Mentors & Guest Speakers
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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...
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, Goethe Institute, and other independent ones.
Aziz Maraka
Song Writer, Singer and Producer
Egypt
Aziz Maraka is a well-established Jordanian songwriter, singer, and producer. He is considered an inspiration to Jordanians of his age and younger, sending a clear message that Jordanian 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 United States and the King Abdullah Foundation for Development. This scholarship allowed him to pursue a leadership program and complete his bachelor’s degree in music composition from the University of 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 program 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 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, Netherlands. Mohamed is a fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts - ISPA. A Chevening Scholar, he studied cultural leadership with the Clore Leadership Programme in the UK from 2013-2014 and 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 holds an alumnus status from the Emerging Leaders Institute – APAP|NYC and serves as a board member of International Performing Arts for Youth – IPAY in the USA.
Born in Egypt, Mohamed’s background is as a theater director focused on theater for children and young people. His mission is to ensure that art for younger audiences is of equal quality to that for adults. Mohamed produces shows with professional artists for children and young people, touring locally, nationally, and internationally.
He has extensive experience in teaching theater, having worked with schools and institutions to design arts education programs, long-term strategies, and evaluation systems. He has participated in many international festivals and conferences and has delivered training in theater, arts education, and arts management as a consultant.
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 the Theater department at Helwan University in Cairo in 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 worldwide 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 globally since 2014 in many theaters and international festivals in France, Belgium, USA, Italy, Russia, Berlin, Singapore, and Hong Kong, including venues such as Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne, Singapore International Festival of Art, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Kennedy Centre, Teatro Arena del Sole, Les Rencontres à l'Échelle, among others.
Additionally, she works as a stage, production manager, and technical director with various venues and projects. As a trainer for production and stage management, she has conducted numerous workshops in Egypt over the past five years and supervised the "Back Stage Program" training organized by Studio Emad Eddin and Tawasol Egypt.
Rasha Salah
Cultural Programmer, Art Manager, Entrepreneur, and Independent Consultant
Lebanon/Portugal
A graduate in 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 served as 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 strategic vision. She curated exhibitions and programs for the foundation, advancing independent Arab film and facilitating live encounters with filmmakers.
Rasha also curates art festivals, such as "Iraqisms" in 2019, a festival dedicated to promoting the Iraqi art scene, and the Redzone Festival 20/21 "Inner Spaces," featuring over 30 artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf region. From 2010 to 2015, she was the Grants Manager at the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), playing a key role in expanding the fund's regional outreach at a grassroots level.
With extensive experience in social, artistic, and cultural management, she has worked with various international organizations. Since 2020, she has served as a facilitator and mentor for AFAC's ACE program.
Mehdi Azdem
Researcher, Cultural Operator, and Independent Consultant
Morocco
Mehdi Azdem graduated with a Bachelor in "Economics and Management" in 2011 and a Master in "Cultural and Artistic Engineering" in 2013. In 2021, he obtained his PhD at Hassan II University of Casablanca in "Cultural Communication" within the performing arts field. His research focuses on cultural policies, cultural practices, and mediation.
He began 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," a multidisciplinary urban arts space, as an assistant in coordination and programming. In 2014, he joined "Racines, association for culture and development" as a project manager, and in 2017, he was promoted to general manager, advocating for cultural policies and human, social, and economic development through artistic expressions.
From 2017 to 2019, he led the cultural incubator "Racines Carrées," coaching and mentoring approximately twenty project leaders per year across artistic disciplines in Morocco. Between 2019 and 2020, he served as director of "Les étoiles de Sidi Moumen," a cultural center in a peripheral neighborhood in Casablanca.
Today, he is 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 Manager at Seenaryo Amman – Jordan and the Executive Director of Al Balad Music Festival. She is also the producer of the award-winning short film “Nobody Wants The Night,” part of “The Film Prize 2021 by Robert Bosch,” written and directed by Remi Itani. She previously served as the Executive Director of Al Balad Theatre, where she currently consults.
With over 14 years of experience in the arts and culture scene, Aya has worked extensively in theatre, film, and music festivals across Beirut and Amman. She holds a BA from LAU Beirut in Communication Arts – Theatre/TV, Radio, Film. Aya also serves as an artistic manager consultant for local and regional bands, bringing her expertise as a cultural practitioner and festival manager across 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, Beirut and Beyond encourages networking and collaboration, creating opportunities and developing the local infrastructure of the independent music scene.
