Muhammad Ali Luqman in Berlin in April 2018. The founders’ desire is to establish a platform for intellectual exchange on topics concerning South Yemen, as well as for South Yemeni academics in general. Through the promotion of research in and on South Yemen, as well as academic and scientific interaction with Europe, the Forum aspires to encourage work from and about South Yemen. The ambition is to afford insight into historical, political, economic, and cultural topics related to this region, whose role is growing steadily yet which has attracted comparatively little research attention.

The Forum provides a platform to bring researchers and experts from South Yemen together with their colleagues and peers from around the world in order to develop and discuss approaches to academic undertakings. The promotion of collaboration between European and South Yemeni education and research institutions figures prominently, in order to exchange experiences and knowledge. South Yemeni scientists are also to be given the opportunity to communicate both on their areas of specialization and opportunities for further qualification. Helping to break down language barriers is another important component of the endeavor.

The Forum seeks to stimulate and promote research on South Yemen in the European academic community, and toward this goal, a specific focus is supporting European students writing theses and dissertations on South Yemen. Furthermore, an Academic Advisory Board is being established whose members specialize in various topics, and who will offer information to the European public about happenings in South Yemen and the area’s history and society through publications and public events.

The Forum’s central concerns cover South Yemen’s history and society during British colonial rule (1839-1967), the period of the socialist-oriented People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (1967-1990), the era of Yemeni unification that began in 1990, and events subsequent to the emergence of the Southern Movement in 2007. Specific subjects of scrutiny include issues of political, social, and cultural identity, as well as the transformation of aspects of religious life.

The Forum also endeavors to organize regular academic meetings, lecture series, public events, workshops, and conferences on the literature, culture, language, architecture, archeology and antiquity, history, politics and society, as well as the economy of South Yemen. The Forum’s events will be made available on the Forum’s YouTube channel and can be viewed in their entirety.