2016
Belabbes Benkredda
CEO and Founder
The Munathara Initiative
Belabbes Benkredda is an award-winning social innovator and the founder of the Munathara Initiative, the Arab world’s largest online and television debate forum highlighting voices of youth, women, and marginalized communities. Today, Munathara operates in 11 Arab countries and counts a community of some 170,000 members on its online debate platform. Its monthly prime time TV debates are the only civil society-run, independent political talk programs on Arabic television, syndicated across several channels.
Previously, Belabbes held roles in the German Foreign Office, the League of Arab States, and the Council for Arab-British Understanding. After moving to Dubai in 2005, Belabbes became a government consultant specializing in public diplomacy in the Arab world, a frequent television commentator, and an op-ed columnist for the region’s leading English daily newspaper. In 2013, he was recognized with the NDI Democracy Award for his work in fostering citizen participation in the Arab public sphere. In 2019 in Tunisia, he initiated and oversaw the Arab world’s first-ever televised presidential debates.
The 2016 World Fellows
An Austrian climate change expert, a Syrian human rights activist, a Chinese journalist and 13 other game-changing global leaders have been named 2016 Greenberg World Fellows. This cohort brings the total number of Yale Greenberg World Fellows since the program’s start in 2002 to 291 Fellows, representing 87 countries. This year marks the 15th cohort of World Fellows. “I’m delighted to announce the 2016 cohort of Greenberg World Fellows,” said Emma Sky, program director. “They are wonderful sources of inspiration and mentors for Yale students,” she said. Greenberg World Fellows is Yale University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalization. Each year, the...Read More
MORE ABOUT BELABBES
The Big Picture podcast with Belabbes Benkredda
Getting democracy right is getting the public sphere right: Belabbes Benkredda at TEDxCarthage
Podcast Ep: 4 - 2016 World Fellow Belabbes Benkredda
Belabbes Benkredda, the founder of Munathara Initiative, a debating forum in the Arab world, discusses the post-truth era and how to protect the public sphere.