Mentors &amp; Guest Speakers

Imed Alibi

Creative Music Expert, Artist and Producer

Tunisia

Imed Alibi is a Tunisian musician and composer, currently the director of the Carthage International Festival (CIF). Throughout his 20 years of activity, Imed’s experience spans from music performance and composition to artistic direction, cultural management and project consultancy. He worked as the artistic director of Carthage Music Days in 2019, and for Sousse International Percussion Festival for 3 years. In addition to his career as a musician and composer in different projects and collaborations (Les boukakes, Emel Mathlouthi, Natasha Atlas, Rachid Taha, Justin Adams, Michel Marre, Mounir Troudi....) he has collaborated as a jury member of Visa for Music in Morocco, Babel Music XP in Marseille (previously Babel Med) and Music in Africa. As an artistic advisor, he worked with Le Silo in South of France for 5 years, and recently with Candid Foundation in Germany on Alhan Libya project. Experienced artistic director and programmer who has travelled to more than 60 countries, specializing in innovative commissions to world artists in different art , from digital to large public art, local and international partnership with diverse communities, strategic development and thinking. Alibi graduated recently from the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin.

Emad Mabrouk

Manager, Artist, Entrepreneur

Egypt

Founder and Director of “Nowhere Online Music Platform” since 2012. He consulted, coordinated and curated several culture projects and events as a freelancer. He also trained and lectured in workshops on filmmaking, VJ, in Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Uganda. Emad is a highly prolific filmmaker, having directed a rich diversity of short fictions, documentaries and others since 2002. He was the director of the cultural program at the Jesuits cultural center for 14 years. He built strong relationships with bands around the Arab region. He has designed several musical events within Egypt for the Jesuit cultural center, French Institute, and Goethe institute and other independent ones.

Aziz Maraka

Song Writer, Singer and Producer

Egypt

Aziz Maraka is a well established Jordanian Song Writer, Singer and Producer, he is considered an inspiration to Jordanians at his age and younger. Sending out a clear message that Jordan youth have an identity to present and a place in the world’s history of arts to record. Aziz started playing the piano at a very young age and was later awarded a scholarship funded by the Plus Program scholarship department of cultural education in the States and the King Abdullah Foundation for Development to be part of a leadership program to pursue his bachelor’s degree in music composition from the University or Arkansas.

Emad Mabrouk

Producer, Production and Technical Manager

Syria

Producer, Production and Technical Manager with 22 years of experience in the UAE Media, and Cultural Sector. I am a Syrian technical and artistic producer, currently working as a Senior Technical Manager at the Culture Foundation’s Theatre – Department of Culture and Tourism, where I manage all technical aspects of the performing arts programme and theatre events. My experience includes conducting productions for institutions and events such as the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, Abu Dhabi Art, National Geographic, Abu Dhabi Education Council, Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi Ports Company, Formula 1, ADNOC, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, among others. I have also worked on several Hollywood and Bollywood movies such as Born Legacy, Star Wars, Fast and Furious, War Machine, Tiger, and Saaho.

Mohamed El Ghawy

Founder and the artistic director of AFCA for Arts and Culture and Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children in Cairo, Egypt

Egypt

MOHAMED ELGHAWY is the founder and the artistic director of AFCA for Arts and Culture and Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children in Cairo, Egypt. Recently, he has also taken up the role of artistic director for the Brabants International Kinder Festival – BRIK in Breda in the Netherlands. Mohamed is a fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts - ISPA. A Chevening Scholar, Mohamed studied cultural leadership with the Clore Leadership Programme in the UK from 2013-2014 and he previously studied Arts Management at the DeVos Institute of Arts Management in Washington DC, USA. Mohamed is an alumnus of the European Festivals Association (EFA) and a MENA ‘cultural innovator’ through the British Council. He also an alumnus of the Emerging Leaders Institute – APAP|NYC and a Board Member of International Performing Arts for Youth – IPAY in USA Born in Egypt, Mohamed’s background is as a theater director. His focus is on theater for children and young people and he is driven to ensure that the art work for the younger audience must be of equal quality as that which is made for adults. His goal is to make high quality performing arts accessible to every child and believes strongly that it is their right to enjoy, discover, participate and live such experiences with their families, schools, NGOs or friends without discrimination for any reason. Mohamed therefore produces shows with professional artists for children and young people and tours them locally, nationally and internationally. Mohamed also has experience in teaching theater and has worked with many schools and institutions to design and implement their own arts education programs, long-term strategies and monitoring and evaluation systems. He has participated in many international festivals and conferences and as a consultant has delivered training in theater, arts education and arts management.

