The Secretariat & NRI Chair:
Aws Al-Saadi
Tech4Peace
Aws Al-Saadi is the founder and president of Tech4Peace. Aws works in Tech4Paece as a project manager and in the development of the organization. Besides this, he is responsible for contact with partners, and he is a trainer in different subjects like fact-checking, digital security, and social media.
International Organizations:
Taif Alwachi
ILO
Taif Alwachi, a Project Officer at the International Labour Organization (ILO). With over 10 years in Iraqi civil society and a background in computer engineering, she actively advances causes such as youth engagement, international-local civil society collaboration, and rights advocacy in areas like women’s rights, environmental protection, and labor rights.
Hisham Alaqrawi
Internews
Hisham Alaqrawi is a Project Officer at Internews where he runs a project about the environmental journalism in Iraq. He is also an expert in Fact checking on social media. Hisham has an extensive experience in working for international organizations for 7 years which also had worked in many fields such as Finance, Project Management, and social media monitoring. He also speaks Three languages such as Arabic, Kurdish, and English and has a noticeable communication skills.
Saddam Sami
NDI
Saddam is the programs manager at NDI-Iraq, with a vast, 8 years of experience in civil society organizations and architectural firms, showcasing his management and research skills, through leading a multi-level project on expanding civic activism among young activists in Iraq. Saddam also has established analytical and problem-solving skills working as an architect, providing him with the opportunity to observe, document, and provide insights during business development processes, with inputs drawn from local resources assisting him in defining solutions that address the needs of the beneficiaries.
Mustafa Sirri
GIZ
Mustafa has gained extensive experience through his work with diplomatic missions and international development organizations. He has built a diverse network throughout his career, with a focus on economic and financial development cooperation. His goal is to streamline processes and promote digitalization to reduce bureaucracy and increase transparency. This will have a positive impact on the standard of living for both Iraqis and those living in Iraq.
Civil Society:
Hadiya Hussein Hamad
RABA Organization
Hadiya Hussein Hamad is the Founder and Director of RABA Organization for Development and Capacity Building, a podcaster, activist, and human rights defender. With 9 years of experience in civil society, she is dedicated to promoting awareness on digital security and combating fake news. Hadiya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the College of Education and another Bachelor’s degree in English Language Education.
Ameerah Ali
Tech4Peace
Ameerah completed her bachelor’s degree in archaeology in 2017. She has been an active volunteer for fact-check the news on social media since 2018. She has passed several training workshops in this field. Ameerah became a board member of the Board of Tech4Peace. Ameera currently work on writing reports with the team and reviewing them before publishing them on the Tech4Peace platforms.
Azhar Al-Azzawi
Tadamun
Azhar Al-Azzawi is an activist and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and special needs. Azhar has worked in the field of civil society organizations for eight years. Azhar is the head of the Solidarity media platform concerned with the affairs of women with disabilities and special needs.
Ali Mahmoud Al-Ani
Nidal Association for Human Rights
Expert in the field of digital rights and the protection of HRD’s. He worked on appropriating local legislations related to the rights and freedoms with international laws and agreements. 17 years of experience working in telecommunications and digital companies. He has long experience in monitoring data on the Internet during the election period. Author of (Forensic Evidence Guide for Human Rights Activists). Given lectures, workshops, and training courses in various subjects such as digital security and forensic evidence.
Sarah Jassim
Iraqi Women Network
Sarah Jassim is active in human rights issues, advocacy and advocacy on violence and sextortion. Sarah is a graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in English Language Education. She has a personal platform for public opinion issues and has experience in monitoring violations and false news, as well as in verifying them. She also has a role in continuously raising awareness of digital protection in schools and universities every academic season to create digital awareness that protects society from electronic blackmail.
Technical and Private Sector:
Abdullah Al-Sultani
Cube01
Abdullah is a security engineer at Cube01, originally from Iraq, passionate about breaking into systems to make them more secure. With experience dating back to his teenage years. He participated in many bug bounty programs such as Google, Twitter, PayPal, and other well-known companies. Moreover, he contributed to many open-source projects such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Moodle, and others by reporting security issues on these projects. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with the wider security community, helping to build a stronger and more resilient digital world for everyone.
Khaled Waleed
Fedshi
Khaled is a senior software engineer at Fedshi, excelling in backend development with skills in Golang, PHP, and Node. His software engineering expertise shines in API design and system maintenance, alongside effective collaboration with international agile teams. With a solid five-year background in diverse software projects, Khaled also showcases his talent in full-stack development, using frameworks like Vue, React, and Angular, and adeptly integrates complex payment systems and chatbots.
Government:
Ahmed Salah
Supreme Commission for Hajj and Umrah
Ahmed Salah is an agriculture engineer at the Supreme Commission for Hajj and Umrah since 2012. He worked at the head of the commission office. He has a good relationship with the heads of the commission. Ahmed has extensive experience in the field of digital security at both private and public level sectors. His experience spread over the past 15 years. He used his experience to raise awareness of digital security among journalists, activists, employees, and civil society organizations, as he has a T.O.T certificate.
Ahmed Abdul Kadhim
Thi-Qar Education Department
Ahmed is a government employee since 2009 in the Thi-Qar Education Department. Ahmed is trainer in the Training, Development and Human Development Department at the Dhi Qar Governorate Office. Ahmed also trains on topics (electronic journalism, digital media, and how to expose the disinformation). Ahmed has worked as a trainer since 2011 in many governmental and non-governmental institutions on a voluntary basis in order to develop young cadres for media work and develop their practical capabilities in the field of combating false media.