Scholars

Abdalrahim Abuwarda earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature and focused his studies on literary works and translation. Abdalrahim found links between the literary works, development, management, and leadership. Then, to empower the Palestine’s youth, he led a project with Pal-Think, a non-profit organization, that aimed to raise awareness among youth on democracy and entrepreneurship. The project included conducting lectures, launching art exhibitions, and carrying out workshops. Abdalrahim facilitated 25 events and each event targeted 25 Palestinians from different backgrounds. Abdalrahim used his experience at Pal-Think to engage in one of his proudest endeavors, co-founding Al-Frarabi for Multilingual Services. As the co-founder and co-director of Al-Farabi, he translated, edited, and proofread many English-to-Arabic texts. He contributed to the translation of two books in human development: Read Artists Do Not Starve and Steal Like an Artist. Mr. Abuwarda managed interns, new employees, and college students. Moreover, he moved to occupying a position as a social worker at Almajd Association for Development. He was responsible for 350 cases including orphans, people with special needs, and needy families. He wrote up assessments, which met specified standards and timescales. He made decisions about the best course of action for the beneficiaries. Most recently, Abdalrahim managed to work as a Social Media (Freelancing) Mentor at Gaza Sky Geeks (Mercy Corps). He managed to train four cohorts on how to use social media platforms to get job opportunities. The results of the 240 participants were promising as over 54% of them managed to obtain paid opportunities, both short and long term.

Current Organization: Social Worker at Almajd Association for Development

Abeer Sheikhasan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Applied to Economics from Birzeit University in Palestine in 2012. Three years later, Abeer earned a Master’s degree in Statistics Applied to Economics from the same university,. She also had the opportunity to experience teaching in a private basic school for about three months, and research assistance in her university for another three months. Immediately after that, she became a government employee at the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics as a statistician, where she currently works. As a government employee at the National Statistical Office of Palestine, she participated in many international training courses: including in Belgium, Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Japan. She learned intensively in the field of statistical analysis in support of inclusive development policies and price indices, and moderately in data science and big data techniques for official statistics. During her amazing experience in Japan, she learned R programming as a new tool for data analysis and she conveyed that knowledge by conducting several training courses for her colleagues.

Current Organization: Statistician at Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Abraham Atteh has over five years’ experience in Management Consulting, Digital Process Transformation, Public Sector Reforms and Project Management. Abraham earned a Bachelors of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. He is passionate about raising ethical leaders to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and development in rural and urban communities. Currently, Abraham plays a key role in helping the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to drive inclusive policy and revenue generation. In October, 2016. Abraham launched a social enterprise initiative ‘Rural-Urban Business Support Scheme (RUBSS) in a bid to champion a model to address the high percentage of small businesses failures in Nigeria, enlightening young entrepreneurs about the conceptual skills needed to make informed decisions necessary to sustain and grow in a world where consumers needs are changing at a stunning pace. Abraham chose this work because it aligns with his interest, skills, experiences, and vision to nurture, empower, and supply Nigeria with 100,000 SMEs who are prepared to compete favourably in the 4th industrial revolution and operate profitably by 2030. Abraham Atteh has over five years’ experience in Management Consulting, Digital Process Transformation, Public Sector Reforms and Project Management. Abraham earned a Bachelors of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. He is passionate about raising ethical leaders to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and development in rural and urban communities. Currently, Abraham plays a key role in helping the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to drive inclusive policy and revenue generation. In October 2016. Abraham launched a social enterprise initiative ‘Rural-Urban Business Support Scheme (RUBSS) in a bid to champion a model to address the high percentage of small businesses failures in Nigeria, enlightening young entrepreneurs about the conceptual skills needed to make informed decisions necessary to sustain and grow in a world where consumers needs are changing at a stunning pace. Abraham chose this work because it aligns with his interest, skills, experiences, and vision to nurture, empower, and supply Nigeria with 100,000 SMEs who are prepared to compete favourably in the 4th industrial revolution and operate profitably by 2030.

Current Organization: Senior Consultant at Carter Consulting

Amira Saber is Partner and CMO at Achimar Consulting. Amira is a Professional Certified Trainer from the American University in Cairo. She received her MBA in Marketing from ESLSCA Business School and was a regional marketer at Medtronic, the largest manufacturing company of medical devices worldwide. Her endless passion towards developing people led her to cooperate with different entities and multinationals like UNICEF, Samsung, CEDO, Ain Shams University, and Cairo University to provide training to more than 4,000 students, recent graduates, and professionals. Amira an American Express Leadership Academy Fellow. She has in depth experience in policy making, analysis, and communication. Amira delivers marketing for start-ups and social entrepreneurship trainings in different European countries through Erasmus Mundus programs and is currently responsible for the marketing and communications strategy for one of the largest local NGOs in the field of child and maternal health. She recently graduated from Ashoka’s Visionary program, which enables social entrepreneurs to gain the skills needed to master both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial challenges and to generate social impact. She is a member of the Coordination Committee of Party’s Youth Leaders and Politicians, a leading political entity that empowers youth from different political streams and backgrounds to be part of political decision making process in Egypt.

