Time for a paradigm shift: Listening and learning - a two-way street

Jamila Aanzi is a leading independent strategic consultant, educator and board member. She currently serves on the Dutch government appeal advisory commission to provide advice about the childcare benefits affair. Furthermore, she is a board member of the World Press Photo and the Stichting JES Rijland, an organisation that promotes the rights of youngsters in education and society. For various international clients, Aanzi provides consulting and coaching services about leadership, empowerment, education, diversity and inclusion. Aanzi previously worked as a senior international political trainer for the Max van der Stoel Foundation, with political parties in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa on diversity, the inclusion of young people and women, EU enlargement and democracy. Previously, she was the Dutch women’s representative to the United Nations, a member of the European Elections Programme Committee of the Dutch Social Democratic Party (PvdA) and the vice president of FNV Young, the youth network of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions.

A gifted violinist and visionary champion for youth and community development, Nabeel has led and inspired people from all walks of life across Israel, Europe and the U.S. He performed with, and was a spokesperson for, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra for a decade as well as performing as a soloist with the Jerusalem Camerata and the Haifa Symphony orchestras. In 2006, Nabeel gave up his music career and returned to his hometown, the Arab-Israeli city of Nazareth, where he founded and led the Barenboim-Said Conservatory—now known as the Polyphony Conservatory—to answer the need he saw in the community for quality music programming. Nabeel has been awarded the Yoko Ono Award for Courage in the Arts for his lifelong-commitment to fostering a sense of community between young pan-Arab and Jewish musicians.

Presenter of Shabab Talk on Deutsche Welle Television and winner of the 2017 Med Journalist Awards. As the name implies, “Shabab Talk” brings together young people from Germany and the Arabic countries discuss current, socio-political topics. Before hosting Shabab Talk, Jaafar Abdul Karim worked as an editor and video journalist for the talk show “Jugend ohne Grenzen” (Youth without borders); he therefore commuted between Cairo and Berlin to shoot and produce his reportages for the show. Born in Liberia and raised in Switzerland and Lebanon, Jafaar Abdul Karim feels at home in both worlds. He studied Media Computer Science at the TU (Technische Universität) Dresden and at the INSA (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées) Lyon; additionally he completed a directing workshop at the London Film Academy. Now Jaafar lives in multiple cultures. This had a decisive influence on him and his life.

Abdallah Absi is founder and CEO of Zoomal, the leading crowdfunding platform in the Middle East, which involves the top VCs in MENA, and co-founder of GivingLoop, a sustainable fundraising platform that helps non-profits focus less on fundraising and more on changing the world. Abdallah did not complete his university education, but went on to see huge successes in the entrepreneurial world, being covered by CNN, WSJ, Forbes, and others. He is also an Ashoka fellow, a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum in the Beirut Hub, and a Startup Weekend organizer by the Kauffman foundation, and describes himself as a social mission

Hind is a Project Coordinator and Trainer at the Community Development & Continuing Education Institute, a non-governmental organization promoting the values of human rights, equality, good governance, and civic participation within the Palestinian society. Hind has led many trainings and projects in the fields of education, human rights, entrepreneurship, youth engagement, and intercultural dialogue, which helped dozens of Palestinian youth be both empowered and knowledgeable about their rights and the rights and culture of others. Hind is the Middle East-Africa 2013 winner of the Google+ Social Media Marketing Competition for a campaign to empower women and fight the negative stereotypical images of women in Palestine, and worldwide.

Mohamed has been active in civil society and democratic transformation since 2011 and in the last few years, he has been involved in the fields of debating, youth empowerment and national reconciliation. Mohamed started his career as a volunteer trainer with the international network Y-PEER and was also elected as the president of the Student Union in the faculty of engineering at Misrata University. He later co-founded the Dialogue and Debate Association where he holds the roles of Vice President and CEO. Mohamed has participated in many programs and projects that have contributed to the training and development of youth and strengthened their role in their communities with regards to civil and national reconciliation. He has taken part in in the sub-Regional Consultation on Youth, Peace and Security UNSCR 2250 and other similar events in the Netherlands with the same goal. Mohamed will carry out a mission to New York on the occasion of the Sixth Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review at the UN General Assembly next June as a representative of Libya.

