Akin joined Hedayah as a secondee from the Government of Turkey in 2022, he has worked as a civil servant for the past 33 years.

Before Hedayah, Akin worked in the Legal Advise Department of the Turkey's Ministry of Interior for seven years. He started his career as a district governor for 13 years, then moved to the Public Procurement Authority of Turkey where he spent another 12 years.

At Hedayah, Akin oversees and manages the Research and Analysis department’s programs, initiatives and activities.

He holds a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Exeter in Exeter, the UK, and a BSc from the Faculty of the Political Sciences of the University of Ankara in Ankara, Turkey.

Sara Sadaka joined the Hedayah team in January 2015. She currently holds the position of Director of Administration and Finance and has over 10 years' experience.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Sara worked as an HR Manager in Abu Dhabi, where she was responsible for starting up the department of Human Resources (HR). Her experience covered several aspects of the HR function such as HR Administration, Recruitment, Policies and Procedures, Talent Management, Counseling, Employee Relations, and Organizational Development.

She holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon.

At Hedayah, Sara manages the Administration and Finance department. Sara oversees the department’s activities and the rest of the organizations to continuously ensure its adherence to its policies and procedures, based on agreed-upon best practices and in line with the Center’s strategic priorities.

Celeste is a communications specialist with over 16 years’ professional experience in public relations and strategic communications.

Prior to Hedayah, Celeste worked for the United Nations and private sector organizations across Africa, Asia and the Pacific regions. Her areas of expertise include developing and implementing government and project communication strategies, behavior change communication campaigns, counter-narratives and digital media strategy. Celeste has applied her professional communications experience on a variety of P/CVE, stabilization and peacebuilding programs in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Syria. Celeste also has significant experience working in Afghanistan on counter-narrative campaigns.

She holds a Postgraduate in Photojournalism and Crisis Communications and a BA in Anthropology and Communications from the University of London. She is also currently completing an Executive MSc in Behavioral Science at the London School of Economics.

Abeer has over a decade of a successful career in the private, government and international sectors bringing executive experience and diversity to her multiple roles. At Hedayah, she supports the executive leadership.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Abeer served in a variety of professional settings with over a decade of a successful career in private, government and international sectors bringing executive experience and diversity to her multiple roles. Some of these roles include Senior Specialist in Chairman’s Office of the Department of Knowledge and Education and Chairman’s Office Manager at the Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, Makki worked for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA).

At Hedayah, Abeer liaises and coordinates with strategic stakeholders both locally and internationally as well as in managing external engagements. In addition to her executive role, she presents Hedayah’s programs and activities to local and international delegates as well prominent foreign officials in which she presented at the NATO and GCC headquarters.

Emma is a Program Manager in the Research and Analysis Department. She joined Hedayah in March 2022. Emma provides management support across the Department’s resources and programs.

Before Hedayah, Emma worked as a researcher and project manager in the international development and humanitarian field, conducting research, analysis and reporting while managing field research projects across Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Her work has previously focused on gendered challenges faced by children and youth in these contexts, including violent extremism.

Emma holds a Master's degree from the University of Melbourne in Development Studies and from the University of Western Australia in International Relations, following on from a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Political Science.

Cristina joined Hedayah in 2015. In her capacity, she manages large capacity building programs and leads the team in developing successful activities on a wide range of topics to include rehabilitation and reintegration, youth engagement, PVE and education, media and information literacy, psycho-social support, national action plans and community-oriented policing.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Cristina worked in Brussels including with Friends of Europe and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She also worked in international security and defence and has been engaged in project management, advocacy and communication.

Cristina has a Master's degree in International and European studies from LUISS University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Tuscia University. She is currently pursuing a second Master's degree in Criminology and Criminal Psychology at the University of Essex.

Cristina is focused on strategically advancing Hedayah’s capacity building programs through stakeholder engagement, in-country implementation and content development.

Throughout her time at Hedayah, she produced a number of frameworks such as Hedayah’s CVE cycle, Hedayah’s monitoring, measurement & evaluation framework and the needs assessment manual.

Hafedh is a seasoned strategic communication practitioner with a decade of experience in strategy development, program design and campaign management. Hafedh joined the team in September 2020 and leads the day-to-day activities and programs of the department.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Hafedh started his career in marketing with leading companies in advertising and Fast Moving Consumer Goods, where he learned communications best practices before moving to the public/private sector and assisting the Government of Tunisia in delivering effective P/CVE campaigns and messaging aimed at young people at risk.

In Iraq, Hafedh helped to establish the Iraqi Government Digital Service (GDS), a unit operating within the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office to establish the government’s brand online and to provide a platform for the government to undermine extremism narrative and communicate effectively with citizens.

During his career, Hafedh supported a number of strategic communications for governmental institutions, which includes the design of digital services and the delivery of behavioral change campaigns across the Middle East, North Africa, South-East Europe and the Caucasus regions. Hafedh is a metrics-driven and highly adaptive professional who possesses excellent project management skills and a proven track record of strategic and operational campaigns management within a variety of settings.

Hafedh has a degree in Business administration with a major in marketing from the University of Management & Economic Sciences in Tunis. A recognized leader, he was the President of the Global Leader’s summit 2010 in Tunisia and held various leadership positions with AIESEC Tunisia from 2004 to 2010.

Irene is a Cooperation for Development professional with over ten years of experience working on the ground with NGOs in several countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Prior to joining Hedayah, she worked in Sudan with the Sudanese Red Crescent as Spanish Red Cross Delegate. She has extensive experience in program and project management, and managing public funds, in different thematic areas, such as women economic and political rights, rural development, education, health, gender violence prevention and gender mainstreaming.

Irene holds a B.Sc. in Sociology, a postgraduate Advanced Study Diploma in International Relations, a Diploma in Cooperation for Development, a Diploma in Conflict Prevention and Risk Management from Complutense University of Madrid and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Strategic Management from EOI Business School in Madrid, Spain.

At Hedayah, Irene manages the overall STRIVE Global program and its grantees in 11 countries.

Alessia is a multilingual researcher/legal advisor with over 8 years of experience in performing multidisciplinary research in the promotion of rule of law and prevention of violent extremism.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Alessia worked for the United Nations, the European Mission and Research centers in Europe and in Western and Eastern African countries in the development of policies and projects to prevent radicalization and to advance criminal justice.

In her previous capacities she gained experience in human rights, project management, capacity building trainings and in the identification of strategies and projects to implement also in fragile countries.

She holds a Master in Law from her home town Naples (Italy) and an LL.M in International Crime and Justice from the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminology at the University of Lausanne on counter-terrorism policies in West Africa. She undertook several trainings in International Humanitarian Law, Terrorism studies and International Criminal Justice.

In Hedayah she works in the Capacity Building Team as Senior Program Associate and she joined in May 2022.

Suha has over 15 years of experience in finance, administration, and grants management. She worked at several international NGOs and managed multi-million dollar grants funded by the USAID in Jordan.

Her main responsibilities were to oversee the financial management of programs, oversee and contribute in all financial aspects of grants management including reviewing and analyzing grant proposal budgets; training grantees on financial reporting templates and financial management of funds; review and audit grantees financial reports and ensuring compliance with grant agreement requirements.

Suha holds a Bachelor’s Degree and High Diploma in Banking and Financial Sciences, specializing in both finance and accounting, from Yarmouk University in Jordan.

Suha joined Hedayah in June 2019. She is responsible for overseeing all grants day-to-day finance operations, managing the internal financial and accountancy controls of grants, developing budgets for grants proposals, ensuring compliance with Hedayah’s internal policies and procedures as well as donor financial management regulations, provide analysis and financial forecasting, building the financial capacity of grantees as needed, and supporting the team efforts in developing financial policies, processes and procedures to maintain effective financial and accounting controls.

Nadine joined Hedayah in March 2020 and has been supporting the Administration and Finance team since then. She previously worked in the private sector and later shifted to the non-profit sector.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Nadine worked as a Senior Regional Finance Officer with an international organization for several years on projects funded by the European Union, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Development Bank, Al Nouri Foundation and many others.

Nadine holds a Bachelor in Science Economics from Saint Joseph University of Beirut, an EMBA from Holy Spirit University of Kaslik and a Masters in Digital Management from ESSCA School of Management in Paris.

At Hedayah, Nadine supports the Finance & Grants Manager in overseeing the day-to-day finance operations, ensures compliance with donor’s regulations, and follows up on all financial matters including policies and procedures development, financial reporting, management and monitoring of grants. In coordination with the Program Staff, Nadine supports in building proposals and developing budgets.

Initially joining Hedayah as an intern in 2014, Iman has since managed Hedayah's corporate communications initiatives and their implementation. These include its website, social media and digital outreach, and branding.

Prior to Hedayah, Iman worked as a Public Information intern with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and has communications experiences from various internships held at international organizations in Abu Dhabi, Florence, and New York.

She holds an MPS in PR and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Psychology and Visual Arts (double major) from New York University Abu Dhabi as part of its inaugural class.

Iman also supports initiatives related to strategic communications, terrorist use of the Internet and youth. As the in-house graphic designer, she also worked on creating the design and layouts of 25+ Hedayah publications, such as the 'Blueprint of a Rehabilitation and Reintegration Center', 'Undermining Violent Extremist Narratives: A How-To Guide' series and 'A Man’s World? Exploring the Role of Women in Countering Terrorism and CVE'.

Omar joined Hedayah in the Spring of 2022 and has been supporting the Dialogue and Communications team since then. He has previously worked across both private and public sectors.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Omar worked as a Marketing Manager for an International licensee company and has communications experience from several United Nations organizations including the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Mine Action Service.

Omar holds a Bachelor degree in Film and Moving Image Production from Norwich University of the Arts, and a Masters in Global Media and Postnational Communications from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

At Hedayah, Omar supports the Dialogue and Communications Department with the overall communications operations and objectives and provides multimedia assistance to the Corporate Communications team.