Gael Hedding

Grammy and latin grammy winner

USA

Corporate clients include warner latino, im records, westlake studios, universal music
Worked on over 50 records and 200+ shows
Educator - clinician and former berklee professor
Berklee college of music - music production & engineering graduate
Speaks: english, spanish, french, italian and japanese

Mram Ahmed AbdelMaqsoud

Technical Director, Production and Stage Manager, Trainer

Egypt

Mram Abdel Maqsoud: Graduated from Theater department Helwan university in Cairo 2009 . She is a Production Manager and Technical director at Orient Productions for film and Theater, Technical Director of Rawabet Art Space and D-CAF Festival in Cairo, Egypt, she has been engaged with artists from all over the world at D-CAF international festival including Theater, music concerts and visual Arts works. she is also the Stage manager of "Temple Theatre Company" directed by Ahmed El Attar and has been touring with his plays in the world Since 2014 in many theaters and international festivals in France, Belgium, USA, Italy, Russia, Berlin,Singapore and Hongkong at: Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne, Singapore international festival of Art, Hongkong Arts Festival, Kennedy Centre, Teatro Arena del Sole, Les Rencontres a L'echelle among many other festivals and theaters.She works as well as a Stage, production manager and technical director with Different Venues and projects. She is also a trainer for production and stage managment, she gave many workshops in Egypt in the last 5 years and supervised the training for "Back Stage Program" organized by Studio Emad Eddin and Tawasol Egypt.

Rasha Salah

Cultural Programmer, Art Manager, Entrepreneur and Independant Consultant

Lebanon/Portugal

A graduate of Social and Cultural Development from Bordeaux II in France, Rasha Salah is the curator and co-founder of Beirut contemporary art space in Lisbon. She was the Executive Director of Dar El-Nimer, an independent nonprofit art foundation based in Beirut, where she was hired in 2015 to lead its creation and to draw its strategy and vision. She has curated and designed the exhibitions and programs of the Foundation. She also curated the Film screenings, advancing independent Arab film and facilitating Live-encounters with filmmakers. Rasha Salah curates art festivals, such as “Iraqisms” in 2019, a festival dedicated to promoting the Iraqi art scene, and most recently the Redzone festival 20/21 “inner spaces”, promoting more than 30 artists from the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. From 2010 to 2015, Rasha was the Grants Manager at the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) where she played a leading role in establishing the Fund’s regional outreach on a grassroots level. She worked in various International Organizations and gained an experience in social, artistic and cultural management in the region. Since 2020, Salah is solicited by AFAC as facilitator and mentor for the ACE program.

Mehdi Azdem

Researcher, Cultural Operator and Independent Consultant

Morocco

Mehdi Azdem graduated with a Bachelor in "Economics and Management" in 2011 and Master in "Cultural and Artistic Engineering" in 2013. In 2021, he obtained his PhD at the Hassan II University of Casablanca (Morocco) in the field of "Cultural communication" in the performing arts. His research focuses on cultural policies, cultural practices and mediation. He started his professional career in 2011 with an audiovisual production company. Between 2011 and 2013, he joined the "Cultural Manufacture of the Old Slaughterhouses of Casablanca" multidisciplinary urban arts space, as an assistant in the coordination and programming. In 2014, he joined the team of "Racines, association for culture and development" as project manager. In 2017, he was promoted to the position of general manager of the association, which works on advocacy for cultural policies and human, social and economic development through artistic expressions. Beetween 2017 and 2019, has been in charge of the cultural incubator "Racines carrées" that does coaching and mentoring about twenty project leaders per year in all artistic disciplines in Morocco. Between 2019 and 2020, he was director of "Les étoiles de Sidi Moumen" cultural centre in a peripheral neighbourhood in Casablanca. Today, he's an independent cultural consultant and teacher-researcher in art and film schools in Morocco.

