"Bila Aswar"
Breaking Barriers
Mission
Eliminate prejudice against Middle Eastern and Islamic countries by directly creating contact and dialogue between students, academics, business- owners, artists and working professionals.
Lina Zdruli was born in Albania, and has lived in the United States, Italy and Canada. During December 2013 she undertook a journey in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Oman to understand the origin of stereotypes against Islamic and Middle Eastern countries, and understand the complexities of the region without the filter of the media. Her passion is to be able to create the platform for collaboration which allows cultures to ideologically clash in a constructive manner, and facilitate a new form of problem-solving where knowledge and ideas come before names and appearances.
Lina will explain her trip to the Greater Middle East and the differences she found between on-site observation and the image of the region portrayed by the media. She will also explain the motives behind the Breaking Barriers Initiative and how to get further involved.
Nasif Kayed is the General Manager at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding in Dubai (SMCCU), a non-profit organisation that brings together people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions to broaden their horizons. He was born in Kuwait, and established 40 companies in various countries, including the US and Canada. He will explain how running a non-profit is more work than other businesses because of its mission principle. Nasif will also illustrate the necessity of the SMCCU after the September 11 th attacks because of the negative and discriminatory portral of Islamic culture in the media. The SMCCU centre seeks to build cultural understanding and unite people accross faiths.
Basant Motawi was born in Egypt, and graduated with honors from the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Cairo. Basant is the President of the Office for World Youth Alliance in Egypt. The Alliance is a partner organization at the UN aimed at creating a network of young people in the Middle East and North Africa dedicated to building free and just societies that respect the dignity of each person. She is also the first female medical student from Egypt to have completed an internship at the World Health Organization (WHO). Basant will speak about the role of female students in Cairo and their efforts to promote youth empowerment in the current Egyptian socio-political arena.
Salma and Aisha al Hajri are two successful Omani entrepreneurs who managed to start their chocolate business from OMR 5 (USD $10), when they bought a few raw products and began making chocolate from home. The two women turned their start-up into an Omani brand, by becoming the first chocolatiers in Oman. They pair passion with hard work to promote and preserve their country’s culture and heritage through its native flavors. They pair international flavors, such as Nutella and cheesecake, with local ingredients such as Omani honey, milk, thyme, ginger and lemon. Salma’s Chocolates buy products from local farmers in an attempt to support local workers and contribute to the growth in the local economy Salma hopes to build a successful model that will inspire youth in Oman and in the region to start their own project.