My experience can be summarized in 3 letters: C, K, and T.
C for Coffee and Connection
Throughout my career, I saw how a cup of coffee can solve conflicts, raise morals, ease failures, and more importantly build connections. I learned that answers are not always found in textbooks, but, most of the time, emerge from simple human connection. This realization helped me to overcome many challenges in the different professional roles I took on and to build genuine connections along the way.
K for Khal and Knowledge
Helen Khal is one of my favorite Lebanese female painters. In her paintings, different types of knowledge intersect: history, gender, culture. Having previously worked in the development sector and in the private sector, and having an advanced MSc in artistic research, I am interested in, similarly to Khal’s paintings, creating spaces where knowledge is produced, transmitted and mobilised.
T for Travel and Transformation
My personal and professional transformation has been strongly shaped by traveling. At 21, I started my private sector career in Kuwait, then a few years later, I went to Scotland to seek my MSc in International Development. Afterwards, I moved to South Africa to start my development career. Through my travels, I developed a keen interest in transformative and innovative participatory processes.
In April 2020, l joined Perspectivity as a Young Enterpriser and I am working at the intersection of private, development and creative sectors, particularly on cross-sectorial partnerships building and system-level change processes. My focus is on bringing Perspectivity’s innovative participatory methods and tools to the Middle East and North Africa in different capacities.
Expertise
- Process Facilitation
- Capacity Building
- Project Management
- Creating Connections
Examples of what I do
Exploring Flavors and Dimensions: A Creative Journey through Writeshops in the Netherlands
Imagine tasting through writing? How might that feel and be like? Sara and Nohad invited participants for a mini-writeshop to explore the dimensions of one’s life through flavors.
Transformative Futures for Water Security initiative
Water security is key to our collective future, yet many places in the world experience severe water insecurity. We have to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (SDG 6). Perspectivity facilitated this initiative for the Global South on the future of water security in the lead-up to the UN 2023 Water Conference.
Loss and Feminist Legacy Creative Workshop
A literary reflection creative workshop was organized for open a space to engage and reflect collectively, slowly, and intimately with the overarching theme of the book, Feminist Legacies.
Mini Writeshop workshop in the park
As part of a local festival with the aim to change the narrative about the line that used to divide Beirut during the civil war, a mini Writeshop workshop was organized in the park under the theme “Dealing with the Past”.
Our Stories of Change Website is now live
Publishing the stories written during the writeshop workshop in Lebanon in 2021
Which recipe should we follow for today’s complexity?
When we face complexity, we dive straight into the ‘cookbooks’ we already have. But unfortunately, old recipes tend to fail when applied in new complex situations. Other ingredients should be sourced.
Putting Egypt on the IT world map
A participatory online roundtable to shape together the future of the Egyptian IT Outsourcing workforce.
Our Stories of Change – Writeshop Workshop in Lebanon
We partnered with the Knowledge Workshop, a lebanese feminist organisation, to facilitate a writeshop workshop in Lebanon for women and transpeople.
The intention of the writeshop was to amplify the role of women and transpeople in shaping personal and collective changes.
KW and Perspectivity in collaboration with the participants will be working together to publish the stories written in the near future.
Blog: Jumanji – Public Health Challenge becoming reality in COVID times
Blog a collaborative effort by Nohad ElHajj, Anne van Marwijk and Herman van der Meyden Many of you will have seen the movie or read the book ‘Jumanji’, a story in which a group of teenagers plays a game that then becomes reality, with the teenagers themselves as...