Current Organization: Partner and CMO at Achimar Consulting

Bashar Timraz has eight years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors. Bashar earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administrations from Al-Quds Open University in Palestine. Bashar has diverse work experience in administration, coordination, security, reporting, and project management. In his current role as Operations Coordinator in the Field Security and Risk Management at the United Nations for Relief & Work Agency (UNRWA), he provides emergency response to around 13,000 staff members working in 300 UNRWA installations, guarantees a safe work environment for the UNRWA employees, follows up and reports all security incidents as needed, and organizes and maintains security files on all issues related to assessments, security plans, and more. Through his work with UNRWA, Bashar works with staff from different backgrounds, experiences, and working styles. Thus, he has developed strong communication, teamwork, risk-management and problem-solving skills. Previously, Bashar worked at the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs in the projects and planning department, and was responsible for preparing the Ministry’s projects, operational plans, and reports. Working with the government has enabled him to develop report writing skills, strategic thinking, and communication skills, along with the ability to organize media events. Bashar is particularly looking to challenge himself and learn new things focusing on the topics of humanitarian, operations, and economic development.

Current Organization: Operations Coordinator at United Nations for Relief & Work Agency (UNRWA)

Fizza Siddiqui is pursuing a Master of Science in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, focusing on Data Analysis and Python. Fizza has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector and research industry. She has served AC Nielsen as a Research Executive and researches several social issues, including the impact of sexism in Pakistan and the emergence of financial technology. Fizza gained experience in community engagement by working with the world’s largest interest-free microfinance institute, Akhuwat, as a Community Outreach & Government Affairs Executive. She helped improve the lives of people living below the poverty line by introducing several projects, including the Interest-Free Business Loans Program, to support SMEs led by underprivileged people. She launched the pilot phase of the project with a portfolio of $150,000 in total. With the help of the network that she had built, she initiated a financial literacy program for over 1,000 active loanees from across Pakistan to promote financial and money management for underprivileged communities. She was fortunate enough to receive support from the State Bank of Pakistan and built a partnership for the project’s funding and execution. Fizza was also selected as a cultural ambassador to represent Pakistan in the United States for four months. She aspires to launch a crowdfunding platform to deploy an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs who otherwise struggle to secure funds, consequently boosting Pakistan’s economy.

Current Organization: MSc Candidate in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship at Lahore University of Management Sciences

Ibrahim Abdullatief Ashour is a Senior Program Manager at Save Youth Future Society. Ibrahim is valued for his strong strategic, financial, and leadership talents with success in directing a diversified portfolio of community assistance, basic education, economic development, humanitarian relief, and recovery programs. He brings over eight years of experience and a wealth of expertise in strategic planning, program planning and implementation, cross-functional leadership, project management, and operations management. Ibrahim is also skilled in human resources development, resource utilization, organizational development, and financial management. Ibrahim is recognized for his deep understanding of human rights and UN Sustainable development Goals. He brings this knowledge into practice through effective management of SYFS ongoing projects in education and poverty reduction, and by foreseeing potential sectors of support in the labor market to allocate best opportunities for youth development. He contributes to program development, fundraising, communication and reporting to different partners and donors including USAID, CRS, Save the Children, UNICEF, OCHA, EU, UNFPA, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Current Organization: Senior Program Manager at Save Youth Future Society

Lisa Indah Wijayani has over seven years of working experience in the nonprofit sector under the areas of social and economic empowerment and environmental sustainability. Upon receiving the British government scholarship, she pursued a Master’s degree in Ecological Economics from the University of Edinburgh. While studying, she took part in field research in South Africa to resolve sustainability and social economic problems in the local community. Previously, Lisa had served at various public institutions to foster policy development in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Her professional experiences include: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Consultant at the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Network Manager at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN); and Officer for Enterprise Development and Stakeholder Engagement at the ASEAN Secretariat. For the last two years, Lisa has been passionate about the issue of green jobs in the deployment of renewable energy and circular economy. Currently, she is leading green economy programs to accelerate low carbon transition at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a think-tank that undertakes research and advocacy in the fields of energy and environment. She is also a founder of “Kelas Motivasi”, an online platform which provides capacity building for Indonesian youth to study overseas with scholarships, and a co-founder of “Salur Switchers,” which aims to promote sustainable business practices.

Current Organization: Program Manager for Green Economy at Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR)