Lilah El Sayed
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”.