We propose to form a consortium of researchers representing the MENA region (‘COVID-19 Genomics MENA’) with access to COVID-19 samples for setting up sequencing and analytical pipelines for large-scale sequencing-based genomic surveillance of the circulating lineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The consortium will consist of investigators from four countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait) and three countries (Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt) in North Africa. The aim of this proposal is to sequence a large number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes for molecular tracking of the circulating lineages of the virus during the active vaccination period for the next 12 months. We pledge to sequence 12,000+ SARS-CoV-2 genomes and collect relevant clinical meta-datasets during the next 12 months in these seven countries in the MENA region. We shall be using a combination of next-generation sequencing technology platforms (Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, and Ion Torrent) and standard genome assembly, genomic-epidemiology analytical pipelines already available within the laboratories in the consortium. The resulting datasets will be made publicly available through the GISAID data portal for wider accessibility of the datasets. We also aim to integrate a ‘training component’ for local capacity building at the participating institutions in the MENA region.

The Arab world was shaken in 2011 by a series of popular movements, collectively known as the 'Arab spring(s)', that have challenged long established authoritarian regimes. What will be the medium and long term impacts of these uprisings? Who is driving (and contesting) change, and what kind of change is being sought? This study addresses these issues in the context of the contested transitions in Tunisia and Egypt. It is based on the following premise: for these uprisings to deliver on their potential will require transformative change that emphasises local agency and resources, the prioritization of process rather than pre-conceived outcomes, and the challenging of unequal power relationships and structures of exclusion. Such change is here named transformative justice. The overarching research question is: How is transformative change defined and delivered in the context of political transition (in Tunisia and Egypt), and which actors, institutions and structures drive and contest such change? The study's aim is to analyse the agendas of those driving and contesting change using an actor-oriented perspective. Field research about 'drivers of change' - agents, formal and informal institutions, structures - and the four key areas of contestation (elections, constitutions, transitional justice, economic policy), will provide insights to local understandings of transformation and agendas for change. Actors interviewed will be as follows: the old political guard, military and police, economic and judicial elites, Islamic groups, youth, women, human rights organisations, trade and labour unions, and the urban and rural poor. A large interview data set (over 700 interviews) will be complemented by focus groups and basic quantitative analysis. The research will look at changing attitudes over time (conducting two sets of interviews, one year apart) and document a range of voices and perspectives (urban/rural, supporters/opponents of the revolutions). The research will reach diverse audiences and maximise impact by using appropriate languages (Arabic, French, English) and media e.g. a project website; workshops and conferences; official, social and citizen media; public events; policy briefings, a tool kit and academic outputs; etc. In addition to conventional academic outputs such as peer reviewed articles and books, the research project will deliver three policy briefings -'Defining and Operationalising Transformative Justice'; 'Securing Transformation through Transitional Justice'; and 'Expanding the Scope of Transitional Justice' - and a transformative justice toolkit, outlining concrete strategies and entry-points for policy makers and practitioners. As such, the research will benefit policy-makers and practitioners (donors, inter-governmental agencies, policy think tanks, NGOs and civil society groups, etc.), as well as academics. Research of this kind speaks to several ESRC strategic priorities, notably security, conflict and justice ('competing ideas of justice', 'changing patterns of conflicts'), and social diversity and population dynamics ('how diverse communities can minimise violent conflict while sustaining rights for all'). The research will represent a partnership between a White Rose (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, York) and Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) research collaboration on transformative justice on the one hand, and the American University in Cairo (AUC) on the other. The research is multidisciplinary in range and methods and includes specialists in fields such as transitional justice, human rights, democratisation, development and political economy. Members of the Advisory Board have shaped the proposal and will engage with all parts of the research process. Local members of the Board will be particularly important in securing access to interviewees, advising on security, and framing dissemination and outreach strategies.