Farangiz is a Program Officer in the Research and Analysis Department. She joined Hedayah in February 2018. Farangiz leads and supports a number of department’s projects and programs, such as the Radical Right Phase II project seeking to test the efficacy of counter-narratives in the Australian and the US contexts, the project on the influence of COVID-19 in the Balkans, South-East Asia, East and West Africa, the Annual CVE Research Conference, and MASAR. Farangiz is also providing oversight for the Radical Right Counter Narrative Collection and the Counter Extremism Hub, both projects that are funded by EU STRIVE Global.

Prior to Hedayah, Farangiz worked at Delma Institute as a political analyst covering various regional issues. Her internship experiences include the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe and the Royal United Services Institute.

Farangiz holds a Master of Letters in Terrorism Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics with International Studies from the University of Warwick. Her Master’s dissertation focused on religious fundamentalism and empowerment of women as a method to counter violent religious extremism and radicalism in Tajikistan.

Hatem has over 12 years of experience working with UN agencies, USAID, GiZ, and other international NGOs. He has an extensive track record in the capacity building, training and development fields, including project planning, management, and partnership management.

Prior to Hedayah, Hatem handled several successful projects in relation to youth empowerment, community development, financial literacy, conflict management, and education projects in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. He also produced and developed a training manual for the Jordanian Ministry of Municipal Affairs and a training package on conflict mitigation and management, as well as community engagement training materials for local organizations.

Hatem holds a Master of Business Administration from Yarmouk University in Jordan and a Bachelor of nursing science from Jordan university for science and technology.

Since 2013, Lilah has worked across several departments at Hedayah. Her roles at Hedayah ranged from supporting the Executive Office to research and serving as a legal translator and now leading on various Dialogue and Communications programs.

Prior to Hedayah, Lilah served as a military field interpreter providing optimal interpretation and translation support to the Military personnel especially female soldiers of the U.A.E Armed Forces & Presidential Guard Command. Lilah conducted language training programs in Arabic and English at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #3, American University and U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and was contracted by the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA.

Lilah has two Master’s degrees, the most recent one is in “Religion, Politics and Citizenship” from the University Of Eastern Piedmont Amedeo Avogadro and the University of Padua in 2020. Her first M.A. is in “International Law, Diplomacy and International Relations” from Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in 2016.

At Hedayah, Lilah focuses on counter-messaging through strategic communications for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. She managed Hedayah’s Counter-Narrative Library and produced various publications. Lilah is the main author of the “Undermining Violent Extremist Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa: A How-To Guide”, a nine-step framework for developing alternative and counter-narratives, available in English and Arabic.

Her other publications include a contributed chapter titled “MENA Governments’ Efforts for Alternative and Counter-Narratives: Religious and Gender Lens” to the DPT – German Prevention Congress PV&E International Conference 2018 Edited Volume titled “International Perspectives of Crime Prevention 11” (December 2020). In addition to, her first co-authored Journal Article titled “Linkages as a Lens: An Exploration of Strategic Communications in P/CVE” was published in “The Journal of Deradicalisation” in September 2019. Lilah was also a co-editor and contributing author to Volume 144 of “NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics” titled “Enhancing Women’s Roles in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE)” (February 2019) and the co-editor and contributing author for “Contemporary P/CVE Research and Practice”.

Denis is a Junior Research Associate in the Research and Analysis Department. He joined Hedayah in August 2020. Denis leads and supports a number of projects and programs within the Department such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) project seeking to extract best practices and lessons learned in regional CVE efforts, the Counter-Narrative Library database, the Fellowship Program, and the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Catalogue.

Before Hedayah, Denis worked for several departments in the Government of Canada as a project and policy analyst, including Global Affairs Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Health Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Shared Services Canada.

Denis holds a Master's degree from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University and a B.A Honors Double Major degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Ottawa. Denis’s published Master’s dissertation that focused on radicalization processes of Canadian domestic and foreign terrorist fighters is
entitled “From Conversion to Violent Extremism: Empirical Analysis of Three Canadian Muslim Converts to Islam.”

Since January 2020, Julien has supported Hedayah in the design, implementation and analysis of capacity building programs and activities at both the policy and frontline levels.

Prior to joining Hedayah, Julien worked as a Governance, Peace and Security Intern at the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. He holds a Master’s Degree in Strategy, Intelligence and Risk Management from Sciences Po Lille, France.

Throughout his time at Hedayah, Julien has been supporting numerous programs and initiatives on community engagement, rehabilitation and reintegration, education - and national strategies and action plans - in countries such as Indonesia, Kosovo, Nigeria and Tunisia.

Experienced administrative management professional with over 13 years of experience in effective and comprehensive support to Senior Leaderships in fast-paced corporate environments. Elaine holds a BSBA in Business Administration and Marketing Management from Holy Angel University, Philippines and an Associate of Science in Criminal Justice, California Coast University, United States of America.

Elaine has been working in the UAE since 2008 and develops and maintains Hedayah’s Standard Operating Procedures on Event Management and manages all administrative and clerical support.

Although Elaine is a graduate in Business Management, she also has an interest in the field of CVE, in particular, the forced recruitment of child soldiers and arm conflict in the Philippines, this is due to personal experience in her family. Her interest in the CVE field opened when she was offered to work for Good Harbor International LLC on various HR and administrative duties in support of the enactment of the UAE’s first-ever Center of International Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, Hedayah.

