About Us

Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Al-Nouri was Minister of Finance in Kuwait from 2003 to 2005. He currently holds several posts including Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Syrian Holding Company in Kuwait and of the UBAF Bank in Hong Kong, as well as Chairman of the Board of Kuwaiti Investors Association in Syria; he also chairs the Abdalbaqi Al Nouri Charity. Mr. Al-Nouri previously was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gulf Bank in Kuwait (2012-2013), the Arab African International Bank in Egypt (2005-2014) and the Kuwait Public Transport Company (1998-2003).
He also occupied the position of Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Investment Projects Company "KIPCO" (1986-1990) and was consultant for the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee of the Kuwait National Assembly (1993-2003).

Chair of the Executive Committee
Dr. Karami - Akkary is an Associate Professor of Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership in the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut. She is currently the chairperson of the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She holds a Bachelor in Science, Diploma for teaching science at the secondary level, Master of Arts in Science Education from the American University of Beirut (AUB), and a Doctorate in Education from Portland State University with a specialty in [K-12] Educational Administration and Supervision with a focus on school principalship, organizational change and educational policy.
She is the director and the principal investigator of the TAMAM project launched in 2007 as a grant funded by the Arab Thought Foundation at AUB to initiate school-based reform and research on how to build leadership skills for sustainable schools. TAMAM was one of the recipients of the 2021-2022 UNESCO-HAMDAN prize for teacher development. 
Dr. Karami Akkary has published in international and local journals, and she also has an extensive experience advising and consulting public and private schools in Lebanon and the Arab region. She currently serves as a member of the executive committee of Taawon Association and the coordinator for the education initiative in Khaddit Beirut.

Secretary
Dr. Stephan is a professor of Information and Libraries Sciences at the Lebanese University. She holds a doctorate in Education from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, a postgraduate degree in Information and Documentation, and a master's degree in Philosophy.
Held the position of Director of the Lebanese National Library project from 1999 till 2003, then its Scientific Advisor from 2003 till 2018. As advisor to the Minister of Culture between 2000 and 2003, she established the network public libraries of the said Ministry. Between 2014 and 2018, she coordinated the Shamaa’s project on developing the capacities of master’s and doctoral students in education. The project delivers training courses on the use of educational resources.
She has published three books and many articles on documentation, libraries, publishing and reading.
Founding member of the Assabil Association and currently its president.

Treasurer
Dr. El Amine holds a Doctorate in Sociology of Education (1977) and a “Doctorat d'État en letters” (1991) from the Sorbonne University - Paris. He was full professor of education at the Lebanese University and lecturer at the American University of Beirut. He worked as UNESCO consultant on higher education. At present, he is a senior fellow and consultant of education and youth at Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI - AUB).
He is co-founder of the Lebanese Association for Educational Studies - LAES (1995), and the Arab Educational Information Network (Shamaa) (2007). He is the author of 29 books, 35 chapters and 31 articles published locally and internationally. His website (http://www.adnanelamine.net/) archives more than 500 texts he wrote since 1971.

Member-at-large of the Executive Committee
Ms. Chebani is currently employed as Associate University Librarian in American University of Beirut Libraries (AUB) after 9 years of experience as Systems Librarian at AUB Libraries as well. She has previously served as the Chief Librarian and Head of the Department of Information & Scientific Documentation in the Arab Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of the League of Arab States from 1992 to 2002.
Prior to that, at the beginning of her professional career, she held the position of Head of Information Processing and Thesaurus Section in the League of Arab States Center of Information and Documentation (ALDOC) in Tunisia from 1982 to 1990. At the same time, she served from 1989-1990 also as Project Manager of a joint project between FAO and League of Arab States to translate the AGROVOC Thesaurus into Arabic. She is currently the president of Lebanese Library Association (2023-2025). Ms. Chebani holds M.A. in Library Management in the domain of “XML markup language and digital libraries” from Manouba University in Tunisia in 2001. She also holds B.A. in Information and Documentation in 1982 and B.A. in Archeology and History of Arts in 1987 from the Lebanese University.
She is lecturer in thesaurus building, organization of information and digital preservation in the Lebanese University - Faculty of Information since 2012 till now. She published a book in Arabic about Digitization and Digital Preservation, 2018.

Member-at-large of the Executive Committee
Dr. Hilal is an assistant professor at the Department of Educational Foundations and Administration (DEFA) at the College of Education in Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat and had previously been a faculty member in the department of education at the American University of Beirut. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of Leicester, UK, and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from McGill University, Canada. She has an extensive professional experience in teaching and leading K-12 schools, that exceeds 15 years, where she served as a school teacher, coordinator, head of department, vice principal and principal in a number of International and International Baccalaureate schools. Her areas of research are: school-based improvement, the role of school leadership in sustainable change, teachers and principals’ continuous professional learning, critical and cultural approaches to leadership.

