ElKerdany is a Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University; a practicing architect; and a Chairman of MIMAR Engineering Consultancy. In addition to her local education and practice in Egypt, she studied and practiced in the California USA 1989-92, and Berlin Germany 1979-80. Since her graduation, she is involved in research, education, as well as practice in the fields of design, conservation, and heritage.
ElKerdany has been a consultant and committee member for many governmental institutions in the fields of architecture, urban design, heritage and development. Among which, the Permanent Committee of Islamic and Coptic monuments at the Ministry of Antiquities (2016- present); the Historic Areas Committee at the National Organization for Urban Harmony, Ministry of Culture; and Chairperson of the Architecture Committee at the Supreme Council of Culture at the Ministry of Culture (2016-present).
Alaa el-Habashi is an Egyptian professor of architecture and heritage conservation, and chairs the Department of Architecture in Menoufia University. He received his MS and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His researches and practices aim to found a preservation framework that respects the specificities of local history and traditions. He has many conservation projects in Egypt and in other Arab countries whereby he attempted to develop heritage conservation approaches appropriated to different local values, identities and specificities. He assisted in registering, managing, and evaluating sites listed as World Heritage. He is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development. He established Turath Conservation Group specialized in conserving and managing heritage sites, and founded a Center in Historic Cairo for the Revitalization of Historic Cities. He has been promoting for Arab culture through various venues as selectively and briefly described throughout three venues, each with a complementary goal.
Amal Abualhawa holds a BA degree in Architecture and a Master degree in Archeology and Islamic Architecture, in addition to a professional Diploma in Projects Management. She has held several senior positions, starting her career with the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization programme (OCJRP)- Welfare Association, as a conservation architect. Then she became “Conservation Unit Manager” for OCJRP, and Training Coordinator for Jerusalem Institute. In 2014, Amal joined UNDP, where she has managed the Development of Cultural Tourism Programme in Palestine, and then she became the Manager for Jerusalem housing Project at UNDP. In 2017, Amal rejoined Taawon, where she leads and directs the Jerusalem Old Cities Revitalization Programme.
Amal has been selected by the World Heritage Center-UNESCO in 2012 to provide technical advice to the Arab States on issues related to heritage conservation, management and World Heritage procedures, and previously worked as “Specialized Consultant” to UNESCO Iraq Office.
Dr. Hadžimuhamedović is the director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage, International Forum Bosnia. She has been the leading expert in the process of integrating cultural heritage into postwar recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hadžimuhamedović has taught History of Architecture and Architectural Conservation at the International University of Sarajevo (2010-2019), guest-lectured across the world, and published widely, including the books Heritage, War and Peace; Human Rights and Destruction of Cultural Memory (editor); Bosnia: destruction of cultural heritage (co-author), and Reconstruct or Forget: recovering heritage in war-traumatized communities (forthcoming). She has worked as a consultant for UNESCO, ICCROM, World Bank, ICOMOS International, OSCE, ARC-WH, and Welfare.
Mrs. Talebna is the Director General of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs at the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). She has Master of Public Governance, from the University of Granada, Spain. She has 37 years’ experience in the Public Administration; Social & Cultural Development & Diplomatic Administration. Mrs. Talebna was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in Mauritania 2005-2007. She is also the Founder and president of centres for studies and researches in West African Countries as well as many NGOs for Women and Girls’ Advancement and combating poverty.
Dr. Ashkanani is an assistant professor of anthropological archaeology and a curator of Anthropology and Archaeology Museum and Laboratory in the department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology at Kuwait University. His research interests involve the nature of socio-political entities, social complexity, trade and exchange between 7000 – 4000 years ago, and social archaeology. Hasan was appointed by the Amiri Dewan, as the first general director of Abdullah al-Salem Cultural Center, to manage seven museums, support the implementation of the pre-opening, the opening and post opening strategic plans.
Al Ama is a researcher, academic and collector of Palestinian material culture and art. He works as an art and culture advisor for the Bank of Palestine Group, consultant for the scientific committee for the Terra Sancta Museum, and founder of Dar Al Sabagh Diaspora Studies and Research Centre.
Dr. Al Ibrashy is founder and chair of Megawra-Built Environment Collective, a twin institution consisting of Egyptian NGO and consultancy working on issues of heritage and the built environment. She coordinates Athar Lina, an initiative run by Megawra-BEC in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Cairo Governorate that conserves the heritage of al-Khalifa in Historic Cairo and conceives of it as a driver for community development. Athar lina has worked since 2012 on conservation, urban regenration, heritage education and heritage industries.
Ben Abed has a Ph.D degree from the University of Aix-en-Provence and ,” Habilitation”,( HDR (habiliter à diriger les recherches) “Paris IV-Sorbonne France.
She was the director of Sites and Monuments at the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), director of the Bardo Museum, and director of the Tunisian-French project for the conservation and valorization of the site of Dougga. Director and codirector of 5 big excavations in Tunisia. Aicha Ben Abed was Curator of international exhibitions focused on Tunisian heritage in Tunisia, USA, France, Italy and Spain She is the author or coauthor of six volumes of the Corpus of Tunisian Mosaics and several books and articles on architecture, mosaics and funurary archeology in Tunisia. She helped establish the collaboration between the INP and the Getty Conservation Institute for the training of technicians in the field of in situ mosaic conservation. She is the coordinator of Mosaikon project, dealing with Mosaic conservation in the Mediterranean Region since 2008.