Fadi Hamad is a computer engineer with more than 13 years of experience in the IT field. Fadi believes that IT is one of the core elements in each organization nowadays; the more the IT infrastructure is efficiently built and kept secured with the right means, the more it will benefit the staffs’ day-to-day work results.

Fadi has worked for several companies in the Middle East before joining Hedayah. His responsibilities enabled him to become a skilled computer engineer in networking, virtualization, VoIP and systems.

Fadi holds a BA in Computer Engineering from Near East University in North Cyprus, Turkey.

At Hedayah, Fadi has improved and enhanced the IT infrastructure by implementing new systems. He manages all the IT infrastructure and ensures the effectiveness of security solutions used at Hedayah. He supports the team and conducts training on newly implemented IT systems. He is responsible for deploying and implementing all IT-related policies and procedures.

Masabo is responsible for managing day-to-day logistics within Hedayah, in addition to coordinating logistical operations and administration during Hedayah activities and conferences.

In 2009, Masabo began working at ARTE CASA in the UAE as a procurement executive. He worked closely on all procurement jobs, including placing orders and overseeing logistics. Since joining Hedayah, he has handled most of the procurement tasks and gained experience in sourcing and liaising with suppliers for Hedayah’s day-to-day needs.

Masabo spent ten years completing his education in Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Egypt. While at Al-Azhar, Masabo completed Arabic, Islamic studies and social studies graduating with a B.A. in the Department of Social Work and Community Development.

Chidimma is a finance professional with over six years of Experience in financial management and record keeping. Before joining Hedayah, she worked at several international NGOs on projects funded by the USAID, DFID, European Union and Global fund. She has also consulted for local NGOs on the use of QuickBooks Accounting Software.

Chidimma holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Nigeria and is currently pursuing a certificate at the Association of Certified Charted Accountants, UK.

Alexandra is a graduate in International Relations from Sciences Po Bordeaux with a major in Counter-terrorism and Non-proliferation at the Middlebury Institute of International Relations at Monterey (California). She also hold a M.Sc. in International Cooperation and Politics from the University of West Indies (Jamaica).

During her time at Sciences Po Bordeaux, she co-founded and was the head of Young Pugwash France, a student society raising awareness on the risks of weapons of mass destruction and of disruptive technology. Alexandra then worked for the promotion of nuclear-weapons-free zones at the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) and as a human rights, humanitarian and migration intern at the Permanent Mission of France to the UN in Geneva. She is also currently interning at the UN Department of Peace Operations (UN DPO) in New York.

Chloe attained a Master of Islamic Studies earlier this year from Charles Sturt University; her undergraduate degree was a bachelor of counterterrorism, security and intelligence. This year, she also participated in a civic youth leadership program at the European Centre for Populism Studies (ECPS) and has recently been made editor of the ECPS youth blog.

Chloe has had some of her research published this year and is pursuing a career in researching and analyzing topics including Islamophobia, radicalization and extremism studies, and populism.

Giulia obtained her Master’s Degree in Investigation, Criminality and International Security from the Faculty of Political Science of Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma. She is currently taking up an internship at Rise to Peace, an organization in the PVE-E field, her main area of interest, together with the Arab World and the non-formal education in the youth empowerment process.

Her bachelor’s Degree in Languages and Intercultural Communication, and the internship as a member of the IHRA Task Force helped her understand the need of dialogue, inclusion, and diversity in the prevention of conflicts and violence.

Adrian Shtuni, CEO of Shtuni Consulting LLC, is a Washington D.C.-based foreign policy, security, and strategic communications specialist. He consults for government agencies, academic institutions, international organizations, and private consulting firms in the United States, Europe, and Asia on preventing and countering violent extremism, counterterrorism, political risk, countering foreign propaganda and disinformation, and other transnational threats.

Adrian holds a Master of Science in International Relations and Security from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He has previously held positions with the United Nations, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and various private consulting firms. He has authored numerous studies on drivers and dynamics of violent extremism, the rehabilitation and reintegration of returning foreign fighters and their family members, the role of civil society in P/CVE, community oriented policing for P/CVE, the nexus between organized crime and terrorism, countering violent extremist propaganda online, institutional reform and capacity building in post-conflict environments, etc.

Adrian's work has been published by the National Defense University in Washington D.C., the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, IHS Jane's in the UK, etc. He also develops P/CVE training curriculums, delivers capacity building programs in various languages, implements country and regional P/CVE projects in cooperation with local partners, and regularly provides commentary to media outlets in the U.S. and various European countries on foreign policy and security issues.

Edward Lemon is Assistant Professor of Eurasian Studies at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School, Washington DC.

Between 2018 and 2019, Dr. Lemon was a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. Before joining Daniel Morgan Graduate School in 2018, he was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Dr. Lemon’s current research interests include the threat of violent extremism and terrorism in Central Asia, with a particular focus on governance and religious freedom. His research has been published in Democratization, Central Asian Affairs, Caucasus Survey, The RUSI Journal, Central Asian Affairs, Review of Middle Eastern Studies, Foreign Affairs and Journal of Democracy. He is the editor of Critical Approaches to Security in Central Asia (Routledge, 2018).

