Zeinab Gamal Ali Mohamed

Zeinab comes from Qena in Upper Egypt. She graduated third in her class from the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration (English section). She also graduated from Dandara Schools for knowledge as she is a member of Dandara Cultural Center. Following are some examples of her achievements during college:

• Youth Leadership Programme Coordinator: Through an agreement between Dandara Cultural Center (DCC) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) she represented DCC in the YLP5 regional workshop in Beirut, Lebanon. She was then the programme coordinator in DCC and responsible for following up on the implementation of youth innovation camps, online and offline orientation sessions on SDGs, and community dialogues.
• General English Programme Coordinator: She coordinated the programme plan between DCC and AUC-School of Continuing Education (SCE) to offer AUC-SCE English courses to youth in Upper Egypt.
• Youth Empowerment Programme Specialist: She was responsible for planning, implementing, reporting, and following up on the youth programme in Qena as well as organizing youth-related events such as the Upper Egypt Youth Forum with other governorate coordinators.

Zeinab is ambitious, committed, and eager to learn new skills and knowledge to develop herself and to continually achieve more.

Oussama Jaziri

Oussama, “Jaz,” is a motivated and highly resilient ESL teacher and debate trainer, who is engaged in skills development and personal development, especially with youth.

Amira Ben Hassen

Amira is an ambitious, dedicated, and committed Tunisian woman, who believes in the power of transformative education for well-being and peace.

Her ambition is to contribute to the development of the Tunisian educational system for enhanced peace and strengthened societies. She is dedicated to this ambition and her professional career working with national and international organizations helped to widen her horizons about the promising impact of investing in youth positive development.

She is committed to supporting youth to unleash their talents and transform vulnerabilities into opportunities for more peaceful communities.

She has 5 years’ experience managing and coordinating projects for several age groups, and mainly youth following approaches that foster dialogue for social cohesion and violence prevention, gender equity and social inclusion (GESI), youth positive development, leadership, preventing/countering violent extremism (P/CVE), participatory governance, women and vulnerable groups’ empowerment, community development, and rehabilitation of ex-prisoners.  Her orientation towards results-based management motivated her to extend her knowledge on aspects related to monitoring, evaluation, and learning, this was further consolidated by collaboration with Synergy management and consulting.

Israa Attia

Israa is a proposal writer on sustainable development. She coordinates the, “Introducing life skills and citizenship education program in Libya,” which is funded by UNICEF Libya. In addition to that, she is responsible for drafting the Strategic Resources Development plan for running developmental programs in the MENA region. As a Lazord Fellow, she was placed at Ashoka Arab World, where she assisted in capacity building for leading social entrepreneurs in the Arab world region to help them scale their social impact. Due to her national and international experience in various fields such as social entrepreneurship, human rights, civic engagement, and economic empowerment, she has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges in the the MENA region. Israa is also an entrepreneur,  having co-founded the Mok3ab coworking space in Egypt.

Dana Shyoukhi

Dana is a currently a project officer in the operations unit at INJAZ, which supports the creation of opportunities for Jordanian youth. Having graduated from the University of Jordan with a B.Sc. in management information systems, Dana has worked for INJAZ for almost five years, the Lazord Fellowship being the stepping stone to her career at INJAZ. “I could see myself with the INJAZ family, and I like to witness the impact on youth and how they become leaders in their community. I myself, was thrilled when I became a Lazord Fellow.” She has been in charge of many projects reporting and conducting intensive (almost daily) follow-up with around 40 colleagues across Jordan; this is a challenging task as it requires collecting information and reporting it to upper management in a dynamic and accurate method. “I have been taking on more responsibilities in the last 5 years and I think I have a lot to learn on how to improve my leadership skills, on a professional and personal level.” Dana believes that, “Today, our survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”  She hopes for success for all and for herself in all of their endeavors.

Ayah Karus

Ayah graduated from the University of Jordan with a B.A. in Finance. After graduation, she was selected to become a Lazord Fellow, through which she gained major experience in linking social and corporate benefits. She has spent more than three years at REACH Group consulting in the marketing department. Her focus on international relations, communications, and marketing intelligence has made her realize the growth and importance of digital media in our society. She has always shown leadership qualities, participating in international competitions and exchange programs organized by prestigious organizations such as the UN, EU, US Embassy, and the UK. She received a scholarship to study at the Kelley School of Business and the Hult Business School, allowing her to learn about management and entrepreneurship in both the US and the UK. She has volunteered at different NGOs to empower youth and women, to fight extremism, and to promote peace. For the last five years, she has been involved in a project with Ambassadors for Dialogue (AFD), where she first started as a team member, and eventually became a junior trainer who facilitates sessions and trains new members. In addition, Ayah demonstrates continuous participation in many volunteering activities in the humanitarian sector.