Dr. Al-Ebraheem is Chairman of the Board of the Kuwait Society for the Advancement of Arab Children, a post he has held since 1980. He is a former Minister of Education in Kuwait. He has taught several courses in the Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Political Science at Kuwait University since 1975 and was rector of the University from 1975 to 1980.
He is a founding member of the Arab Human Rights Organization. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Nomura School of Advanced Management in Tokyo, member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science and member of the International Advisory Council of the American University of Beirut. Dr. Al-Ebraheem has published several books and articles.

Dr. Abouchedid holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (1997). He was Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Applied Sciences at Amity University-Dubai (2022-2023) and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) (2014-2022). Currently, he is Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Applied Research in Education at NDU. He is the President of the Lebanese Association for Educational Studies (LAES).

Dr. Beblawi served as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and former Finance Minister in Egypt, following the January 25 Revolution in 2011. He graduated with an honorary degree from the faculty of Law, Cairo University in 1957, and received postgraduate diplomas in political economy, general law and economic sciences from Cairo University, Egypt and the University of Grenoble, France. He then earned his PhD in economic sciences from the University of Paris.
He served as the Delegate of the State Council, lecturer of Economics and of law at the faculty of Law, Alexandria University, and as a lecturer in a number of Egyptian, American and French universities. He also served as an adviser to the Kuwait Finance Minister and as a director of the department of economy at the Industrial Bank of Kuwait, the Chairman of the Export Development Bank of Egypt, and the Export Credit Guarantee Company of Egypt. Moreover, he was an adviser to the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi. Prior to this he was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),1995–2000.
In 1983, Dr. Beblawi won the Economics prize for the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences across the Arab World. He also won multiple awards from the Belgian, French and Lebanese governments. Dr. Beblawi has numerous publications in English, Arabic and French in the areas of money, international trade, the Arab economic cooperation and the economic theory, and has contributed in the development of the “Rentier State Theory” using the prevailing economic concepts.

Dr. Bennani is currently Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO and has been since 1999 a member of the Executive Board of the Organization. She served for three years as president of the Board. She is a university professor and holds a doctorate in Spanish literature from the Mohammed V University in Rabat and a "Doctorat d'État" in Hispanic literature from the University of Paris X. She has authored many literary works and was Dean of the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences of the Mohamedia Hassan II University in Morocco.
Dr. Bennani served as Minister of Culture in 1997-1998 and High Commissioner for the disabled from 1994 to 1998. Within the context of her work for UNESCO she served as counselor to the United Nations Group on the Alliance of Civilizations in 2005 and 2006 and as president in 2007 of the General Assembly of States Delegations to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. She is currently jury president of the King Mohammed VI Prize and jury member of the King Hassan II Prize.

Dr. Fayzah Al Khurafi is Emeritus professor of Physical Chemistry at Kuwait University. She is the first woman to have been awarded the status of a cabinet minister in Kuwait and the Arab Gulf states, and also the first woman president of Kuwait University—and indeed of any university in Kuwait or the Middle East. She established the first corrosion research laboratory and the first catalysis research laboratory. She was awarded the "Tho-Al-Weshah" Award, the highest order award granted in Kuwait, by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait.
She was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the American University in Cairo for her contributions to the reconstruction and development of Kuwait University. In 2011, she received the Oreal -UNESCO Award of the Arab States and Africa for Women in Science. She is also the recipient of numerous distinguished scientific awards including that of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). She is the Vice President of the Third World Academy of Science and Technology representing the Arab World and has membership in the fields of Planning, Development and Education in Kuwait. She is a member of the United Nations University Council, of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations University in Tokyo from 2002 till 2008, of the Supreme Council of the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), and of the American Chemical Society. She is also a member in twenty-five regional and international scientific councils, committees, institutions, organizations and unions. Dr. Al Khurafi has published more than 117 papers in her field of specialization in international scientific journals, and more than 50 studies in proceedings of international scientific conferences and in scientific books.

Dr. Ambusaidi is a professor of Science Education and is currently Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education in the Sultanate of Oman. He previously worked at Sultan Qaboos University as director of the Center for Humanitarian Research, Dean of the Deanship of Postgraduate Studies, Assistant Dean of the College of Education for University Studies, and Head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the College of Education. He holds a doctorate from the University of Glasgow in 2000 in the field of science teaching.

He supervised and discussed many master’s and doctoral theses in the field of science teaching at Sultan Qaboos University and outside it. He has more than 170 scientific research papers published in Arab and international journals in the field of science teaching in particular and education in general. He works as a consultant for many educational development projects in the Sultanate of Oman, including the TAMAM Project (school-based development) and the Green Schools Project. He is also the lead researcher (PI) for many educational projects in the Sultanate of Oman, including a school garden project, employing Omani heritage in school curricula project, a sustainable school health project, and a sustainable eco-tourism project.

Dr. Al-Busaidi is a professor of English as a foreign language at the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Sultanate of Oman. He received his BA in TEFL at Sultan Qaboos University in 1995, his MA in TEFL at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom in 1997, and his PhD in curriculum studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA in 2003. He is currently the dean of the College of Education at SQU.
He previously served as the Director of the Language Centre at SQU (2010 – 2016). He has also chaired and taken part in many committees and project teams in and outside SQU.
Dr Al-Busaidi has participated in many national and international conferences and symposia. He has published many journal articles and book chapters on a range of topics. His main research interests are: learner autonomy, material development, study/academic skills, academic readiness and language acquisition.

