Alongside Professor Barry C Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Professor Sarah Churchwell, Chair in Public Understanding of the Humanities, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Geoffrey Crossick, Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study and director of the AHRC’s Cultural Value Project and Professor Jo Wolff, Dean of Arts and Humanities at University College London, Preti presented some of her recent research observing Shakespeare plays performed by grass roots communities in Jordan and Syria in 2014 and 2015. She spoke about what we can learn from these productions as increasing numbers of people fleeing the Syrian crisis seek refuge in Europe. Her talk stressed the importance of humanities scholarship in realising language and cultural rights, showing how essential these are for increasing intercultural understanding in cities facing new challenges in times of conflict.