Lina is a leading figure in the sport industry in Saudi Arabia, who co-founded Jeddah United (JU), the first Saudi private sports company to train girls and boys in team sports to promote sports culture. Lina was captain of the Jeddah United Women’s basketball division up to 2012, columnist for Almadina newspaper, and climbed the Everest Base Camp as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign. Her efforts are an example of grassroots challenging of strict gender rules in Saudi Arabia, and Lina has been listed as one of the 200 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East by Forbes Magazine 2014.

Mazen is a lawyer and trainer specialized in European Studies. He is also the Palestinian representative of the International Debate Education Association (IDEA). Mazen is considered to be a peacebuilder by the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC). He has also worked with many international associations and universities such as Virginia University and was a scholar at the Risk Network “SAR” in the field of human rights and legal research. He coaches debate at more than 10 Palestinian universities, schools and NGOs and has won many prizes such as the title of Best Debater in Palestine in 2014 . He is interested in the fields of human rights and youth empowerment.

Ines is a Berlin-based Senior Researcher at the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) and the Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, working mainly in the field of platform economies and digitization in North Africa, with a focus on Tunisia. An Award-winning social impact entrepreneur and Innovation consultant, Ines has extensive experience in international development, public policies, and managing cooperations. Before joining TU Berlin, she was the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Amparo GmbH, a Berlin-based start-up revolutionizing prosthetics and health care access to amputees. She is now acting as an advisor to the startup mission in bringing Amparo technology to low-middle income and humanitarian contexts. Before moving to Berlin, she worked as a Senior consultant to prominent Tunisian and international organizations in the fields of management, innovation, democracy, elections, innovation and entrepreneurship. She was also the Managing Director of the Maghreb Economic Forum (MEF), a think tank in Tunis.

Haia has been an active volunteer with the “Madrasati Initiative”, which focuses on schools in Jordan. She finds joy in giving to others. Haia has always been an active member in civic and social associations and, as a believer in feminism and female empowerment, came up with an initiative during her sophomore year with a group of youth that aims to raise awareness of early marriage issues among under age girls. Haia also participated in Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which was held in Vienna in March 2018. Furthermore, she is involved in international initiatives such as Young Arab Voices and Young Mediterranean Voices Plus. The former is an international debate competition and over the years, she has attained the title of Master Trainer and, together with her team, won several international competitions. The latter is the initiative of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Federica Mogherini regarding MENA and Europe which aims to redefine EU South politics through youth participation. 

Khalaf is a medical student at the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis and has over four years of experience with Tunisian and international civil society. An education and youth inclusion advocator and social entrepreneur, Khalaf has successfully co-founded various social start up projects in Tunis and internal regions in Tunisia, empowering more than 500 high school students with entrepreneurial thinking skills. Khalaf is currently the Project Manager and Vice President at Al Montada, an organization that aims to rethink higher education in Tunisia. He led the Forum Project which aims to increase students’ inclusion in the reform process by bringing together the different stakeholders in the field (students, professors, deputies from the Parliament, universitiy presidents, employers and civil society representatives) in order to achieve quality education. He is currently lobbying the Tunisian parliament for students’ inclusion in the reform process. Khalaf is also working on implementing a Policy Incubation Lab in Tunisian universities to make policy making more inclusive, visionary and data driven. He recently became an Ashoka Changemakers for MENA, Europe and Turkey and had the chance to be a part of the Tunisian Delegation who met Helen Clark, a UNDP Administrator, to discuss her Youth Socio Economic Inclusion plan in Tunisia and the possible ways to engage youth in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Abdelbasset Ben Hassen is the President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights. Abdelbasset is also the chairman of the Tunisian national committee for the support of refugees and served as a member of the high committee for the realization of the objectives of the revolution, political reform and democratic transition. Previously, he taught Human Rights in Tunis and Strasbourg, and has written extensively on human rights, human rights education and culture. He was a member of the drafting committee of the United Nations World Program on Human Rights Education.

