Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Sara Ahmed MANAGING EDITOR, EGYPTIAN STREETS (EGYPT) Cairo-based and with nine years of experience in journalism, Sara is deputy editor-in-chief and managing editor of Egyptian Streets. She holds two Bachelors (Egyptology and Journalism) from the American in Cairo (2011). Her interests include history, comparative archaeology, gender, religion, minority rights, science fiction, and the environment. Egypt Must Include Refugees in its Covid-19 Response (Elena Habersky, 1 May 2020) #WeCompleteEachOther: New Campaign Promoting Social Cohesion Between Egyptians and Migrants (21 July 2019) EU Looks to Egypt for Help With Mediterranean Migration (Mirna Abdulaal, 21 September 2018)

Daham Alasaad FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND FILMMAKER (DENMARK/SYRIA) Daham Alasaad is a freelance journalist and filmmaker who was born in Syria and is now based in Copenhagen, Paris and Middle East. He is a regular contributor in investigations to Der Spiegel Magazine, L'Express, Le Point, Dagbladet Information in Denmark, Danish Tv, France 24, and M6 TV in France. Daham was nominated for several different Journalist World Awards and his latest films ‘The People Of No Man’s Land’ (2019) and One Way Ticket (2020) screened in film festivals, while also both documentaries received the Migration Media Award 2019. Vimeo personal account Articles for The National Articles for Der Spiegel Articles for Daraj

Anna Alboth MEDIA PROGRAMMES COORDINATOR, MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP (UK) Anna Alboth is a journalist and activist, media officer of Minority Rights Group. For the last years, she has been running the “Media, Minorities and Migration” program that took 100+ European journalists to most of the migration hotspots: Greek/Turkish, Bosnian/Croatian, Polish/ Belarusian, Moroccan/Spanish borders, Canary Islands, Ghana and Senegal. She supported the production of 500+ media pieces, 2 documentary films and 6 roundtables for editors, publishers and academia about covering migration. She also initiated dozens of migration campaigns, including Civil March For Aleppo, that was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. “Media, Minorities and Migration” program Covering Migration Toolkit Photo gallery from some of the fieldtrips Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Bilal Almobarak MEMBER, SUPPORT GROUP NETWORK (SWEDEN/SYRIA) Bilal Almobarak is a pharmacist with a Master in Biomedicine. Originally from Syria, he came to Sweden in 2015. Helping others and especially newcomers has always been a core value that Bilal wanted to contribute with since he came to Sweden. This is exactly what he likes mostly about Support Group Network and similar initiatives. In Sweden, Bilal worked as an associated researcher at Sahlgrenska Cancer Center and now works as CEO to Support Group Network. Support Group Network Facebook page

Noora Kotilainen POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER, NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY (FINLAND) Noora Kotilainen (Dr.Soc Sci) is social scientist and historian interested in visual communication, media studies, international relations, politics of compassion and solidarity. Her work focuses on (media) representations of violence, crisis, war, global mobility as well as terrorism. She works as a post-doctoral researcher at the National Defence University Finland in an Academy of Finland project, and as a visiting fellow at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, Political History. (Not) Looking Like a Refugee: Visual Memories of Refugeeness and the Figure of ‘The iPhone Man’