Dr. Lemon is a regular commentator on security issues in Central Asia. His views have featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Times, Radio Free Europe, Vice News, Reuters, the Associated Press and Foreign Policy, and the BBC. He regularly briefs government officials and has presented his research at the Department of Defense, State Department, Chatham House, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Royal United Services Institute. He was recently lead research consultant on the USAID-funded project “Central Asia Secure and Stable Societies,” managing the design and implementation of a mixed methods, multi-country study that examined the drivers of violent extremism in Central Asia.

He received his PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Exeter in 2016. He has a MLitt in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Security Studies from the University of St Andrews which he completed with Distinction, and a B.A. in War Studies from King’s College London, which he completed with honors. He speaks Russian, Tajik and English.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Göktuğ Sönmez got his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bilkent University, his Master’s degree in International Relations from London School of Economic (LSE), and his PhD in Politics and International Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

His research areas are Radicalization and De-Radicalization, Violent Extremism, Counterterrorism and Non-State Armed Actors. He is the director of Security Studies at ORSAM and teaches at Necmettin Erbakan University, International Relations Department. He teaches courses mainly on the Middle Eastern politics, political history, terrorism and counterterrorism and Turkish foreign policy.

He published many academic and non-academic pieces in national and international journals, comments on radicalization and terrorism-related topics as well as Turkish foreign policy on several media outlets, directed radicalization-related projects funded by various domestic and international actors, attended many national and international meetings and conferences primarily on radicalization and violent extremism, and occasionally write op-eds for newspapers.

Greg is a Research Professor in Global Islamic Politics in the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University where, since August 2015, he has led research on Islam and civil society, democratisation, and countering violent extremism. From 2007 to 2015 he was the Herb Feith Professor at Monash University where he led research on radicalisation in the Global Terrorism Research Centre (GTReC). He taught at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu from 2006 to 2007, and at Deakin University from 1992 to 2006. He is a Senior Fellow with the UAE-based Hedayah Center in Abu Dhabi working on CVE. Greg is one of Australia’s leading scholars of both modern Indonesia and of terrorism and countering violent extremism and has near-native fluency in Indonesian/Malay.

Greg also has a general interest in security studies and human security and a particular interest in countering violent extremism. He continues to research the offshoots of Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda, ISIS and related radical Islamist movements in Southeast Asia and has been involved in teaching counter-terrorism courses at the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu and with other institutions and agencies, including for the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, the Counter Terrorism branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Countering Violent Extremism Centre in the Attorney General’s Department (now in the Department of Home Affairs). He is often invited by government agencies in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia to teach workshops on violent extremism and terrorism. Since 2016 Greg has been leading the Home Affairs’ Southeast Asian Network of Civil Society Organisations working together against extremism.

At ADI Deakin Greg is a key researcher and leader in both the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT) network and in the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS) where is engaged in research into hate and hateful extremism and the interactions between hateful extremism and violent extremism, both in Australia and in Southeast Asia.

Together with the Director of GTReC, A/Prof Peter Lentini, he led a large ARC Linkage research project examining violent extremist radicalization and counter radicalization. He has just commenced work on a new ARC Discovery Grant funded project (under the leadership of Prof Doug Ezzy, UTas) ARC entitled: Religious diversity in Australia: Maintaining social cohesion and preventing violence. Since 1997 he has held a further five ARC research grants studying Islam and politics in Indonesia.

Over the past 30 years he has undertaken extensive research on Indonesia politics and society, especially of the role of Islam as both a constructive and a disruptive force. He has been active in the inter-faith dialogue initiatives and has a deep commitment to building understanding of Islam and Muslim society. The central axis of his research interests is the way in which religious thought, individual believers and religious communities respond to modernity and to the modern nation state. He also has a strong general interest in international relations and comparative international politics. Since 2004 he has made a comparative study of progressive Islamic thought in Turkey and Indonesia with particular reference to Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah in Indonesia and the transnational Hizmet movement inspired by Turkey’s Fethullah Gulen.


His research Interests include: Islam, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Violent and Hateful Extremism, Radicalisation and Democratisation