Ahmed Ben Mussa is an energy expert with ten years of experience in operations and business development of the oil service industry in the United States, Egypt and Libya. He currently manages a creative construction company Majaal. Prior to this, Ben Mussa worked as Chief Commercial Officer at Tatweer Research, a leading Libyan technological organisation with a focus on nurturing the country’s young potential, supporting entrepreneurs and attracting international expertise and investment. Before that, he worked with the UN World Food Programme in Libya where he conducted food security assessments on the field.

Anna Lisa Boni is secretary general of Eurocities, the leading network of European cities. She has over 20 years experience in EU public affairs in the field of local and regional government, having been director of the Brussels office of the French region Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur. In addition, Anna Lisa has worked for the city of Bologna in Italy, with European and international networks and the European Parliament. Anna Lisa is a committed to working for a stronger recognition of cities challenges within the European agenda, as well as finding constructive solutions to these.

Fatima is a social worker in Morocco, with a degree in linguistics and experience from working for national and international organisations. She is Co-Founder of the Debate Club of the South in the frame of Young Arab voices programme and has occupied different positions during her professional career. Currently, she leads a project on citizen journalism in the southern cities of Morocco, which aims to train 50 young people from five cities in journalism to make the voices of their communities heard. Moreover, Fatima has been involved with other projects related to children, education, culture and citizenship, with a particular focus on youngsters through two projects by her organisation Radijojo for children, “We are the future of Morocco” and “Asalamo Alaykom”. In 2012, she received the World Summit Youth Award in Canada for her work with the Radijojo organisation in the field of media-based education and the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.Fatima joined the YMV+ as a Young Arab voices in 2012.  

Yostina Boules, dubbed “the magic machine” by farm owners, is Founder and Managing Director of Taqa Solutions, an Egyptian based organisation aiming to provide a clean and independent energy source to farmers by producing energy from poultry waste. By doing this, the Taqa solutions simultaneously addresses the problem of waste management from one of Egypt’s main agricultural industries, while maximising clean energy production. Yostina was selected as a Pioneer of Egypt after becoming a finalist on El Mashrou3, an entrepreneurship reality television competition.

Hala Bugaighis is a lawyer and co-founder of Jusoor, a non-governmental organisation committed to independent policy research and human development projects for women with focus on the economic and social empowerment. As a lawyer with 15 years of experience, Hala focuses on commercial, banking, civil and investment laws, and has a sound understanding of law practice in an international context. Through her private companies, Hala has worked as a consultant to many international companies as well as Libyan private and public entities, focusing on development and capacity building. In 2015, Hala was nominated a UN Women Champion for Women Economic Empowerment – an initiative that aims to improve women’s economic standing and potential around the world.

Martin Buxant is the former editor-in-chief at LN24. He has been a reporter for La Libre Belgique and De Morgen, as well as an editor for the television programme “Politiquement Correct” on RTL-TVI during the most recent legislative and regional elections in Belgium. He has previously worked at the daily business newspaper L’Echo, where he served as both a political journalist and an editor. Buxant appears daily on the Bel-RTL television channel, where he conducted a political interview every morning. He is an accomplished author having most recently published a biography of the current Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders. Martin Buxant first entered the world of journalism in 2002, initially as a European correspondent and later as a political journalist.

Geert Cami co-founded Friends of Europe, the action-oriented think tank, which in 2011 launched both its citizen’s platform, Debating Europe and its European Young Leaders Programme. In 2015, Friends of Europe integrated the Security and Defence agenda thinktank. As Secretary General, Geert mainly deals with the strategic development of Friends of Europe, coordinating the work of the high-level Boards involved in the governance of the organisation and chairing the Leadership meetings. He oversees both the financial health and the successful running of the organisation and its flagship initiatives and focuses on the expansion and the activation of Friends of Europe’s vast network of trustees, European young leaders and other senior political, corporate, media and societal contacts and partners throughout the world.

 In 2019, Geert founded TownHall Europe (the Davignon Centre for New Leadership) and in 2020, he co-founded the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) in partnership with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF).

 Geert headed the European conference organising, press relations and publishing company Forum Europe for more than ten years, and managed the revival of one of Belgium’s finest architectural examples of Art Nouveau, after creating La Maison de l’Europe in the prestigious 100-year-old Bibliothèque Solvay.