Ahmed El Jechtimi JOURNALIST, THOMSON REUTERS () Ahmed El Jechtimi is a Moroccan journalist covering macroeconomics, politics and major social issues. He previously worked as a policy analyst at a think in Abu Dhabi. He is a holder of three Master degrees, in translation, EU studies and strategic studies from the of Abdelmalek Essaadi in Tangier, College of Europe in Warsaw and the University of Exeter respectively. Morocco's vaccination drive bypasses undocumented migrants, Thomson Reuters, 16 March 2021 Morocco rebuffs EU request to re-admit third-country migrants, Thomson Reuters, 15 December 2020 African migrants in Morocco wait for aid as coronavirus bites, Thomson Reuters, 3 April 2020 Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Yamina El Kirat El Allame PROFESSOR, (MOROCCO) Yamina El Kirat El Allame got her Ph.D. in minority identities, languages and cultures. She was a member of the UNESCO Ad Hoc Committee of Experts for Endangered Languages. She is an international adviser and consultant in the field of higher education. She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Greenville Tech in 2010 with the program entitled "Direct Access to the Muslim World" where she helped in developing a program entitled “Middle Eastern Studies” at Greenville Tech College, South Carolina. She is the coordinator of the AMAS Erasmus Inter Africa Mobility Project in Morocco, a member of the Erasmus Capacity Building Project “Edu-BioMed” on biosphere reserves and a member of the Global Youth Academy Project and a research partner of the GLoSYS Project. El Kirat is also the coordinator of the research laboratory “Culture, language, Education, Migration and Society” and the doctoral program “Studies in Language & Society” at Mohammed V University in Morocco. Professor El Kirat is a member of the Standing Committee of the World Congress of African Linguistics (WOCAL) and the President of the organizing Committee of WOCAL 9, which took place in Rabat-Morocco in August 2018. She has taught and carried out research in cultural linguistics/anthropology, sociolinguistics, language endangerment, language and culture, cultural representations and attitudes, political discourse analysis, minority cultures, migration issues, languages and identities, gender issues, and language policy, for more than 25 years. Her interest in all these issues stems from her personal experience and interest in the linguistic, cultural, social, educational and political issues in North Africa in general and the Moroccan context in particular. Publications: El Kirat El Allame, Yamina et al. Racism and the Representations of Sub-Saharan Migrants in Morocco. In Migration, Human Rights, and the Politics of Identity in a Globalized World. In Belghazi Taieb & Said Graiouid 2013. Publications of The Faculty of Letters and Human Ahmed El Jechtimi is a Moroccan journalist covering Sciences. Mohammed V University-Agdal. macroeconomics, politics and major social issues. El Kirat El Allame Yamina & Samir Nazih. Gender and Migratory He previously worked as a policy analyst at a think in Abu Dhabi. Experiences: The Case of Sub-Saharan Migrants in Morocco He is a holder of three Master degrees, in translation, EU studies and (Under review). strategic studies from the universities of Abdelmalek Essaadi in Younes El Yousfi & El Kirat El Allame Yamina. The Representation of Tangier, College of Europe in Warsaw and the University of Exeter Sub-Sahran Migrants in Moroccan Print Media: The Case of respectively. Newspaper (Under review). Supervising two doctoral dissertations on the issue of migration: 1. The Representation of Sub-Saharan Migrants in the Moroccan Online Press 2. Sub-Saharan Migrants’ Presence in Morocco: Mutual Perceptions & Attitudes Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Erik Halkjaer EDITOR IN CHIEF AT OMVÄRLDEN AND PRESIDENT OF THE SWEDISH BRANCH OF REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (SWEDEN) Erik Halkjaer is editor-in-chief of the magazine OmVärlden and president of Reporters Without Borders Sweden (RSF Sweden). He has an extensive and long experience of reporting as freelance journalist on global development issues and human rights. He has a specific focus on Latin America. As editor-in-chief of OmVärlden he often publishes articles and stories on migration from the MENA-region and Africa to Europe. Omvärlden website EU spikar sjuårig biståndsbudget, Omvärlden, 24 March 2021 (in Swedish) Ett turistparadis i migrationskris, Omvärlden, 2 February 2021 (in Swedish) Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, Omvärlden, 28 April 2020 (in Swedish) Sudan: “Jag kan skära av flödet av människor här”, Omvärlden, December 2019 (in Swedish) Drömmar om ett bättre liv driver migration: "I slutändan vill vi ha samma saker i livet", Omvärlden, 30 October 2019 (in Swedish) Därför ökar migrationen från Afrika, Omvärlden, 22 March 2018 (in Swedish)

Eleonora Insalaco HEAD OF OPERATIONS AND INTERCULTURAL RESEARCH, ANNA LINDH FOUNDATION Eleonora Insalaco is the Head of Operations and Intercultural Research at the Anna Lindh Foundation. She is also the editor of three consecutive editions of the Anna Lindh Report on Intercultural Trends in the EuroMed region (2010, 2014, 2017 editions) and of the Anna Lindh Handbook on Intercultural Citizenship Education in the EuroMed region. She is a graduate of the College of Europe, with academic expertise in Islamic studies and Euro-Med relations in the field of education, research, youth, civil society, cultural and media.

Anna Lindh Foundation website Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Samira Mechri PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TUNIS EL MANAR (TUNISIA) Samira Mechri holds an MA in Cultural Studies, University of Warwick (England), a diploma in Migration Studies, University of Hannover (Germany) and a PhD in Cultural Studies on a joint programme between the University of Warwick and the Faculty of Arts, La Manouba (Tunisia). She is a senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the Higher Institute of Human Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar. She teaches courses in media studies, post-colonial studies, regional studies and international relations. She has taught Migration studies at the University of Tunis El Manar, the (Italy) and the University of Passau (Germany). She participated in “Meditherity: Mobility and Heritage in the Mediterranean” Summer School held on 14th-22nd September 2019 at the by giving a course titled “Mobility and Enclosure in the Mediterranean: Travellers, Tourists and Migrants in the Intersection of the Italian-Tunisian Roots.” She has published articles on mobility and travel, colonial literature, travel writing, translation, and academic encounters. In 2017, she co-edited, with Asma Hichri, Transnational Landscapes and Postmodern Poetics: Mapping Culture, Literature, and Politics. Her forthcoming co-edited book is titled Culture at Crossroads: From Epistemological Meanderings to Interdisciplinary Praxis (2021). Samira Mechri is currently Director of Studies and Internships at the Higher Institute of Human Sciences, University of Tunis El Manar. She is also the UTM Scientific Coordinator of MIGRANTS Project, the Coordinator of the MA in English and International Relations and the Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator.