CVE Publications (books, reports, chapters, journal articles)
- Barton, Greg. 2005. Jemaah Islamiyah: Radical Islamism in Indonesia, Singapore: Singapore University Press. [also published in 2004 as: Indonesia’s Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and radical Islamism, Sydney: UNSW Press]
- Barton, Greg. 2020. ‘Salafist-jihadism in Southeast Asia’. Chapter 8 in Issac Kfir and John Coyne. Counterterrorism Yearbook 2020. Canberra: ASPI.
- Barton, Greg. 2020. ‘The Historical Context and Regional Social Network Dynamics of Radicalisation and Recruitment of Islamic State Foreign Terrorist Fighters in Indonesia and its Southeast Asian Neighbours’, in LaToya Waha (ed.) United by Violence, Divided by Cause, Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp.117-39.
- Barton, Greg. 2020. ‘Contesting Indonesia’s Democratic Transition: Laskar Jihad, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Civil Society’, Chapter 13 in Vandenberg, Andrew and Zuryani, Nazrina (Eds.) Security, Democracy, and Society in Bali, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan
- Ezzy, Douglas; Bouma, Gary; Barton, Greg; Halafoff, Anna; Banham, Rebecca; Jackson, Robert; and Beaman, Lori (2020) ‘Religious Diversity in Australia: Rethinking Social Cohesion’, Special Issue "Religion in Australian Public Life: Resurgence, Insurgence, Cooption?" Religions, 18 February 2020
- Ware, A., Barton, G., Kelly, L., Sonrexa, J., Husy, D. 2019. Navigating Violent and Hateful Extremism in Complex Settings: The Work of Plan International in Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines. Plan International Australia. 1-28
- Barton, G. 2018. ‘The evolution of modern terrorism’ Jane Ireland (ed.) International Handbook on Aggression London: Routledge
- Vergani, M., Iqbal, M., Ilbahar, E., Barton, G. (2018) 'The 3 Ps of radicalisation: push, pull and personal. A systematic scoping review of the scientific evidence about radicalisation into violent extremism’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
- Yilmaz, I., Barton, G., and Barry, J. (2017) "The Decline and Resurrection of Turkish Islamism: The Story of Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP", Journal of Citizenship and Globalisation Studies, July 2017, Berlin: De Gruyter Open
- Vergani, M., Barton, G., and Iqbal, M. 2017. ‘Beyond social relationships: investigating the differences between violent and non-violent protesters within the same social movement’ - Journal: Journal of Sociology 53 (2), pp. 445-460.
- Cherney, Adrian, Sweid, Reem, Grossman, Michele, Derbas, Alexia, Dunn, Kevin, Jones, Clarke, Hartley, Jason & Barton, Greg. 2017. "Local service provision to counter violent extremism: perspectives, capabilities and challenges arising from an Australian service mapping project" Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression.
- Barton, Greg. 2015. ‘Australia, Turkey, and understandings of Islam in a secular age: the Islamic State movement and the challenge of rising extremism’ in Michalis Michael (ed.) Reconciling Cultural and Political Identities in a Globalized World: Perspectives on Australia-Turkey Relations. Melbourne: Palgave Macmillan.
- Barton, Greg. 2015. “Islamic State, Radicalisation and the Recruitment of Foreign Fighters in Australia: making hijrah from Lucky Country to God’s Nation”, in Panorama - From Desert to World Cities – The New Terrorism, Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung, Singapore.
- Barton, Greg, Barrelle, Kate, Smith, Debra, Smith, Andrew Building Community Resilience to Violent Extremism: Part 2 - Countering Violent Extremism Evaluation Methodology, Submitted to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victoria, and the Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Centre (ANZCTC) CVE Sub-Committee (Global Terrorism Research Centre – GTReC, March, 2013)
- Barton, Greg, Bakashmar, Muhammad, and Iqbal, Muhammad, Community Integration Support Program (CISP) Evaluation Report Submitted to the Islamic Council of Victoria and Victoria Police(Global Terrorism Research Centre – GTReC, March, 2013)
- Barton, Greg. 2009. 'The historical development of Jihadi Islamist thought in Indonesia', Scott Helfstein (ed.) Radical Islamic Ideology in Southeast Asia, New York: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
- Barton, Greg. 2005. “Making sense of Jemaah Islamiyah terrorism and radical Islamism in Indonesia” in Shahram Akbarzadeh and Samina Yasmeen (eds), Islam and the West: reflections from Australia, UNSW Press, pp. 114-31.
- Barton, Greg. 2005. “Islam, Islamism and politics in Indonesia”, in Damien Kingsbury (ed.) Violence in Between: Conflict and Security in Archipelagic Southeast Asia, Singapore and Melbourne: ISEAS and Monash Asia Institute, pp. 75-103.

Jocelyn Bélanger is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University Abu Dhabi. He earned his master's degree and doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications and has received several awards including the APA Dissertation Research Award, the APS rising star early-career award, the Milton Dean Havron Social Sciences Award, and the Guy Bégin Award for the Best Research Paper in Social Psychology. He is the author of “The Three Pillars of Radicalization: Needs, Narratives, and Network.” His work seeks to understand why, and under which circumstances, individuals are willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause, and focuses on developing psychological interventions to reverse the process of radicalization to promote harmonious intergroup relations.

In 2015, he was appointed by the City of Montreal to create the first de-radicalization center in North America to tackle homegrown terrorism.

Dr. Lorenzo Vidino is the Director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. An expert on Islamism in Europe and North America, his research over the past 20 years has focused on the mobilization dynamics of jihadist networks in the West; governmental counter-radicalization policies; and the activities of Muslim Brotherhood-inspired organizations in the West.

A native of Italy who holds American citizenship, Lorenzo earned a law degree from the University of Milan Law School and a doctorate in international relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has held positions at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the RAND Corporation, and the Center for Security Studies (ETH Zurich).