 At the outset of his career, Geert worked for a few years in the Humanitarian Office of the European Commission as a deputy in the newly set-up information and communications unit. His focus was mainly on raising the profile of the EU’s humanitarian efforts throughout the world, through publications and media initiatives such as exhibitions, television debates or Humanitarian Days in Member States.

 He also worked briefly as a teacher and TV journalist for two music programmes at Belgian public Radio 1.

A young entrepreneur and security expert, Edoardo started working as a political and security risk consultant after graduating from the University of Bologna. In 2010, he established the International Security Observer, a web-based think tank seeking to foster the next generation of security experts. At the time, he was also working as a research analyst at the Italian Institute of Strategic Studies Niccolò Machiavelli, where his activities focused on insurgency, intelligence, national security policies and organised crime. Edoardo is the co-founder of Hozint (Horizon Intelligence), a consulting firm providing location-based media and social media monitoring services on political, safety and security risks. He is frequently interviewed on security issues by media in Italy and across Europe.

Jasmina works across a range of media including photography, performance, installation and video. Most often characterised as a visual artist, her artwork is focused on the positioning and analysing of space vis-à-vis other societal categories. She is the author of numerous exhibitions which have been shown all over Europe, as well as the recipient of prestigious Slovenian, European and international awards, including the Bevilacqua la Masa (Venice 2002 and 2005), the Slovenian Trend Award for Outstanding Achievements in Visual Art (2011), and the Catlin Commission Award (London, 2011). She represented Slovenia at the 55th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Paul Dujardin is CEO and artistic director of the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels, and under his direction the Centre has turned into an internationally recognised, multi-and-interdisciplinary arts centre. Paul is involved in driving forward the European project, and has developed BOZAR into a platform to initiate debate between citizens, the arts, decision-makers and other sectors, and he is the animator of the steering committee of the ‘New Narrative for Europe’ project, which aims to give Europe a more cultural vision for the future. Previously, Paul was CEO of the Société Philharmonique de Bruxelles, and in charge of the annual Ars Musica festival. In 2016, Paul received the Lobby Award 2016 Brussels Leader of the Year for his work in reenergising Brussels.

Esmat is passionate about structured cross-cultural dialogue and debates. She is a founder of the Young Arab Voices Project in Egypt, which started in 2011 with the Anna Lindh Foundation and the British Council. She is also a debate trainer and adjudicator. Esmat has co-founded 2 national initiatives in Egypt: “Debate for Life” and “Engaging-Empowerment Egyptian Youth (EYouth)”, which worked on training Egyptian youth in debating, dialogue and entrepreneurial skills. Esmat is one of the 36 Youth Fellows of the AU-EU Youth Plug initiative who designed and wrote the Youth Agenda presented to heads of states at the Abidjan Summit in November 2017. Esmat worked on the Governance and Political inclusion section, which created three initiatives to enhance AU–EU cooperation in the areas of decentralization of governance, illicit financial flows and utilizing e-governence tools to enhance transparency and accountability across AU and EU member states

Ulla Engelmann is Head of Unit of Clusters, Social economy and Entrepreneurship at DG Grow, the European Commission Directorate-General for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously, Ulla worked at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the in-house science service of the European Commission. She began working at the JRC as a post-doc in fusion research, and moved on to manage various units (communication, international relations, and others) in Ispra and Brussels.

Mary Fitzgerald is a researcher and analyst specialising in the Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya. She has consulted for a number of international organisations including in the areas of peacebuilding and civil society. She has worked with the International Crisis Group (ICG), the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) among others. She is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London and an Associate Fellow at ISPI in Milan. Mary has also worked on wider initiatives with UNESCO, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the British Council and other cultural organisations. Her writing has appeared in publications including Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Financial Times and The Guardian.

Julie Foulon is co-founder of MolenGeek, a socially conscious tech ecosystem based in one of the poorer Brussels neighbourhoods. It aims to make technology and entrepreneurship more accessible, especially to youth who lack academic backgrounds. It is also a start-up incubator and offers coding lessons for free. They pursue a vision in which young people take active roles in shaping the future rather than adapting to it. Before MolenGeek, Julie founded Girleek, a platform seeking to promote female engagement in Tech. She was also at the head of BetaGroup, the largest Tech ecosystem from Belgium, composed of over 8000 members.