Denise Mellion COORDINATOR, RIVER OF LIGHT (SWEDEN) River of Light (ROL) is an independent, non-political and non-religiously affiliated NGO and its mission is to provide opportunities for innovative social engagement. The vision is for an inclusive society where there is respect for difference and everyone lives equally and free from discrimination. The project was created in the belief that creativity and working with artists can accelerate the process of integration especially amongst unaccompanied minors and their Swedish peers. ROL Facebook page Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Ayman Mhanna EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SAMIR KASSIR FOUNDATION (LEBANON) Ayman Mhanna is the Executive Director of the Samir Kassir Foundation, one of the largest freedom of expression and media development organization in the MENA region, monitoring violations targeting media professionals. He is the former Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Development. Ayman is a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Natolin-Warsaw, leading a course on new challenges for press freedom. He previously taught public policy development and communication at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut. Samir Kassir Foundation 2020 Annual Report: A Bleak 2020 Vision Supporting Cultural Spaces in Lebanon (Areej Abou Harb, February 2021) Craft for Impact (Nicole Hamouche, December 2020) Digital Rights Awareness in Lebanon (October 2020) Independent Media in Lebanon: Content Analysis and Public Appeal (2020) Media Coverage of Religious Freedom and Diversity in Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan (Widad Jarbouh, Ayman Mhanna and Jad Safwan, October 2020) Media and Protest Movements (Shane Farrell, 31 January 2020) Reception and Perception of Radical Messages (5 February 2018) Journalism in crisis: A Content Analysis of the Emerging Media Sector in Syria (Jaber Bakr, Abdullah Al-Hallak, Ayman Mhanna, Final Report 2018) La perception de la couverture médiatique de la diversité par les citoyens libanais et irakiens (October 2017) La couverture médiatique de la diversité dans les médias libanais, syriens et irakiens (October 2017)

Marco Oriunto JOURNALIST, BBC WORLD SERVICE Marco Oriunto has been working as a journalist for the BBC World Service radio programme Focus on Africa, focusing in particular on issues related to Central Mediterranean migration and across the Sahel region and developing a network of contacts, especially across the Sahel and North Africa region, with the aim of reflecting on the programme the full complexity of the migration phenomenon. Within the World Service team, Marco produces the Africa Today podcast, which looks at news and current affairs from Africa, of which issues of migration are a regular feat. Africa Today Focus on Africa Cross-cultural reporting and EuroMed mobility The Intercultural Trends and Media Platform

Mayssa Rekhis CO-FOUNDER AND SECRETARY GENERAL, THE YOUNG REPUBLIC Ayman Mhanna is the Executive Director of the Samir Kassir (SWEDEN) Foundation, one of the largest freedom of expression and media Mayssa Rekhis is a researcher, activist, writer and educator, with development organization in the MENA region, monitoring more than 10 years of professional and volunteering experience in violations targeting media professionals. the fields of health, human rights and migration in North Africa, the He is the former Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Middle East, and Europe. Development. Academically, after graduating as a Medical Doctor in 2015, she is Ayman is a visiting professor at the College of Europe in pursuing a PhD in Anthropology in the EHESS in Paris. Natolin-Warsaw, leading a course on new challenges for press She is the co-founder of several initiatives such as Inno-Peace and freedom. He previously taught public policy development and The Young Republic. communication at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut. Twitter LinkedIn

Marcello Scalisi DIRECTOR, UNIMED-MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITIES UNION Marcello Scalisi is the Director of UNIMED – Mediterranean Universities Union – since 2008. He holds a degree in Historical Sciences and in International Cooperation at the Faculty of Literature, Philosophy and Languages of University of Roma Tre, Rome. He gained extensive experience in Sicily in the sustainable tourism sector, managing and monitoring EU projects for local tourism development. He started working at UNIMED in 1998 as project manager and moved gradually to the coordination of UNIMED’s European, International and National funded initiatives and projects. Since Marcello Scalisi became director of UNIMED, there has been a significant increase of the number of associated universities to the network, funded projects and employees and collaborators. Moreover, UNIMED is nowadays a permanent stakeholder of the European Commission. UNIMED website