The past year has seen dramatically increased contestation of the digital space all around the MENA region, be it in protests in Morocco, TFGBV in Sudan and Syria, increased data centre development in the Gulf, or the use of military Al to devastating effect in Palestine. As a part of our response to these issues, ARI is excited to be an official partner of the Bread&Net 2026 conference, hosted in Beirut by SMEX.

In preparation for the conference this year, we have built on what we learnt since Bread&Net 2025. Last year's conference was a showcase of the knowledge and expertise that exist in our region. This year, we hope to take it one step further and not only share research and agree on common ground but also come together and strategise for ways forward. There is a desperate need to reduce the harm of and increase inclusive participation in the technologies that have come to shape our daily lives. There is a need for collective action, based on shared experience. Above all, there is a need to pull aside the curtain that - often intentionally - obscures our understanding of how these technologies work and the impacts they can have.

This year, our sessions take these needs and look in detail at accountability, lessons learnt and strategising, and how to combat the concrete harms facilitated by technology.

Session 1 - 15 October, 10am - Unpacking Accountability: Al, Infrastructure, and Complicity in MENA's Conflicts (in English)

This public discussion will showcase recently published research from ARI, 7amleh, and SMEX that maps the networks of infrastructure and Al that are currently being used to deadly effect in Palestine.

Speakers:   

• Dima Samaro Independent lawyer and tech policy researcher
• Zena Assaad Associate Professor in the School of Engineering, Australian National University (ANU)
• Dionysia Peppa, Senior Legal and EU Policy Lead, SMEX
• Taysir Mathlouthi, Senior EU Advocacy Officer, 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media

Moderator: Andrew Findell- Aghnatios Senior Programme Coordinator and Lead (Tech & Society), Arab Reform Initiative Team

Session 2 - 15 October, 2:45pm - Past Failures and Future Lessons: What can we learn from the experience of digital activism in MENA? (in Arabic)

This in-the-room workshop will be structured as a collaborative workshop that brings together digital activists in order to reflect on the past 15 years of work to focus on failures and lessons learnt, focusing on how these can be used to strategise moving forward.

Facilitators: 

• Wajd Hammad - Global Communications and Project Management Officer, Access Now
• Nada Kabbary Mousa - Independent Researcher
• Andrew Findell- Aghnatios Senior Programme Coordinator and Lead (Tech & Society), Arab Reform Initiative Team 

Session 3 - 16 October, 10am - TFGBV: Repression and Accountability in SWANA (in Arabic)

This in-the-room session will be a facilitated discussion that bridges research and lived experience of women journalists in order to think through concrete ways to make the online space safer.

Speakers: 

• Zaina Erhaim, Syrian Journalist and Feminist Activist
• Farah Jallad, Senior Editor and Coach, ARIJ
• Badra Dabbabi, Journalist and Fact-Checker at She Checks  
• Speak Up

Moderator - Andrew Findell-Aghnatios

If you are at B&N2026 this year in Beirut, make sure to stop by our booth and pick up a copy of some of our latest publications, drop in to the sessions and talk with us, or reach out to us online to keep the conversation going.