Aya Nabulsi

Cultural Practitioner, Producer, Arts Manager

Jordan

Aya is the Senior arts manger at Seenaryo Amman – Jordan and The Executive Director of Al Balad Music Festival. Aya is also the Producer of the winning short film of “The Film Prize 2021 by Robert Bosch”- Nobody Wants The Night written and directed by Remi Itani. She used to act as the Executive Director of Al Balad Theatre, where she currently consults at. She has been working in the arts and culture scene, especially in theatre, film and music festival field for the past 14 years between Beirut and Amman. Aya has BA from LAU Beirut in communication arts – Theatre/TV, Radio, Film. Aya also works as an artistic manager consultant for local and regional bands. She has been a cultural practitioner and festival manger in different countries such as Amman, Beirut, Tunis, and Rabat.

Amani Semaan

Director of a Cultural Organisation & Consultant for Art & Culture Projects

Lebanon (currently based in France)

Amani is the co-founder and director of Beirut and Beyond, an NGO that promotes independent music from the Arab World through a yearly showcase festival and professional programs. Established in 2013, B&B encourages networking and collaboration and works on creating opportunities as well as developing the local infrastructure of the independent music scene. In 2019, she started her work as a consultant on different arts & culture projects. Notably with AYAMI, an initiative under the UNDP Arab States that promotes the SDGs through art and music. And Alhan Libya, a project that supports 24 emerging musicians through a mentorship program. Throughout her career in music and culture, Amani worked on producing concerts, dance performances and film festivals. She also managed independent musicians and bands from the Arab World. In parallel to her work in culture, she pursued a career in media productions. Growing within this industry she handled versatile positions such as content developer, researcher, line producer, head of research department for different entertainment shows for the Arab World. She was recently the casting director for MBC’s The Voice Senior. Currently based in Paris, she is pursuing a masters in Management of Cultural Organizations in Paris Dauphine.

Jimi Elgohary

Singer, Songwriter, Event & Entertainment Producer, Entrepreneur & Music Executive

Egypt

Over 16 years of experience in event management, operations and production, and specific expertise in entertainment management and event operations in Egypt and the region, in addition to being an experienced musician/stage performer, I have always enjoyed creating impactful experiences from scratch, grew fond of the Event Management field and developed myself further working in the field since 2005. I kicked off my career by managing special events and entertainment for national and international student conferences in Egypt, I was then appointed Head of Stage Management at Cairo International Jazz Festival in 2009 which I spent five years doing besides other freelancing roles for corporate and non-corporate music and art events and festivals; from Logistics management to F&B and other operational roles, to booking & managing entertainment and artists, to technical production management, branding and activations. Besides Freelancing: - In 2015, I co-founded Jimirazz, a Cairo-based event & entertainment resourcing company, providing niche services to clients in Egypt and the region including professional staffing, top-level consulting and talent booking & tour management. - In 2018, I relocated to the UAE and joined Dubai-based Event Lab to lead the newly born Entertainment & Culture department. - I am also a singer/songwriter, front man of Egypt’s 15-year old local indie-pop band “Salalem” since 2005 and a professional VO Talent.

Mohammad Abdel Monem Elsawy

Founder of El Sawy Culturewheel

Egypt

Being the founder of Elsawy Culturewheel in February 2003 has become the most remarkable milestone of his life. Sakiat Abdelmonem Elsawy is named after Mohammad’s father as a recognition to his widely appreciated role in serving and promoting Arts and Culture. Since then it has been operating as Cairo’s cultural hub, serving as an open platform where visitors can be exposed to different streams of thoughts, express themselves, and debate issues of interest. Mohammad’s model for social change is built on a series of experiences and opportunities centered on enlightenment and self-expression. Those tools range from cultural, artistic, and sports activities to debates and knowledge-sharing events. The center is unique because it provides equal access to all Egyptians and Foreigners whether as audience or as speakers and performers. Today, El Sakia is more than a “Cultural center” it is a home for new artists to perform and spread their messages. The Sakia’s goals and functions transcend the art and cultural performances, acting as a center of excellence to illuminate the cultural scene. Mohammad Elsawy is providing space and an enabling environment for visitors to enjoy the arts and to make more informed choices which will lead to systemic and positive cultural and social change. In the year 2020 M.Elsawy celebrated 50 years of puppeteering as an amateur and a professional. In his favorite world of marionettes, Elsawy experienced every single artistic field.(writing, directing, creating puppets, designing backdrobs, etc .) Ashoka fellow in April 2009 as a social entrepreneur. Awarded by the German President The (Deutsches Verdienstkreuz). Awarded by the arab thought Foundation 2009. Elsawy became the Minister of Culture, than an elected member of the first parliament after the 25th of January revolution.

Chaymaa Ramzy

Art Manager

Egypt

Executive Director of SHELTER Art Space. An Art Manager from Alexandria- Egypt, with 15 years of experience in designing and managing cultural programs in Egypt and the Euro-Mediterranean region. Chaymaa has a BA in Business Administration from the Alexandria University and she is an International Fellow of Arts Management at the Devos Institute, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (Washington DC) and graduate from the Business School of Arts of the University of Maryland, USA. Years of practices include programming and production of art projects, teaching young cultural actors, designing of trainings for creative actors, grants making, monitoring and evaluation and communication of impact. Previous professional career involved her position as Art Manager at the Anna Lindh Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue and previously with the Art Center of the Library of Alexandria. Chaymaa co-founded various programs in Alexandria and the Mediterranean such as the Intercultural Festival Farah El Bahr, Translation for Dialogue and “Dawrak” Capacity Building Program. She is currently a Co-Founder and Board Member of Fanak Fund: A mobility fund for young actors based in Paris, France.

Rasheed Alhasan

Musician

Jordan

Rasheed Alhasan, born in 1992, I have Bachelor's Degree in Musical Performance (Nai/Flute) , Faculty of Arts and Design, University Of Jordan. I worked in Beit al Nai on 2016, also a member of “Oaider Music Band”. Playing with different instruments and styles within the band in self-composed pieces and songs. Composing Nai and Flute parts of the pieces. I have also worked as a Music course at Mhanna Al Durra institute / Ministry of Culture , I gave Music courses with Mr.hasan al Faqeer ,Mr.Abd AlRazzaq al Toubasi, Mr.Laith Suleiman, Mr.Hasan Menawi and Dr.Subhi Al Sharqawi, also gave Training course at Cyprus, Athens in different cultures Music , (Ethno Cyprus 2016 ). I Played with (Amman Orchestra) in Amman - Jerash festival / 2019. Released a song (Obaider - Confession)/2019. I Participat Ed at the Euro-Arab Youth Music Encounters: Germany – Cyprus – Jordan 2020” project. Served a brief time as a music lecturer at LUND university in Sweden and did Multiple flamenco - themed concerts with Obaider band and the Spanish orchestra in Stockholm - Sweden. Right now I am the founder of Legato Institute for music and art and i also teach music there.

Basma Hamed

Producer, PR, Communications and Art Manager

Egypt

Basma Hamed is a cultural manager, consultant and artist based in Cairo. Specialized in public relations and communication for arts and culture, Hamed has built her career in various cultural institutions locally and internationally since 2013 after a move from television producing which she had practiced since 2006. She has been the Public Relations Manager and Producer at Orient for Film and Theater Productions, whose portfolio includes Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), Temple Theatre Company, and Studio Emad Eddin since 2013. She has also managed communications for the Jameel House in Cairo since 2016, Atelier Cairo Art Jameel, and the Hakawy International Festival for Children since 2018. In 2014 and 2015, Hamed was the press officer for Zawya Art House Cinema’s 7th and 8th editions of the Panorama of the European Film. And more recently as communications consultant for AFCA Art Center and Racotis Art Gallery and PR and digital marketing trainer for Artists and culture manager orgnized by Geothe institute in Cairo. Keen on expanding her expertise beyond Cairo, in 2017, Hamed managed PR for the Arab Arts Focus showcase in Edinburgh, Scotland, and again in its 2018 edition in Avignon, France. Having been formally trained in singing at the Cairo Opera House at 12 years old, her artistic experimentation came to form when she co-founded a band named In Progress which fuses contemporary electronic music with Egyptian folk. With the band, she performed its debut cine-concert at the D3 Festival in Dubai: an experimental screening of the iconic German silent film, ‘Metropolis’ with a live musical performance.