In 2019, she began consulting on various arts & culture projects, including AYAMI, an initiative under the UNDP Arab States that promotes the SDGs through art and music, and Alhan Libya, a project supporting 24 emerging musicians through a mentorship program. Throughout her career, Amani has worked on producing concerts, dance performances, and film festivals and has managed independent musicians and bands from the Arab World.
Alongside her cultural work, she has built a career in media productions, holding positions such as content developer, researcher, line producer, and head of research for entertainment shows targeting the Arab World. Recently, she was the casting director for MBC’s The Voice Senior. Currently based in Paris, she is pursuing a master’s degree in Management of Cultural Organizations at Paris Dauphine University.
Jimi Elgohary
Singer, Songwriter, Event & Entertainment Producer, Entrepreneur & Music Executive
Egypt
With over 16 years of experience in event management, operations, and production, Jimi has specific expertise in entertainment management and event operations in Egypt and the region. An experienced musician and stage performer, he has developed a passion for creating impactful experiences from scratch, building a career in the event management field since 2005.
Jimi began his career managing special events and entertainment for national and international student conferences in Egypt. In 2009, he was appointed Head of Stage Management at the Cairo International Jazz Festival, a role he held for five years. Alongside this, he worked in freelance roles for corporate and non-corporate music and art events, handling logistics, F&B, entertainment booking and management, technical production, branding, and activations.
In 2015, Jimi co-founded Jimirazz, a Cairo-based event and entertainment resourcing company that provides niche services, including professional staffing, consulting, and talent booking and tour management. In 2018, he relocated to the UAE, where he joined Dubai-based Event Lab to lead the newly established Entertainment & Culture department.
Jimi is also a singer/songwriter and frontman of Egypt’s 15-year-old indie-pop band “Salalem” since 2005, as well as a professional voice-over talent.
Mohammad Abdel Monem Elsawy
Founder of El Sawy Culturewheel
Egypt
Mohammad Abdel Monem Elsawy founded Elsawy Culturewheel in February 2003, marking a significant milestone in his life. The venue, Sakiat Abdelmonem Elsawy, is named after Mohammad’s father to honor his contribution to promoting arts and culture. It operates as Cairo’s cultural hub, providing a platform where visitors can explore diverse ideas, express themselves, and engage in open discussions.
Mohammad’s model for social change centers on enlightenment and self-expression, supported through a variety of cultural, artistic, and sports activities, as well as debates and knowledge-sharing events. Unique in its mission, the center ensures equal access to all, including Egyptians and foreigners, whether as audience members or as speakers and performers.
More than just a cultural center, El Sakia has become a home for new artists to showcase their messages. It serves as a center of excellence, actively contributing to the illumination of the cultural scene, and fostering positive cultural and social change. Mohammad Elsawy provides an enabling environment where visitors can enjoy the arts and make informed choices, driving systemic transformation.
In 2020, Mohammad celebrated 50 years in puppeteering, both as an amateur and professional, with experience in every facet of the art form: writing, directing, puppet creation, and set design. He was recognized as an Ashoka Fellow in April 2009 for his work as a social entrepreneur and has been awarded the Deutsches Verdienstkreuz by the German President, as well as an award from the Arab Thought Foundation in 2009.
Following the 25th of January revolution, Elsawy briefly served as Egypt’s Minister of Culture and later became an elected member of the first post-revolution parliament.
Chaymaa Ramzy
Art Manager
Egypt
Chaymaa Ramzy is the Executive Director of SHELTER Art Space and an Art Manager from Alexandria, Egypt, with 15 years of experience in designing and managing cultural programs in Egypt and the Euro-Mediterranean region. She holds a BA in Business Administration from Alexandria University and is an International Fellow of Arts Management at the DeVos Institute, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (Washington, DC), and a graduate from the Business School of Arts at the University of Maryland, USA.
Chaymaa’s extensive experience includes programming and producing art projects, teaching young cultural actors, designing training programs for creative professionals, grants management, monitoring and evaluation, and impact communication. Her previous roles include serving as Art Manager at the Anna Lindh Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue and working with the Art Center at the Library of Alexandria.
She has co-founded various cultural initiatives across Alexandria and the Mediterranean, including the Intercultural Festival Farah El Bahr, Translation for Dialogue, and the "Dawrak" Capacity Building Program. Currently, she is also a Co-Founder and Board Member of Fanak Fund, a mobility fund for young artists based in Paris, France.