Elisabeth Guigou is president of the Anna Lindh Foundation, a network of civil society organisations dedicated to promoting intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean region. Before this appointment, Guigou served as French Minister of European Affairs, member of the European Parliament, and member of the French National Assembly, among numerous other posts. In addition to this, Guigou was the first female to be appointed Minister of Justice in France, where she distinguished herself for her fight for a more independent justice system.

Hella’s experience with Young Arab Voices started in 2014 and inspired her to immerse herself in civil society, grassroots activism and women’s empowerment. With the École Normale Supérieure debate team, she won the Tunisian national debate competition and was the fourth best debater. Hella is also a Co-Founder of Aspire to Inspire, an initiative aiming to promote English Spoken Word poetry in Tunis and is currently very active with the socio-cultural grassroots initiative called “Blech 7ess” (Without Noise), focused on pairing the promotion of art with social dimensions. Being a writer herself, she recently published a few works and is also writing lyrics for local bands. She has worked for the German embassy in Tunis since 2017.

Sami Hourani is medical doctor and serial social entrepreneur. He is the founding director of the well-known educational platform For9a.com. Dr. Hourani is also the founder and the executive director of the regional organization Leaders of Tomorrow and the innovative social initiatives; Diwanieh, Mo7aka and the new and creative qualitative research methodology FADFED. He is a fellow at Ashoka, largest hub for social innovators world wide. He received King Abdullah II Demoqrati award in 2014 and EUROMED youth award in 2013. He was also elected as the Jordanian Role Model of 2011 and received the Jordanian title “Knight of Change” in 2008.

Bjørn Ihler is an international counter extremism expert and activist working as a filmmaker, editor and writer to develop spaces for dialogue and peace-building between different people and communities. In 2016, he co-founded the Khalifa Ihler Institute that works for peace through knowledge, technology and design. Since 2016 Bjørn has also been part of the Kofi Annan Foundation initiative Extremely Together, and he explores means of countering violent extremism as one of ten young leaders in the field from across the world. Bjørn is building his work on a foundation in communication, technology, data and computational sociology as well as his academic background in peace and conflict studies.

A Latvian politician, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica is a Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, where she sits on the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Committee of European Affairs. She serves as a Head of the Latvian Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Previously, Kalniņa-Lukaševica held numerous posts at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as the parliamentary secretary, in which role she was responsible for ensuring cooperation between the ministry, the Latvian parliament and the European Parliament. She has also represented the Latvian government at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings of development and trade ministers. Kalniņa-Lukaševica started her professional career at Jurmala’s city council and then went on to work at the Strategic Analysis Commission of the President of Latvia, where she served as an advisor to the president.

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Assita is a Belgian author, politician and entrepreneur. Previously a town councillor in Ixelles (one of the largest districts of Brussels), she is a popular media commentator, a columnist for newspaper De Standaard and founder of Polin – the political incubator a start-up to help women enter and advance in politics in Belgium. Growing up as a child in Burkina Faso, Kanko underwent female genital mutilation. After immigrating from the west African nation to Belgium, she became one of the most important fighters for gender equality and women’s rights. Having initially integrated the liberal party, she has since moved to the Flemish conservative party and aims to maintain her advocacy for fairness. She wrote two books on feminism and the position of women.

Jesse Klaver currently serves as the green-left party leader in the Dutch parliament, with a mandate focused on environmental and educational issues. In his time as party leader, Klaver was instrumental in capturing 10 additional parliamentary seats, rising to an all-time high of 14, and making GroenLinks the fifth most important group in the House. Previously, Klaver was the spokesperson for finance, environment and education, and sat on a wide range of parliamentary committees. He has publically opposed tax evasion and has co-authored a memo on protecting the Dutch flora and fauna.

Sherin Khankan is Denmark’s first female imam, and Founder of a women-led mosque in Copenhagen, where she aims to provide a more welcoming atmosphere for female worshippers and challenge growing islamophobia and misconceptions surrounding the religion. She is also an activist on Muslim issues including female integration and extremism, and has written extensively on the relationship between Islam and politics. Sherin is a sociologist of religion and philosophy, specialising in contemporary Islamic activism in Europe and the Middle East. Previously, she founded Critical Muslims, an organisation that promotes female Muslim leadership. Sherin has also stood for parliament as a candidate for the Radical Left Party.

