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
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...