Reem Kassem

Cultural Producer, Fellowship Director, Co-Founder of Basita.live, Founder of AGORA

Egypt

An Egyptian Cultural Manager and Researcher based in Abu Dhabi. She works as a senior performing arts programmer at the Cultural Foundation. She has 19 years of work experience in the Cultural Sector. Her work experience includes “Head of Performing Arts” at the Library of Alexandria (Egypt), and Founding Director of AGORA for Arts and Culture. She is an international fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, a global fellow of the International Society for Performing Arts, a Chevening Scholar, a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow, a Tandem Shaml and a Robert Bosch Stiftung Alumni. She currently conducting my PhD. Research at the University of West Scotland, where she is researching the role of virtual and hybrid arts and cultural engagement in developing resilience and helping societies emerge stronger from crisis.

Eddie Stone

Marketing and Digital Media Expert, Co-Founder of Basita.live

Jordan / US

With 11 years of experience in high level social media management, digital marketing and communications, his experience spans a varied spectrum of fields that include telecommunications, cultural organizations, arts and music festivals, and community engagement initiatives. For the past six years he has been promoting sold out cultural events and performances in UAE for the Abu Dhabi Festival. Events included “The Paris Opera Ballet Jewels by George Balanchine”, “Tosca – A Concert Production”, “Korean Symphony Orchestra”, “Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Rome”, “Queen of Fado Mariza “, and “The Silk Road Ensemble With Yo-yo Ma”, among other world-class performances. Recently, he co-founded Basita Company, and Basita.live.

Adnan Joubi

Information Technology Expert, Co-Founder of Basita.live

Syria

Media streaming expert with 12 years of experience in Information Technology and Programming. During the past 9 years, he has been working as Head of IT at Delmon Group. His skills include Php development, Mysql database development, Linux, windows servers administration, App development xcode, android studio, Java programming, network designing and administration. He is also the co-founder of Basita.com; an online e-commerce platform, and Basita.live; a virtual income generation platform for the Cultural Sector.

Saeed Kabeel

Arts Manager, Theater Director, Acting Trainer, Stage Manager

Egypt

Head of Programs at the Tahrir Cultural Center at the American University in Cairo, and Director of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater 2021. Previously, he worked as Head of the Programming Unit at the Arts Center at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He began working as a stage manager at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and then as the theater program coordinator. He participated in many jury committees, judging and evaluating projects in many local and international festivals and in cooperation with international institutions, such as the International Festival of Production, the Festival of Choreography in Greece, and a member of the project evaluation committee in the Cultural Resource Scholarship for Performing Arts for the year 2021, the general coordinator of the Alexandria International Festival for Contemporary Theater , organized by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2014 and 2015. He is also a former member of the Theater Committee of the Supreme Council of Culture. Saeed is an actor, director and acting coach, graduate of the theater department, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University in 1999. He began working as an actor in theater more than 30 years ago, he acted in more than 80 theater shows and participated in many local and international workshops in acting, he studied acting in front of The camera at the New York Acting School for Film and TV, and he directed a number of plays, including Wuza Albert, On the Lib, Auction, A Party for the Crazy, The Stage, Twelve Angry Men, Night Gone. In addition to acting in some independent films such as Islands, Local Copy, Away From Heat, Hawi, Lonely Fighter in the Space, Tartarus. He trained acting in many public, private and independent institutions, including Alexandria University in different faculties, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Creativity Center in the Cultural Development Fund, Al-Darb Al-Ahmar School, Studio 70, Studio Janaklis, the Women's Theater Workshop in cooperation with Tamarod Troupe, Pianola. He also trained in directing at the Future Stars Workshop, The Artistic House of Theatre, Ministry of Culture, and the Directors Qualification Program, General Authority for Cultural Palaces.

Mentors

Amani Semaan

Lebanon

Director of a Cultural Organisation & Consultant for Art & Culture Projects

Aya Nabulsi

Jordan

Cultural Practitioner, Producer, Arts Manager

Basma Hamed

Egypt

Producer, PR, Communications and Art Manager

Chaymaa Ramzy

Egypt