An expert on gender equality, Silvana Koch-Mehrin founded and leads WPL, the worldwide network of women politicians. The independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit foundation aims to increase both the number and the influence of women in political leadership. A member of the European Leadership Network (ELN) and the Global Advisory Network of Apolitical Academy Global, Koch-Mehrin sits on the boards of the Council of Women World Leaders, a network of women presidents and prime ministers, and the advisory board of PINK! She is also a Senior Advisor at Binance and Venture Partner at Conny&Co. Notably, she represented the EU in the Executive Committee of W20, an official engagement group of the G20. Previously, Koch-Mehrin served as a vice-president and member of the European Parliament, prior to which she founded a public affairs consultancy.

Michael Köhler has been Director of Neighbourhood Policy since 2015, in this capacity he is responsible for cooperation with Mediterranean Arab countries and Israel. Since joining the European Commission he has held many positions including Director for the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood in the Directorate General for Development and International Cooperation; Head of Cabinet to the Commissioner for Energy; and Head of Cabinet to the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. He previously worked as a representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Morocco and Tunisia, and in the Policy Planning Department of the Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development in Germany. He has authored numerous books and articles on international Islamic studies and foreign policy. He is also a Professor of Europe and the Mediterranean at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

André Loesekrug-Pietri is an entrepreneur and has held leadership positions in private equity, government and industry. He is currently the Chairman of JEDI, which aims to accelerate Europe’s leadership by financing and nurturing the development of breakthrough technologies. He previously served as a special advisor to the French Minister of Defence, where he was responsible for European defence policy, as well as technology and innovation, prior to which he has 15 years of experience in private equity and venture capital. Loesekrug-Pietri is a lecturer at Sciences Po and a regular columnist at several international media outlets. Having studied aerospace engineering, he is also a private pilot and Colonel with the French Air Force People’s Reserve.

Adele is an expert in strategic cognitive skills, advanced theory of mind, and applied physics. Her research focuses on operators in time-limited, life-critical, restricted communication environments and how they employ Theory of Mind (ToM) in their mission. Adele’s previous experience includes working as a NASA Flight Controller/Astronaut Instructor, in which role she provided support for over 90 US Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and Russian spacewalks, and trained five Shuttle crews and two ISS increments in Extra Vehicle Activity (EVA). In addition to her current work as a Research Affiliate at MIT, she has also recently been appointed by the United States of America as a technical team member to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science and Technology Organization through its Collaborative Support Office.

Rihab is an English teacher and civil society activist. She also co-founded the youth initiative ‘Aspire to Inspire’, which has organised numerous events for Tunisian youth, the most important of which is an annual spoken poetry event that gives young people a platform to express their concerns and passions in a creative way. As a teacher, Rihab is also in charge of educating and supervising students in remote areas of the country and introduces them to the world of debate. She has been a debater and judge in the Young Arab Voices programme since 2013 and a member of the focus group that helped upgrade the programme into Young Mediterranean Voices+. Rihab is an English teacher and civil society activist. She also co-founded the youth initiative ‘Aspire to Inspire’, which has organised numerous events for Tunisian youth, the most important of which is an annual spoken poetry event that gives young people a platform to express their concerns and passions in a creative way. As a teacher, Rihab is also in charge of educating and supervising students in remote areas of the country and introduces them to the world of debate. She has been a debater and judge in the Young Arab Voices programme since 2013 and a member of the focus group that helped upgrade the programme into Young Mediterranean Voices+.

Ayman Mhanna is Executive Director of the Beirut-based Samir Kassir Foundation, one of the leading press freedom NGOs in the Middle East. In this capacity, he oversees the foundation’s advocacy, monitoring, research and training activities. Ayman has previously held the position of Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Development, focusing on monitoring violations targeting journalists and providing them with the necessary support. He has also extensively worked with issues related to election observation, electoral reform and civil society involvement. Until recently, he was a lecturer on policy development and communications at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. In 2016, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Democratic Renewal Movement, a secular, social-liberal political party in Lebanon.

Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian-American journalist and columnist, who exclusively covers stories about Iran in both English and Persian. She is also the host of the Iran Podcast and a frequent commentator on Iranian affairs at MSNBC, BBC, PRI, The New York Times, Aljazeera, HuffPost and international outlets across the world, including Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland and Japan. Mortazavi previously worked as a TV presenter at Voice of America (VOA) Persian, where she hosted a daily hour-long interactive show that discussed current affairs with Iranians across the world.

A Polish economist, Katarzyna is currently a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences Committee for Future Studies Poland 2000 Plus. Her research interests include development, cultural and international economics, with a focus on East Asian markets. Katarzyna’s work also explores challenges to global development. Having lectured at universities across Asia, Africa and Europe, she has worked on several research projects for the European Commission and the National Bureau of Research in Poland, among other international institutions, as well as national and local governments. Her academic achievements have been recognised by numerous awards, including one for outstanding young scholars from Poland’s Minister of Science and Higher Education. Katarzyna has published numerous articles and books on issues relating to development, governance, integration and regional cooperation, most recently having co-edited “The Rise of Megacities: Challenges, Opportunities and Unique Characteristics”.

Rory is a coordinator of intercultural exchange for young artists and cultural producers across Europe and the MENA region at TCFT, which won the EU Citizens Prize in 2015. He is a student of Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies, with a research focus on Cultural Policy in the MENA region. Through his work at local and European level, Rory advocates for increased institutional support for cultural exchange across the EU and wider Euro-Mediterranean region and works with policymakers and civil society leaders to encourage support for more intercultural opportunities and more sustainable resources for existing youth-led initiatives. With NGO experience across the EU, Morocco & the United Arab Emirates, Rory’s aim is to encourage more young people in rural and post-conflict communities to contribute to civic life and experience new cultures.

Baha is a power engineering graduate and Co-Founder of Souf Academy, a social enterprise working on youth employment and entrepreneurship. Committed to youth involvement in policy making and economic development, Baha is part of the Young Mediterranean Voices+ initiative and several other non-profit organisations and initiatives. Baha, a certified Silatech career guidance advisor, is also the current project coordinator of World Learning’s Youth Employment Project in El Oued, where he also serves as a volunteer English teacher and soft skills and debate trainer at Souf Academy Career Center. Baha was chosen in 2017 with seven young people from Algeria to be part of Young visitors Leaders Program led by the U.S. Embassy, a four-week programme focusing on unemployment issues and best practices of managing career centres in Algeria.

Baha is a power engineering graduate and Co-Founder of Souf Academy, a social enterprise working on youth employment and entrepreneurship. Committed to youth involvement in policy making and economic development, Baha is part of the Young Mediterranean Voices+ initiative and several other non-profit organisations and initiatives. Baha, a certified Silatech career guidance advisor, is also the current project coordinator of World Learning’s Youth Employment Project in El Oued, where he also serves as a volunteer English teacher and soft skills and debate trainer at Souf Academy Career Center. Baha was chosen in 2017 with seven young people from Algeria to be part of Young visitors Leaders Program led by the U.S. Embassy, a four-week programme focusing on unemployment issues and best practices of managing career centres in Algeria.

Yousra is a programme development consultant and debate trainer at Hebron YDRC Organisation in Palestine. In this role, she is working on developing debate programmes in the city of Hebron. As a result of her good work, YMV staff chose her to be the contact person for Palestine, and she participated in writing the new YMV manual in Tunisia (March, 2018). Furthermore, she is a news editor at Al-Hurriyah Network Agency in Palestine where she covers youth events and activities as well as political and social news. Yousra is also a Dabka trainer (Palestinian Folk- Dance) and regularly teaches people, especially girls, how to dance Dabka. She has participated in many youth conferences, such as the Policy Dialogue with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Federica Mogherini in Brussels in 2017, and Universities International Musical Festival and Conference in Tunisia in 2012.  

