
Investment in Humanity
When I speak with diplomats, donors, foundations, and impact investors, each of them has a perspective and an incentive for international aid and development. Some
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When I speak with diplomats, donors, foundations, and impact investors, each of them has a perspective and an incentive for international aid and development. Some

My dear friend, The world is asking much of you in these days. We are living through a demanding moment in our work. The needs

The Real Test of AI: Can We Change Fast Enough? I have spent the past few years watching AI move from a quiet experiment in labs

Hope Is Not a Strategy People say, “I have hope.”They live on it. Breathe it. Build their mornings and midnights around it.Hope that things will

Humans Are End-to-End. AI Is Middle-to-Middle I keep hearing the same refrain repeated in offices, whispered in meetings, splashed across headlines, and debated in conference

Licensing AI: If We Trust It With Lives, We Should Certify It Like Professionals The Illusion of Passing Exams Headlines love a milestone. Every few

A Framework for Embedding Privilege Governance into National and Global AI Strategies AI Privilege: Policy Considerations for Access, Authority, and Accountability in Artificial Intelligence Systems

I am proud to be Syrian. That pride is not about borders or slogans. It is quieter and deeper, an inheritance of resilience, creativity, and

I have sat in boardrooms that could not have been more different. Some were polished rooms with long tables and bottled water lined in neat

Reflections on the Aid Industrial Complex Seeing my paper/analysis The Aid Industrial Complex: Analyzing Power Structures, Dependency Dynamics, and Reform Pathways in a Disrupted Global Order ranked

Lines The sun was heavy on the streets of Copenhagen today. I was walking and listening to an audiobook, when I stopped at a coffee

How to Spend Your 20s, 30s, and 40s in the Era of AI These are just thoughts I’ve been scratching at—part reflection, part framework, part

The Architecture of Voice: Culture, Control, and the Crisis of Communication in Aid “This analysis is offered in the spirit of critical reflection and constructive

Aid. Crypto. Stablecoins. Why Humanitarians Must Pay Attention. I’ve been asked many times: Is crypto really relevant for humanitarian work? And when I talk about

Rewiring Multilateralism: Governing AI in a Divided World A new form of diplomacy is emerging. It is not forged in the fires of war, nor

AI Diplomacy in the Global South — Strategy or Afterthought? There is a new diplomacy unfolding—not with embassies and envoys, but with chips, datasets, and

The Day the UN Looked in the Mirror It did not begin with urgency. Not a declaration. Not a vote. Just a quiet realization: the

Early Strategic Assessment of the UN80 Reform Initiative The #UN80 Initiative is an ambitious and multidimensional effort to reimagine the United Nations at a time

You don’t need headlines to know there’s a crisis. You just need to scroll. Look at the banners. Just look. “Open to Work.” “Seeking New

There’s a complicated feeling that always creeps in when I see international NGOs’ social media posts about Syria — or other countries in the Global

I’ve been speaking a lot about impact investing lately — in panels, conversations with colleagues, and in my own reflections. So I wanted to take

I decided to write this piece to offer a perspective — and perhaps introduce a different narrative — about what we are witnessing across the

“Systems on the edge of chaos are not failing. They’re searching — often painfully — for a new shape that fits the complexity of their

There’s a new chessboard shaping the future of global influence, and its pieces are neither tanks, development aid, nor treaties—they are algorithms, semiconductors, compute power,

When I began writing my chapter, Inclusive and Intelligent Governance: Enabling Sustainability Through Policy and Technology, I didn’t expect it to feel like writing from

I was told this might end my career. I was also told it’s the best and most honest thing I’ve ever written. This is Quantum

The system didn’t crash. It blinked. And in that blink, thousands of us disappeared. One email sent. One budget line erased. One restructuring plan —

We didn’t cry when it happened. We had already learned how to grieve while replying to emails. To mourn while coordinating handovers no one planned

In one of my recent papers — some called it the HQ Efficiency Manifesto — I wrote about “small c” cuts: quiet, strategic shifts that make systems

This paper might provoke you. It might affirm what you’ve whispered in hallways, raised on field visits, or challenged in meetings. You might love it,

A common theme in localization discussions is the prevalence of assumptions and myths—ideas repeated so often they become unchallenged truths. Compliance, risk, capacity, access—these and

I’ve spent years inside the humanitarian system, seeing both its strengths and its struggles. This article is my reflection on the urgent need for reform.

What if the biggest localization failure in the humanitarian sector isn’t a lack of funding, but something far more insidious—a silent epidemic where INGOs unintentionally

I’ve sat in countless conference rooms—some virtual, some in grand headquarters—where the urgency of a crisis was met not with swift action, but with more

Leadership in Moments of Transformation: Reflections from Syria There are moments in history that feel like a rupture in time—a point where the past and

I’ve been reflecting on the humanitarian sector and its operational modalities lately, observing the intricate web of challenges that INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) face in

I am excited to announce my contribution to the recently published academic book, Unveiling Developmental Disparities in the Middle East, by IGI Global. My chapter,

In 2024, delivering aid to conflict zones has become more difficult than ever. While trucks are loaded with food, water, and medical supplies, they’re often

In a world where crises seem to multiply faster than solutions, the systems that once kept humanitarian aid flowing smoothly are beginning to falter. With

In the heart of a war zone, a hospital is bombed, families are torn apart, and refugee camps overflow with desperate people. Children’s futures hang

لقد عملت المنظمات الإنسانية منذ فترة طويلة وفقًا للمبادئ التوجيهية المتمثلة في الإنسانية، الحياد، الاستقلالية، وعدم التحيز. هذه القيم تضمن توصيل المساعدات إلى المحتاجين دون

منذ حوالي ثماني سنوات، بدأت رحلتي مع الكتابة. كان قرارًا بسيطًا لكنه عميق، مدفوعًا برغبة في التعبير عن أفكاري ومشاركة تجاربي في بيئة لم تكن

هل تُعَدُّ البرامج المشتركة في الدول مستقبل عمليات المنظمات غير الحكومية الدولية؟ إذا كنت تعمل في دور قيادي في منظمة غير حكومية دولية، فمن المحتمل

🌍 World Humanitarian Day serves as a powerful reminder of our responsibility to protect both civilians and humanitarian workers in conflict zones. While raising awareness

Are Joint Country Programs the Future of International NGO Operations? If you work in a leadership role in an international NGO, you are likely feeling

Around 8 years ago, I began my writing journey. It was a simple yet profound decision, driven by a need to express my thoughts and