Ms. Baasiri is currently the Director-General of the Rafic Hariri Foundation. She was, until recently, Secretary-General of the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, a post she occupied for several years. She is a graduate in Economics from the American University of Beirut. Mrs. Baasiri started her career as a researcher in econometrics.
She then ventured into several other domains which helped her to acquire multifaceted credentials and equipped her to assume key responsibilities in the domains of education, science, culture and communication, as well as in the realms of cultural and religious dialogue and bioethics.
She participated actively in more than 150 national, regional and international conferences and seminars, whether as main organizer, keynote speaker, rapporteur, or chairperson. The most prominent of these activities was chairing two UNESCO general conference commissions, the programme support and external relations (PRX) Commission in 2007, and the Social and Human Sciences Commission in 2009. Ms. Baasiri also produced several working papers, lectures and newspaper articles and reviewed and edited several publications.

Dr. Osman was Director of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States and UNESCO's representative in Lebanon and Syria for five years up to the end of 2011. Since 2006 he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Open University. He is holder of a B.A. in Philosophy, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Education from the University of London's Institute of Education in the UK.
Dr. Osman began his professional career as inspector of administration and planning of higher education and research policies at the Sudanese Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He was Dean of the Faculty of Educational Studies of the Arab Open University in Kuwait, as well as Dean and professor at the University of Juba, Sudan. He was also professor of comparative education at the University of Qatar. He has also served as founding member, Vice Chair, member of the Board of Trustees and advisor in several national and regional organizations and committees in the domain of education. Dr. Osman has produced 97 studies in various subjects within the domain of education.

Dr. Ghusayni lectures in the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut, and is a former Chairman of the Department. He has served as director of the Division of Education and Extension Programs and of the Career Guidance Center at the University, as well as director of the Educational Resources Center at International College in Beirut. He is a co-founder of the International School of London and served as its headmaster for eight years.
Dr. Ghusayni was president of the Lebanese Association for Educational Studies from 2009 to 2011. He was editor of the third yearbook published in 2001 by the Association titled Values and Education. He also co-edited the seventh LAES yearbook published in 2012 and titled Learning and Teaching History: Lessons from and for Lebanon. Dr. Ghusayni holds a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University, U.S.A. His primary research focus is on design of the school curriculum and moral and citizenship education. He has served as an educational consultant to a number of organizations including UNICEF, UNESCO and the European Union.

Mrs. Kassab is currently a licensed Rapid Transformational Therapy®️ (RTT®️) Practitioner. She started her career as a teacher and an influencer. Then, she joined Rearden Educational's Concept Bookstore to soon become the company's managing director. She served as a seasoned senior educational consultant passionate about the role of education in the Middle East and consulted for various NGOs and academic institutions in Lebanon.
She has years of experience in the field of education, spanning general management, strategic and financial planning, project and conference management, fundraising as well as children bookstore & school management.
In 1996, Ms. Kassab introduced the education pledge for graduating students at the American University of Beirut, followed by an educational award for an outstanding BA graduate in the university’s Faculty of Education. She has also worked with the Lebanese Ministry of Education on developing a similar award at the national level. She is also a founding member of the Middle East Partnership Initiative and a member of the Lebanese League for Women in Business.

Mr. Al-Nouri was Minister of Education and Higher Education from 1986 to 1990, and Minister of Health from 1996 to 1997 in Kuwait. He occupied the position of Secretary-General of Kuwait University from 1966 until 1978; prior to that he had served as the cultural attaché at the Embassy of Kuwait in London. Since 1980 he has been the managing partner for the Arab Information Management Services. He was the chairman of Global Investment House from 1997 to 2007, and chairman and managing director of the Industrial Bank of Kuwait from 1978 to 1986.
Mr. Al-Nouri is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Endowment for the Support of Education, and founding member of several societies and committees including the Kuwait-American Foundation and the Kuwait Society for the Advancement of Arab Children. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Kuwait in 2009. He has published numerous articles and a book entitled FīMarābi` Al-Dhikra:(In the Domain of Remembrances).

Dr. Hamed Al Hamami is the Director of UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut and UNESCO Representative for Lebanon and Syria since February 2012. He joined UNESCO in 2004 as a Director for the Doha Cluster Office and UNESCO Representative for the Gulf States and Yemen. Dr. Al Hamami has a Ph.D. degree in "Educational Policies and Management" from Birmingham University, UK.
He served as Director for the Technical Office of Studies and Development at the Education Ministry (Oman), and a Director-General for Curriculum and Training at the Ministry of Education (Oman) 1999-2004. He worked as a teacher, educational inspector, trainer, manager and consultant. He was also a member at the Omani Higher Education Council and worked as an Educational consultant for the Gulf States and international organizations. Dr. Al Hamami has numerous publications in educational policies and management, educational administration and curriculum development.