Portrait Videos

Lanah Haddad is an archaeologist from Erbil, Iraq. In 2019 she participated in the project “Spotlight Iraq” that was initiated by the Goethe-Institut Erbil. Coming from archaeology, she wished to bring her country’s heritage closer to the younger generation – through an innovative approach: Lanah Haddad designed board games that allow players to venture into a specific period of Mesopotamia’s rich history. She wished to build a bridge between young people in Iraq and Kurdistan and their heritage – but in an easily accessible and entertaining way.
 

Sawssen Rahmouni is a scientist working for civil society associations in Tunisia. One of her projects was supported and funded by the Goethe- Insitut as part of the “Houmtek” project that seeks to support local activists in the implementation of restoration projects to make public places in their neighbourhoods more sustainable and liveable. Together with her colleagues and a group of young people, Sawssen Rahmouni rehabilitated a small Garden in her town. Her motivation is to show young people through civic education that they can use their talents to actively change and shape their communities.

Faraj Alsilieni is the director of Tanarout, a cultural organisation based in Bengasi, Libya. Through Tanarout he wishes to make art performances available to everyone in Libya and to enable young people to see the world so that they can reflect social issues in their own country. He is an alumni of the Cultural Academy Libya 2017, a project initiated by the Goethe- Insitut, seeking to build and strengthen the Libyan cultural scene by qualifying and networking cultural managers.

Mohamed Ghanem is a youth activist from Cairo, Egypt. He took part in a number of projects of the Ta’ziz-Partnership managed by the Goethe-Institut, starting in 2016 as a participant in the project “Civic Education”. After that, he launched his own initiative “Agent of SDGs” that equips young people with skills and knowledge to start their own projects. Within the framework of the Alumni programme, he continued working as a trainer for Civic Education in 2019.  As a trainer, he joined the Training of Trainers program (ToT) in 2020. Mohamed Ghanem wants to show young people the importance of engaging in society, equality, environment, and of leaving no one behind.
 

Haytham Shoukry does not only work at the Goethe-Institut in Cairo, but in his free time he travelled as a storyteller around Egypt, carrying a bag full of books. This dream, as he describes that experience, became his job, when in 2013 the Goethe-Institut initiated the project “Library Bus”.
With that bus, packed to the top with books and games, Haytham Shoukry and his colleagues travelled to villages and neighbourhoods far from the urban centres, showing children that books aren’t only for school and exams, but that reading is fun and brings joy.

As a cultural coordinator at the Goethe-Institut Cairo, Mai Abbasi is responsible for the coordination of the Alumni-programme as part of the Ta’ziz-Partnership. She organizes events, workshops, and panels for Alumni that help them develop skills needed for their own projects or careers. Mai Abbassi wishes to create a vivid Alumni community and to sustain their relations to the Goethe-Institut.

Ameer Masoud is an Amman based artist and architect. He presented his artwork “The Offical Bureau of Disempowerment” at the Berlin Art Week 2017 and was funded by the Moving MENA mobility fund from the Goethe-Institut in Cairo. Through his interactive art installation, he sought to show the audience the power of bureaucracy, how it can complicate life unnecessarily and segregates people based on their identity.

 

Isra Saleh is a reporter from Jordan. She participated in the project “Scientific Storytelling” as part of the Ta’ziz-Partnership that promotes science journalism and qualifies journalists to work in this field. Through the project Isra Saleh saw journalism from a different angle and realized the importance of the link between science and daily life and journalisms role between them.

Anace Heddan is a political activist from Morocco and has participated in the Cultural Innovators Network (CIN) since 2012. CIN attempts to network young activists, artists, and cultural managers from the Mediterranean region. In the interview Anace Heddan describes how CIN worked as a motivation boost his motivation to build up an NGO in Morocco: not only did the network provide him with the skills needed for political activism but especially its participants inspired him to take action in his community.

Hadeel Osman is a creative director, sustainable fashion researcher, and communications professional from Sudan. Through her work with the cultural trailer “Jeenak” as part of the Ta’ziz-Partnership project “Transforming Sudan” she wished to bring arts and culture to everyone in Sudan, take theatre, music, and film to the streets, decentralize culture and promote it outside the capital Khartoum, and discover the country’s cultural diversity. Jeenak, as she puts it, brings people together and shows that both, the spectator and the creator have a role to play.