Meetings & Events

Past presentations, activities, and group gatherings

SWANA POP Events at PAA 2026

  • Member Initiated Meeting (MIM): We hosted our first MIM at the Population Association of America Annual Meeting (PAA), bringing together scholars interested in the SWANA region and its diaspora for a networking and brainstorming session. Look out for future MIMs at PAA in the coming years.
  • Community dinner: We held our annual PAA community dinner for folks attending the conference, including a few newcomers who joined after our MIM. This gave us a chance to catch up in-person after a year of online meetings only.

    SWANA Pop members and scholars at the PAA 2026 community dinner
    PAA 2026 community dinner

  • Member presentations at PAA:
    • Carmen Gutierrez / Fatima Touma — Surviving and Thriving Under New Funding and Research Priorities (Panelists)
    • Fatima Touma — Examining Nativity and U.S. Adult Health: Do Immigrant Archetypes and State-Level Context Play Roles? (Oral)
    • Georgina Gemayel / Alfredo Rojas — Climate anomalies increase anemia risk in children aged 6-59 months (Poster)
    • Georgina Gemayel — Climate Extremes and Minimum Dietary Diversity in Young Children: Evidence from Egypt and Jordan (Poster)
    • Jasmine Abdel Ghany — Extreme heat threatens progress on antenatal care in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries (Flash)
    • Katharina Klaunig — Migration and the Life Course in the Context of Social Change (Poster)
    • Leila Moustafa — Effect of October 7th, 2023 on Birth Outcomes for Palestinian and Israeli Birthing People in California (Oral)
    • Mehr Mumtaz / Sinem Esengen — Persistent Challenges for Refugees' Employment: Navigation of Employment Barriers in the United States (Poster)
    • Sarah Wahby — The Nexus of Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in Sudan (Oral)
    • Sinem Esengen — A case for incorporating computational methods for feminist demography and an illustrative case study on abortion (Poster)
    • Sinem Esengen — Variation in men’s and women’s LARC use by religious affiliation, beliefs, and attendance in the United States, 2022-23 (Poster)

      • Georgina, Sinem, and Mehr at Sinem's poster
      Carmen and Georgina at PAA
      Georgina Gemayel at her poster
      Sinem discussing results with conference attendees
      Sinem and Georgina at Sinem's poster
      Sinem at her poster

      Academic Year 2025–2026 Meetings and Presentations

      Throughout the academic year, our meetings brought together junior researchers, faculty, and other members of the SWANA Pop community to share presentations, discuss research, and build community.

      April 2026

    • Leila Moustafa — Effect of October 7th, 2023 on Birth Outcomes for Palestinian and Israeli Birthing People in California

      • March 2026

    • PAA Planning Meeting — We used this meeting to organize our PAA 2026 activities, including planning for the Member Initiated Meeting and community dinner.

      • January 2026

    • Sara Ghebremicael — Conflict & Climate Projections on Food Security and Migration

      • December 2025

    • Rami Kakish — Economic Impacts of Water Insecurity in Jordan

      • November 2025

    • Alfredo Rojas — Climate extremes impact anemia in children in low- and middle-income countries

      • October 2025

    • Sara Ghebremicael — The food security, conflict, and climate nexus

      • September 2025

    • Speed Dating — We used this meeting to get to know one another, continue to build stronger connections, and to start the academic year with community

      • Get involved

      We welcome scholars whose work engages population research related to the SWANA region and its diaspora, as well as scholars who are interested in developing work connected to the region. To learn more about the working group, ask a question, or get involved, please contact us.