The author of several books and numerous articles, Lorenzo's most prominent work is The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West, a book published in 2010 by Columbia University Press, with an Arabic edition released the following year by the Al Mesbar Studies and Research Center. The book offers a comparative study of Islamist organizing in various Western countries as well as the wide-ranging public policy responses by Western leaders. His most recent book, The Closed Circle: Joining and Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, offers an unprecedented inside view into how one of the world's most influential Islamist groups operates, and how some individuals made the difficult decision to leave.

Lorenzo has testified before the U.S. Congress and other parliaments; advised law enforcement officials around the world; and taught at universities in the U.S. and Europe. He regularly provides commentary to diverse media outlets (including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, PBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, BBC, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya...) and is a columnist for the Italian daily La Stampa. In 2016, he was appointed by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi as Coordinator of the National Commission on Jihadist Radicalization.

Martine Zeuthen, who is based in Kenya, focuses on extremism and radicalization, countering violent extremism, program management and research methodology. She is Senior Research Fellow in the National Security Studies program at RUSI and set up RUSI’s operation in East Africa.

Prior to working for RUSI she worked in a consulting firm specializing in data collection and evaluation of CVE related programs in conflict affected states. Martine lived and worked in Syria during the first years of her career. She is a Danish anthropologist (BA and MSc) and currently studying a PhD in Crime and Security Studies at UCL.

Martine is leading the CVE work in East Africa. She led the ‘Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Horn of Africa’ (STRIVE) program and the follow on, STRIVE II as well as many other research-based CVE projects. Martine is responsible for designing and overseeing implementation and research of all RUSI’s CVE work in the region, which involves managing a highly complex network of stakeholders including law enforcement, government ministries, civil society, religious groups and research organizations.

More recently Martine has in an independent capacity worked on disengagement in the Kenyan prisons and currently she provides M&E and research support to a disengagement program in Somalia.

Martine supports a number of organizations with input on P/CVE and is currently serving as a member of the reference group for Life and Peace Institute as well as a member of an International Consensus Guidelines Committee managed by the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Radicalisation and Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV). Recently Martine became a member of the Danish Researchers Network specializing in extremism and radicalization.

Dr. Mohammed Abdel Rahem was born in November 1977 in Egypt and is working as a Lecturer at the SISD "Section of Islamic Studies in German" Al-Azhar University in Cairo and as a Member of the Al-Azhar interfaith Center. He is the former Director of Al-Azhar Observer in Foreign Languages and coordinator of its German Department since December. Dr. Abdel Rahem has studied Islamic Studies at the faculty of languages and translation in al-azhar University between 1995 and 2000 and was conferred the PhD degree in comparative religion sciences at the University of Münster/Germany.

He is interested in the interreligious Dialog and took/still takes part at various conferences and meetings in this field on the community and international level. He coordinates two academic exchange programs of Students with the University of Freiburg and Erlangen (Germany), which means that he conducts a kind of intercultural Dialog between Muslims and European Students.

Dr. Abdel Rahem published some Books and articles about human rights in Islam and Christianity in Arabic and German languages, for example, his book about “Religionsfreiheit im Nahen Osten: Islam und Christentum im Vergleich, 2014 (the Freedom of Faith in the Middle East: A Comparative Study between Islam and Christianity), and Rationalität in der islamischen Theologie 2018 (Rationality in the Islamic Theology). He is now a Member at the research project “Dynamic of the tradition. The relationship between Figh and theologyBeziehung zwischen Recht und Theologie” at the University of Erlangen, Germany.

Noah Tucker is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center and program associate at George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs Central Asia Program. He was previously Executive Editor for the Not in Our Name film and television series, the first region-wide project designed to prevent violent extremism in Central Asia through community dialogues in areas most directly affected by recruiting to Syria.

Noah has worked as a consultant on multiple collaborative projects for government, academic and international organizations to identify the way social and religious groups affect political and security outcomes in Central Asia and Afghanistan. Recent publications include “Terrorism without a God: Reconsidering Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization Models in Central Asia” (GWU Central Asia Program September 2019). Noah has worked on Central Asian issues since 2002—specializing in religion, national identity, ethnic conflict and social media—and received an MA from Harvard in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies in 2008. He has spent some six years living and working in in the region, primarily in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and speaks Russian and Uzbek.

Dr. Orla Lynch is currently a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Asc. Dean of Graduates Studies at University College Cork, Ireland. Until 2015 she was Director of Teaching and a Lecturer in Terrorism Studies at CSTPV at the University of St. Andrews.

Orla’s background is in International Security Studies and Applied Psychology; her primary training is as a social psychologist. Orla is a Senior fellow with Hedayah, Abu Dhabi and a Board member of RAN, Europe. She is also a RESOLVE Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, an Anniversary Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence and an Academic Advisor for WAVE Trauma Centre Belfast. Orla’s current research focuses on victimization and political violence in relation to the direct victims of violence, but also the broader psycho-social impact of victimization and the perpetrator-victim complex.

Orla has also examined the notion of suspect communities in relation to the impact of counter terrorism measures on Muslim youth communities. Orla was until recently the principal investigator on a multisite EU funded project that looks at the importance of notions of victimization for former perpetrators of political violence and the role of both former perpetrators and victims in ongoing peace initiatives.

