Wadah Khanfar is the President of Al Sharq Forum and was the Director General of the Al Jazeera Network 2003-2011. During his tenure Al Jazeera went from a single channel to a media network with multiple properties including the Al Jazeera Arabic channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera’s news websites.

He has addressed leading political and media think tanks including the Middle East Institute, Wilton Park, Chatham House, New America Foundation, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Yasin UĞRAŞ, acting as the Executive Director of Al Sharq Forum, studied at Galatasaray University Computer Engineering, graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration, Department of Management and Organization, and graduated from Ankara University Social Sciences Institute for his master study. He is continuing his doctoral studies at Istanbul Zaim University. After working in International Logistics for more than ten years and in Civil Society for fifteen years, he worked as the Secretary General of a University for four years. He speaks English, French, and German.

Dr Mohammad Affan is the director of Al Sharq Academia and a lecturer at the Political Science department at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. A medical doctor by training, he holds a PhD from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, in 2020. He obtained his MA degree in Comparative Politics from the American University in Cairo in 2015. In addition, he holds a post-graduate diploma in Civil Society and Human Rights from Cairo University, a diploma in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Cairo, and a diploma in Islamic Studies from The Higher Institute for Islamic Studies, Cairo. He is the author of “Secularism Confronts Islamism: Divergent Paths of Transitional Negotiations in Egypt and Tunisia.” Also, his master’s thesis was published in Arabic as a book titled “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: The Conflict on the Concept of the State and the Legitimacy of Power”. His research interests include Islamism and democratization in the MENA region.

Basheer Nafi is a Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research and Senior Research Fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. He writes weekly columns for Middle East eye.

Research Interests: Egypt, Iraq, Political Islam, and Middle Eastern Politics in General.

Nicola Enchmarch is the Managing Director of Al Sharq Forum in the United Kingdom. She has a wealth of commercial and Not for Profit experience acquired over 20+ years in business and management consultancy roles across multiple industry sectors within the UK, New Zealand, Europe and the MENA region. Nicola has experience working in multi-national and cross-functional environments from enterprise-wide to micro-level projects. Nicola holds a BRS in Environmental Studies and continues to maintain an active interest within this field.

Throughout her professional life, Mercedes has performed several roles, such as manager`s assistant, executive secretary, as well as project manager and worked with international companies, consulting firms and foundations in Spain, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom. With an excellent ability to assess any situation, Mercedes provides a personalized approach and a smooth and easy communication style, and has the ability to adapt to a wide variety of environments and cultures

Her current roles in Al Sharq Forum Geneva: Executive Secretary and Project Manager

Galip Dalay is a Senior associate fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research and Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.

Research Interests: Turkish Politics, Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Kurdish politics, Political Islam, and Radical Movements.

Jawad Abazeed is the Head of Information Management at Al Sharq Forum. He was the Community Coordinator for Al Sharq Youth Network from 2015 to 2016. He studied accounting at the University of Science and Technology in Yemen. Previously, he worked in accounting and operation management, and was an IT instructor.

Mehmet Emin Cengiz is a Research Fellow at the Istanbul-based international think tank Al Sharq Strategic Research, focusing on Syria, Turkey, and the wider Middle East. After receiving his B.A. from the Sociology Department at Ege University in 2016, Cengiz completed his master’s degree at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Middle East at Marmara University in 2020. During his B.A., he also participated in the Erasmus+ Program and studied at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf as an international exchange student in Germany.

Cengiz’s pieces regarding Turkish foreign policy, the Syrian war, and non-state armed actors have appeared in national and international media outlets and think tanks.

His research interests are the Syrian conflict, non-state armed actors, Turkish foreign policy, volunteer foreign fighters, and regional Kurdish politics.

PhD candidate and researcher specializing in Communication and Semiotics. Professionally, I am working as a communications officer focusing on powerful strategies, advanced technology, and sustainability.
My mission focuses on Empowering organizations to connect with their audience, shape their narratives, and achieve their goals through strategic communication.

The responsible and coordinator of the executive education in Academia program at Al-Sharq Academia. Banan holds BA in political science, she has a passionate about political and social work and strong commitment to community service and experience in research and administration.

Fatin hails from Malaysia and Hong Kong and grew up in Qatar. She holds a Bachelors and Masters in Islamic Finance and has experience in the Fintech and Education startup space. She has a keen interest in holistic education and social projects and has engaged in various volunteering positions.