Region: Egypt
Mariam El Marakeshy
Mariam El Marakeshy is an award-winning filmmaker, multimedia storyteller, educator, researcher, and cultural specialist who works in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. She is a former United Nations staff member. Mariam’s projects explore migration, culture, museums, environment, education, and media ethics. She has worked with National Geographic, ITN UK, USAID, the UN, and many NGOs. Her globally recognized works include films such as “Transit” and “Misafir A Guest” with unique storytelling from the Greek island of Lesvos and Istanbul, in addition to multimedia projects and impact media campaigns, which influence global discussions and solutions. Mariam has received numerous international awards, including the USA Social Impact Media…
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Ashraf Swelam
Ashraf Swelam is an Egyptian senior diplomat with more than 25 years of experience. He currently serves as an Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Organizations and Communities. He concurrently serves as the Personal Representative of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Chairman of AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee, and Egypt's Focal Point to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).  Before assuming his current roles, Swelam served as the Ambassador of Egypt to the Republic of Uganda (2020-22), and as the Director General of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) (2013-2020). He is the Founder of…
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Sahar Albazar
Sahar Albazar is an Egyptian MP and the Deputy Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Egyptian House of Representatives. She is also the President of the forum of young Parliamentarians representing more than 179 countries. Before that, she was an advisor to the Minister of Social Solidarity and a social protection consultant at the World Bank on youth employability in Egypt. In addition to her experience in the governmental sector and international organizations, she has worked at several Forbes top 500 companies including P&G, J&J, Abbott, and BP. Sahar was named a Young Global Leader in 2022. She holds an MPA from Harvard University.
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Mohamed ElFayoumy
Mohamed ElFayoumy is an Egyptian diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East. He currently serves as Political Adviser for the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria. Mohamed served as his government’s representative to the Syrian Opposition and he was the Consul in the Egyptian Embassy in Syria where he was instrumental in evacuating thousands of Egyptian nationals from Syria during the conflict in 2011-13. He is also active in a number of civil society organizations working toward the political development of Egypt.
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Ezzat Ibrahim Youssef
Ezzat Ibrahim Youssef is Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Weekly and the English portal, Ahram Online. Al-Ahram Weekly is the largest Weekly English newspaper in Egypt and one of the most influential papers in the Middle East. Ezzat is also a member of the board of directors at Al-Ahram Establishment. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of Al-Ahram 2014-2017 and served as the bureau chief in Washington D.C. and New York from 2009-2013, during which he focused on American and Egyptian relations. After advising a U.S. Congressman for six months on Middle East issues as a Congressional Fellow in 2004 and as a Fellow at The Brookings Institution, Ezzat returned to Egypt…
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Hoda Elsadda
Hoda Elsadda is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Cairo University. She previously held a Chair in the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at Manchester University, and was Co-Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World in the UK. She was Carnegie Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University in 2014-2015. In 1992, she co-founded and co-edited Hagar, an interdisciplinary journal in women’s studies published in Arabic. In 1997, she co-founded and is currently Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Women and Memory Forum (www.wmf.org.eg), a research organization which focuses on reading Arab cultural history from a gender-sensitive perspective. She is a member of the…
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