Menna Moustafa

Menna received her bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Cairo University. Since 2013, she has been involved in the development field through various voluntary and professional work assignments. She also participated in a number of extracurricular activities such as Enactus, AIESEC, and TEDx. She gained a diverse set of skills in research, facilitation, projects, event management, and intercultural dialogue as a participant of the Erasmus+ exchange program and Safarni initiative. After graduation, she worked with INJAZ, Banati Foundation, and the Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies before recently joining GIZ Egypt through the Lazord Fellowship. She is also an entrepreneurship guru, being the co-founder of Career180, a startup which was amongst the top 5 at an INJAZ Egypt women entrepreneurship competition. She has also succeeded in implementing the, “Egypt Career Summit,”  an annual summit in the field of career development. Menna aspires to pursue her post-graduate studies in sustainable development.

Raya Al-Momani

Raya received a B.A. in development studies from Philadelphia University, and is currently pursuing a master’s in women’s studies from the University of Jordan.

Raya started in civil society by volunteering for five years with NGOs. She now has three years of working experience with local and international NGOs such as UNICEF, NRC, BASMA, INJAZ, and Better World.

She has represented Jordan in several European countries and given training courses in different Arab countries. She loves volunteering and working with creative youth.  Raya is a leader whose skillset and interests are multifaceted: she is a trainer and facilitator: she is skilled at public communication, marketing, and project writing; and she is interested in women’s empowerment, children’s rights, and education.

In addition, Raya is an inventor, and has an idea for an invention that would help disabled people be mobile without having to use a wheelchair.

Ghaida AlQudah

Ghaida has over six years of experience working with nonprofit organizations in the area of youth development and engagement with a focus on civic education and youth employability. She has actively participated in community development activities and campaigns; Ghaida worked on a youth-focused mass media campaign with UNESCO Amman Office and other national campaigns with UNFPA Youth Network in Jordan. Through her work she has facilitated around 100 sessions on democracy, human rights, gender, and conflict resolution. In addition, she has trained youth on advanced advocacy skills to influence the public discourse by well-organized grassroots campaigns.

Ghaida has attended several trainings and workshops in the MENA region and Europe on the topic of civic engagement, debate, local governance, and strategic planning. She is currently working at a youth empowerment program for crisis-affected Syrian youth in Jordan with an INGO, providing learning pathways to improve livelihoods, increase social engagement, and further education.

Ghaida endeavors to support youth to become active citizens, and to provide them with the knowledge and tools they need to contribute positively to their communities.

Ahmad Abdelgalil

Ahmad Abdelgalil holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Cairo University and pursued a post-graduate diploma in Management focused on Non-profit Organizations. His professional journey revolves around his passion for Youth Empowerment, Social Entrepreneurship, Economic Empowerment, Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender equality.

In 2017, he was recognized with the “LAZORD” Fellowship from The American University in Cairo for his valuable contributions to social development initiatives.

In 2022, Ahmad was awarded the Professional Fellowship by the U.S. State Department, affording him a month-long opportunity at the DC Department of Employment Services to deepen his understanding of youth empowerment strategies in the USA and enhance his interventions in his home region.

Currently, he serves as a Youth and Adolescents Development Officer at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Prior to this, he held the role of Gender & Economic Empowerment Specialist at Plan International Egypt, contributing to the Strengthening Women Entrepreneurs in Egypt project (SWEET).

Ahmad spent five impactful years at “Ashoka Arab World,” where he supported more than 118 social entrepreneurs dedicated to tackling pressing social issues in the Arab world. In this role, he facilitated the scaling of their impact, replication of successful models, and catalyzed systemic change within their respective fields.

He has also lent his expertise as a research assistant at “The Economist” for the Global Health Index Project and served as a Monitoring and Evaluation Team Leader at “OXFAM” for the Youth Employment Project (WiP).

During his undergraduate years, Ahmad held significant leadership roles, including President of the Faculty of Economics’ Student Union and a member of Cairo University’s Student Council. In these positions, he worked tirelessly to enhance the educational environment for over 300,000 students.