Virtual leadership summit for connecting students with leading professionals shaping the Arab world's future & present.
Supported by the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Shaped by the Algorithm | August 14, 2024
3:30 PM - 7:30 PM Beirut Time (8:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST)
Location: Zoom (Sign up to receive the link)
Panels & Speakers:
The theme of this year’s Summit is "Shaped by the Algorithm". The Summit will feature four consecutive panel discussions on the future of Journalism, Pop Music, Startups & Economics, and Politics in the Arab World. Throughout the entire event, two Breakout Rooms will remain open: the “Networking Room” and the “Hallway Room”.
Networking Room: This is your space to chat with other Summit attendees outside the Main Session while the Panel is ongoing. An afikra representative will always be available to answer any questions about afikra and the academy.
Hallway Room: Join this room after a panel for post-discussions with fellow attendees. Panelists may also join to address any audience questions that couldn't be answered during the session due to time constraints.
3:30 - 4:00 PM Beirut Time (8:30 - 9:00 AM EST)
Welcome to the Summit | Hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Michael Muhanna is the Founder & Executive Director of afikra, a global organization that aims to promote intellectualism and the diversity and richness of the Arab world’s cultures and histories. Previously, he was a director at the Muhanna Foundation, as well as worked on Morgan Stanley’s alternative asset management team in New York City and was part of the actuarial consulting practices at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in New York and AonBenfield in Chicago. A former Teach For America corps member, Michael has remained heavily involved in education. He sits on the Board of Trustees for both the American Community School at Beirut and on the NYC education nonprofit, COOP*ERATE. Mikey graduated with a Bachelor’s in Economics from Duke University.
4:00 - 4:45 PM Beirut Time (9:00 - 9:45 AM EST)
Pop Music in the Arab World | Anthony Semaan & Danny Hajjar
Danny Hajjar is a music journalist based in Washington DC. His focus is centered on the emerging Arabic music scene and artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and diaspora communities. He’s written about Arab music and Artists for the Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The New York Times, GQ Middle East and Billboard Arabia. Occasionally, he curates a weekly newsletter and music blog Sa’alouni El Nas which highlights new music from the MENA regions and spotlights creatives and artists.
Anthony Semaan is the co-founder of Beirut Jam Sessions, an organization that has produced numerous concerts and sessions in Lebanon and the Middle East for artists such as Joss Stone, Ibrahim Maalouf, Papooz and many more. He is also the co-founder of nos // nos productions, an events management company in London that organizes and promotes concerts, comedy shows and parties for artists from the SWANA region in the UK. He has also worked with and collaborated with the Byblos International Festival, Deezer, Red Bull, Sofar Sounds and many more.
This session is moderated by afikra Global Connect Alumni Sophia Griffith and Yamam Saleh.
4:45 - 5:30 PM Beirut Time (9:45 - 10:30 AM EST)
Journalism in the Arab World | Micha Tobia & Nour Malas
Micha Tobia is the editorial manager at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (known as TIMEP), a policy center based in Washington DC, and the co-founder of Mashallah News, a collaborative online platform that covers the Arab world, Turkey and Iran. Her areas of interests are Middle Eastern politics, history, culture, and storytelling. In 2017, she was a fellow at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Nour Malas was a foreign correspondent, reporter and editor for The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. She spent the majority of her career covering the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal, and later helped lead the business & economics coverage team at the L.A. Times, based in California. In 2019, she was a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, and at the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma at Columbia University.
This session is moderated by afikra Global Connect Alumni Falasteen Mansour and Lama Diriyeh.
5:30 - 6:15 PM Beirut Time (10:30 - 11:15 AM EST)
Economics in the Arab World | Anwar Aridi & Sarah Al Saleh
Anwar Aridi is a Senior Private Sector Specialist at the Seoul Center for Finance and Innovation, World Bank. He specializes in science, technology, and innovation policy, technology entrepreneurship, and technology transfer. Anwar holds a Ph.D. from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration at the George Washington University (GWU) in Science and Technology Policy. His latest books are Innovative Korea: Leveraging Innovation and Technology for Development and Europe 4.0: Addressing the Digital Dilemma and Innovation Agencies: Cases from Developing Economies (World Bank).
Sarah Al Saleh is a General Partner and Investment Partner at Outliers Venture Capital, and a Fellow at Kauffman Fellows; a venture education program that identifies, educates, and networks future venture capitalists. She holds a Master of Arts (MA) in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.
This session is moderated by afikra Global Connect Alumni Dana AbdulMalak and Nazokat Makhmudova.
6:15 - 7:00 PM Beirut Time (11:15 AM - 12:00 PM EDT)
Politics in the Arab World | Hafsa Halawa & Laila Mokhiber
Hafsa Halwa is a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute working on regional issues related to conflict, peacebuilding, women’s rights, youth development and water security in the MENA region. A former corporate lawyer, Halawa has held positions in government, the UN, NGOs, corporate multinationals, private firms, and think tanks. She now consults independently for a similar broad set of clients on a variety of issues, at request.
Laila Mokhiber is currently the Director of Communications at UNRWA USA, (United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). Prior to that, she was Outreach & Communications Coordinator at the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC). She has a B.A in global affairs from George Mason University.
This session is moderated by afikra Global Connect Alumni Cherry Butler Bowdon and Aya Boudina.
