In his speech addressed to the Muslim world in Cairo on 4 June 2009, President Obama highlighted the urgent need for communication and genuine dialogue between Muslims and the US in order to develop a sense of mutual trust between the two. He spoke of “change” or “a new beginning”. Hoping for a positive impact from Obama’s speech, and recognizing this urgent need to encourage a new relationship between the U.S and Muslim communities, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, together with a number of academic institutions, libraries and cultural institutions, in the US and Egypt, is organizing an international conference entitled: A New Beginning, to be held in Alexandria from 16 to 18 June, 2010.
A preparatory workshop is being held at the Divinity School of Yale University this week, in preparation for the June conference. As the keynote speaker at the first plenary session, Serageldin will give a speech entitled New Beginning: US – Muslim Relations - Priorities and Concerns. Yale University is one of the partners in the conference together with, New York University; Georgetown University; Berkeley University; Cairo University; Ain Shams University, the American University in Cairo; and Al-Azhar University - to name a few.