Orla was also previously PI on another EU funded project looking at the needs of victims of terrorism. To date, as PI, Orla has secured €1.4 million in EU research funding, and over two hundred thousand in IRCHSS, SRF and Enterprise Ireland funding. Orla research interests lie in individual and group desistance from political violence, including issues related to deradicalization, the role of grand narratives in justifying involvement in violence and psychosocial understandings of the transitions from violence to peace.

Her recent books include Applying Psychology:
- The Case of Terrorism and Political Violence (Blackwell with Carmel Joyce)
- Victims and Perpetrators of Terrorism: Exploring Identities, Roles and Narratives (Ed. Routledge, London)
- Victims of Terrorism, a comparative and interdisciplinary study (Ed. Palgrave, London)
- International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation: An interdisciplinary approach (Ed. Routledge London).

Stuart Macdonald is Professor of Law at Swansea University, U.K. Stuart’s research interests lie in criminal law and counterterrorism, in particular terrorists’ use of the internet. His most recent work has examined violent jihadist narratives, their dissemination via social media, and legal and policy responses. Prior to this, his work focused on cyberterrorism, examining definitional issues, threat assessment and questions of response. He has published widely on these topics, including the (co-edited) books Islamic State’s Online Activity and Responses (CRC Press, 2019), Lessons from P/CVE Research: Innovative Methods, Challenges, and Good Practices (Hedayah, 2019), Terrorists' Use of the Internet: Assessment and Response (IOS Press, 2017), Violent Extremism Online: New Perspectives on Terrorism and the Internet (Routledge, 2016), Terrorism Online: Politics, Law and Technology (Routledge, 2015) and Cyberterrorism: Understanding, Assessment and Response (Springer, 2014).

Stuart is Director of Swansea University’s Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) and a Co-Director of its EPSRC-funded £7.6m CHERISH Digital Economy Centre and £7.5m EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Enhancing Human Interactions and Collaborations with Data and Intelligence Driven Systems. He is also the lead organiser of the biennial #TASMConf (Terrorism and Social Media Conference) and co-ordinates the University’s contribution to the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET). Stuart is a member of the Steering Committee of EUROPOL’s Advisory Network on Terrorism and Propaganda and a member of the editorial board of Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.

Stuart completed his BA in Law (First Class honours) at the University of Cambridge (2000) and his PhD in Law at the University of Southampton (2005). He has held visiting scholarships at Columbia University (2007), the University of Sydney (2011), the Université de Grenoble.

Thomas Koruth Samuel is at present the Regional Consultant for Terrorism Prevention with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He is focusing on Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism and his chief areas of interest is in Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia in particular, and the Southeast Asia region in general. He was also a consultant for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2019 on the subject of utilizing education in countering violent extremism.

Prior to his this, he was the Director of the Digital Strategic Communications Division (DSCD) with the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), which is under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. He started off as a volunteer Health Officer for World Vision East Timor in 2003 and then moved to the Research and Publications division in SEARCCT in 2004. He served as the division’s director from 2010 to 2016 before assuming the position with the DSCD. He has an honours degree in Biomedical Technology (2000) and a Masters degree in Strategic and Defence Studies (2005) from the University of Malaya, Malaysia.

His main areas of research includes Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), the role education in P/CVE, the role of law enforcement and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in P/CVE, the narratives of the terrorists and the subsequent counter-narratives, the radicalization process, strategic communications and youth involvement in terrorism. He is also very interested in mediation, conflict resolution and ‘spoiler management’ during times of conflict. He lectures frequently on counter-terrorism and international security and has delivered lectures and briefings in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Germany, Japan, Laos, Nepal, Maldives, The Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. Besides delivering papers, he has been a resource person at numerous conferences and workshops for nation-states, International Organizations (IOs), and UN bodies and has facilitated and conducted workshops for the UNODC in the Philippines and Thailand. He has also represented Malaysia and led delegations as an officer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was awarded the Excellence Service Award by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia in 2009, 2011 and 2014.

He has been interviewed on radio and written several articles, papers and monographs. The monographs that he has written include Aviation Security in Malaysia (2008); Reaching the Youth: Countering the Terrorist Narrative (2012); Radicalisation in Southeast Asia: A Selected Case Study of Daesh in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines (2016); Don’t-Lah Wei: A Peer-to-Peer Resource Guide on Ensuring Your Kawan Never Becomes a Terrorist (2018); and Undergraduate Radicalisation in Selected Countries in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Quantitative Analysis on the Perception of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism among Undergraduates in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. (2018).
At the national level, he was appointed in 2018 as an adviser for the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Transborder Studies – Special Interest Group, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). In 2019, he was appointed as an Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) Member for the International Relations Programme for the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU). He has also taught at the Masters level in the fields of International Security and Modern Warfare in University Malaya.

At the international level, he was appointed in 2014 as a Senior Fellow with the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism (Hedayah Centre) based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2018, he was appointed as a member of the Commonwealth Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Cadre of Experts. He can be reached at thomas.samuel@un.org OR conflict_analysis@yahoo.com