Rasheed Alhasan
Musician
Jordan
Rasheed Alhasan, born in 1992, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Musical Performance (Nai/Flute) from the Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Jordan. He worked at Beit al Nai in 2016 and is a member of “Oaider Music Band,” where he performs with various instruments and composes Nai and flute parts for the band’s pieces and songs.
Rasheed has also taught music at the Mhanna Al Durra Institute under the Ministry of Culture, providing courses alongside prominent musicians such as Mr. Hasan al Faqeer, Mr. Abd AlRazzaq al Toubasi, Mr. Laith Suleiman, Mr. Hasan Menawi, and Dr. Subhi Al Sharqawi. He has participated in music workshops internationally, including Ethno Cyprus 2016 in Cyprus and Athens.
In 2019, he performed with the Amman Orchestra at the Jerash Festival and released the song "Obaider - Confession." In 2020, he took part in the Euro-Arab Youth Music Encounters in Germany, Cyprus, and Jordan. Rasheed also served briefly as a music lecturer at Lund University in Sweden and performed in flamenco-themed concerts with the Obaider band and the Spanish orchestra in Stockholm.
Currently, Rasheed is the founder of the Legato Institute for Music and Art, where he also teaches music.
Basma Hamed
Producer, PR, Communications and Art Manager
Egypt
Basma Hamed is a cultural manager, consultant, and artist based in Cairo. Specializing in public relations and communication for arts and culture, she transitioned from television production, a field she had worked in since 2006, to cultural institutions in 2013. Hamed has held the role of Public Relations Manager and Producer at Orient for Film and Theater Productions, where her portfolio includes the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), Temple Theatre Company, and Studio Emad Eddin.
Since 2016, she has managed communications for the Jameel House in Cairo, Atelier Cairo Art Jameel, and the Hakawy International Festival for Children. Additionally, she served as press officer for the 7th and 8th editions of Zawya Art House Cinema’s Panorama of the European Film in 2014 and 2015. More recently, she has consulted on communications for AFCA Art Center and Racotis Art Gallery and served as a PR and digital marketing trainer for artists and cultural managers with the Goethe Institute in Cairo.
In 2017, Hamed expanded her expertise internationally, managing PR for the Arab Arts Focus showcase in Edinburgh, Scotland, and again in its 2018 edition in Avignon, France. Trained in singing at the Cairo Opera House from the age of 12, she later co-founded the band In Progress, which fuses contemporary electronic music with Egyptian folk. With the band, she performed a debut cine-concert at the D3 Festival in Dubai, an experimental screening of the iconic German silent film ‘Metropolis’ accompanied by a live musical performance.
Reem Kassem
Cultural Producer, Fellowship Director, Co-Founder of Basita.live, Founder of AGORA
Egypt
Reem Kassem is an Egyptian Cultural Manager and Researcher based in Abu Dhabi, working as a senior performing arts programmer at the Cultural Foundation. With 19 years of experience in the cultural sector, she has held roles such as "Head of Performing Arts" at the Library of Alexandria and Founding Director of AGORA for Arts and Culture.
She is a fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, an international fellow of the International Society for Performing Arts, a Chevening Scholar, and holds other prestigious fellowships. Currently, she is conducting her PhD research at the University of West Scotland, exploring virtual and hybrid arts engagement’s role in building resilience and helping societies overcome crises.
Eddie Stone
Marketing and Digital Media Expert, Co-Founder of Basita.live
Jordan / US
Eddie Stone is a digital marketing and social media expert with 11 years of experience across telecommunications, cultural organizations, arts festivals, and community engagement. For six years, he promoted sold-out cultural events for the Abu Dhabi Festival and recently co-founded Basita.live.
Adnan Joubi
Information Technology Expert, Co-Founder of Basita.live
Syria
Adnan Joubi is a media streaming and IT expert with 12 years of experience in programming, server administration, and network design. Currently Head of IT at Delmon Group, he co-founded Basita.live, a virtual income platform for the cultural sector.
Saeed Kabeel
Arts Manager, Theater Director, Acting Trainer, Stage Manager
Egypt
Saeed Kabeel is Head of Programs at the Tahrir Cultural Center and Director of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater 2021. With over 30 years in theater, Saeed has worked extensively as an actor, director, and acting coach, and has led and judged many international cultural events and workshops.