Mr. Al Shaboury is an architect and museographer who has been addressing Museography, museums and exhibition design since his graduation in architecture in 2001. In 2004, he was awarded the Egyptian state award for creativity and innovation in museum architecture and museography “prize of Rome” as a fellow of the Egyptian Academy in Rome. In 2007, he was awarded his Master Degree in “Museograpgy, Architecture & Archeology, Strategic Design and Innovative Management of Archeological sites” from Academia Adrianea in Rome. His experience spans across the fields of Museography, Exhibition Design, Conservation, Curation, Interpretation, Strategic Design and Presentation of Heritage & Archaeology. He has many built projects including; The Egyptian Academy in Rome Museum 2010, Nasser Museum in Cairo 2016, Naguib Pacha Mahfouz obstetrics & gynecology Museum, Qasr Al-Aini School of Medicine 2018, and Naguib Mahfouz Museum in Al-Azhar 2019.
Dr. Hammoud is the General Director of Antiquities and Museums in Syria since 2017, and he is the head of the Department of Antiquities of Damascus countryside since 2002 and the head of the Encyclopedia of Antiquities in Syria since 2014.
Dr. Hammoud has BA in Philosophical and Social Studies from Damascus University in 1986, Master in the history of the Ancient N ear East 2007 and Ph.D. in the history of the Ancient Near East in 2012
He is also member and editor of the Journal “Mhd Al Hadarat” and “The Archaeological Facts in Syria” issued by the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums. He has also several publications, like: The Aramean Kingdoms of Syria, 2008, and the Ancient burial cult in south Syria, 2010, and others.
Dr. Idriz is a professor of comparative of civilizations, Islamic history and Balkan studies. He is the Chairman of the Department of History and Islamic Civilization as well as Acting Director of the Sharjah International Foundation for the History of Arab and Muslim Sciences (SIFHAMS) at the University of Sharjah, UAE. He has taught in various international institutions and has published numerous works in different languages. His latest co-authored book is “The Middle Eastern Jewellery: Reflection of Islam on the Forms and Symbols” (2018).
Mr. Arafat is an architect, specialized in conservation from IoAAS at York, Msc. Planning and Urban Design in Development, dpu at UCL. He is experienced in cultural heritage theory and practice, tourism, urban regeneration, and reconstruction after war, especially in relation to conservation and sustainable development. He also has advanced experience in the National Register of national architectural heritage in Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Daher is Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the German Jordanian University (GJU) and a practicing architect and general director of TURATH: Architecture & Urban Design Consultants and Metropolis. Daher had earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Jordan (1988), a Master of Architecture from the University of Minnesota (1991), a PhD in Architecture from Texas A&M University (1995), and was a recipient of a FULBRIGHT Scholarship through which he did his post-doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley (2001). Daher is also the recipient of the prestigious Arab award: Abdelhamid Shouman Award for Arab Researchers for its 35th Cycle for the Category of Engineering Sciences/Conservation & Restoration of Historic Buildings (2017).
Dr Sabri is an assistant professor at the University of Sharjah (UAE). She has a PhD in Architecture from the University of Manchester (UK), and her research interests are broadly related to the evolution of heritage management philosophies and practices in the colonial and post-colonial world. Dr. Sabri is the author of The Imperial Politics of Architectural Conservation: The Case of Waqf in Cyprus.
Dr. Macaroun is an architect, and has Phd in Archaeology, with 30 years field expertise in conservation/restoration of historical monuments and presentation of archeological sites and 22 years of academic experience, Yasmine Makaroun is since 2015 the Director of the Center of Restoration and Conservation (CRC) at the Lebanese University, with many publications as researcher in cultural heritage.
Dr. Zaki is considered one of the distinguished Arab women who rose to prominence in the field of cultural diplomacy and starred for seven years in the management of the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome as a “cultural advisor to the Egyptian embassy in Italy”. Gihan Zaki graduated from the Catholic school “The Sacred Heart” in Cairo, then completed her studies at Helwan University, where she was appointed as a faculty member and was sent by the Egyptian government to obtain PhD in “Egyptian Sciences” from the Lyon University in France.
In 2014, Dr. Zaki obtained specialized diploma in the field of “cultural diplomacy” from the Italian University of “Siena”, in parallel with the Egyptian sciences in the fields of cultural diplomacy and management of cultural institutions. She now works as a professor / researcher at the Centre for Scientific Research of the French University “Sorbonne” in the field of Egyptian science and art history. Zaki continues her career as a visiting professor at multiple universities around the world.
Mr. Juha is the director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation since 2008; it is one of the leading institutions in the field of preserving cultural heritage in Palestine. He held the position of Deputy Mayor of Bethlehem in the period 2012-2017. He also works as a part-time lecturer at the University of Bethlehem. He has Bachelor degree in Architecture from Birzeit University, Palestine, and holds a Masters degree in World Heritage Studies from Brandenburg University, Germany.
Dr. Al-Duwaish is the Director of the Department of Antiquities and Museums – the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in Kuwait. He holds a PhD in Archeology in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology from Cairo University in 2014. He is also a member of the society of History and Archaeology of the Gulf Cooperation Council States since 2005. Dr. Al-Duwaish works as a general supervisor of archaeological excavation missions (2010-present), and he has number of published researches (Kazma Al-Bohour, Stone Ages in Kuwait, Hillside Cemeteries of Boys, Cultural Sites on the East Coast of the Arabian Gulf). He won the Arab Archeologists Award for Young Researchers in 2012 and the Abdullah Al-Nuaim Award for serving the history of the Arabian Peninsula in 2017.