Fadi Quran is a leading figure in Palestine, committed to achieving freedom, justice and dignity for the Palestinian people. As Campaign Director at Avaaz, a global online civic movement, he is responsible for the organisation’s campaigning and investigative efforts on issues including human rights, democracy, poverty and conflict. His leadership has helped push for legislation on Big Tech and he has featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and BBC, among other news outlets. Fadi is a community organiser for Popular Struggle, a policy member of the Al-Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network and a former United Nations advocacy officer. In addition to his work in advocacy and international law, Fadi is also a renewable energy entrepreneur in MENA, with a focus on shifting the region away from fossil fuels. He has founded two companies, bringing wind and solar energy power to Palestine and other countries in the region.

Soufiyan is Founder of the Youth Empowerment Society (YES) in Tiflet, Morocco and also works there as a reporter. YES is an independent youth initiative, and their vision is based on creating a small society that gathers young people to enable them and to exchange expertise and skills in the domain of debates by spreading the culture of dialogue. They also aim to embed the principles of democracy and gender equality by working on women empowerment projects, such as “Make Your Voice Heard”, which is financed by IRI. He also works as a reporter for the website, IJNET.

Roba is a pharmacy student at the Lebanese International University who is particularly interested in women’s rights and youth empowerment. In 2017, she participated in the EU High-Representative for Foreign Affairs “Regional Youth Policy Forum, as well as the EU Info Soiree in Beirut. Her interests have also led to her participation in the “Arab Feminist Conference” and in the Dafa Campaign, which supports people in Lebanon, whether Lebanese citizens or Syrian refugees.

Christian is a youth activist who is currently finishing his second master’s degree at Sciences Po. Having been elected President of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) at age 20, he is the youngest person in history to have held the presidency of a major international political youth federation. From 2014-2016, Christian was an elected member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, where he worked on young people’s participation and access to local democracy. He also played a key role in the adoption of the first European legal document on young people’s access to human rights, a resolution by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in 2016. Christian is an advocate for LGBT rights, having volunteered for several years with a local organisation in Denmark that empowers LGBT youth. He was recently awarded best orator of the 2018 French rounds of the Jessup.  

Andreas is an award-winning German statistician and researcher in the field of education. In his role at the OECD, he is responsible for promoting the organisation’s work on education and skills. This includes studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Before joining the OECD, Andreas was Director for Analysis at the International Association for Educational Achievement (IEA).

Ibrahim is a journalist, coordinator and news director at “ENTIKHABATE Initiative”, the Al Waseet Company for Community Development and Awareness, which is a local non-profit organization. He works in the fields of democratic and political awareness in Jordan with a focus on the empowerment of youth and women. In his work, he focuses on simplifying election laws for citizens to ensure that they exercise their right to vote and to monitor the councils they have elected. He is also the president of Zarqa Youth Council (Shadow Municipality Council) to empower young people and integrate Syrian refugees. He recently became a founding member of the Community Protection Network – Zarqa, to reduce violence and extremism. He was also the leader of a campaign that succeeded in revoking article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which exempts a rapist from prison once he is married to the victim. In addition to being a master debate trainer, he seeks to spread the culture of debate in his community. He has participated in many local and international events and won second place in the Jordanian Youth Voices debate championship.  

Paul Walton is Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation. He has extensive international experience in leading organisations and multi-country programmes. including more than 15 years working and living in Africa and the Middle East. Paul has been in the vanguard of inter-regional cooperation and was former director of strategy at the 43-country Mediterranean Foundation, working from its headquarters in Egypt. He was member of the steering group mandated by the UN Security Council to produce the first global study on ‘Youth, Peace and Security’ and the taskforce to create structures for dialogue among the EU, civil society and authorities following the historic events of the Arab Spring. Paul began his international career as the founding director of the landmark UK Millennium Project ‘Youth 2000’ and was CEO of the award-winning international NGO ‘Global Voice’. As an analyst of global affairs, he is a Visiting Lecturer at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies and has been interviewed in the BBC, Al Arabiya and The New York Times.

Tarik Yousef is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development programme and the Director of the Brookings Doha Center. He has worked extensively in the academic world, as well as in the public policy arena, with experience from the IMF, the World Bank and the UN, and more recently from the NGO Silatech. He is a development expert on the economies of the Middle East and North Africa. Tarik has also served on the advisory boards of development organisations and boards of directors of financial institutions.