Adef - Arab Digital Expression FoundationCo-founder and Director
Nov. 2005Cairo, EgyptThe Arab Digital Expression Foundation has accumulated an inspiring body of knowledge on issues and practices around digital expression, incitement of self-expression, collaboration, open-source models of development, arabization of education practices and others. This body of knowledge was constructed around successive educational and residential digital expression camps organized every summer to host from 60 to 80 youngsters and 40-60 young professionals from across the Arab World. It was also constructed through an evolving network of artists, techies, educationalists and activists who worked with ADEF in different forms, from curriculum advising, to training, to supporting institutional building, to weaving connections for the initiative’s outreach to the region and more. Eighteen years on, ADEF believes it is stepping into a new phase, at the heart of which lies the Arabic word that unfolds from the A.D.E.F. acronym. In Arabic, ADEF means “add”. ADEF pounces into existing contexts of education, pedagogies, concepts of collaborations and theories of self-expression to add thoughts and practices, driven by rich and multi-layered experiences. The unfolding of those functions is the product of a continuous collaborative process between a community of artists, activists and techies. As thus, my focal role throughout all these years has been this continuous engagement with this continually growing community as a mobilizer and enabler for individuals and groups. I have been the focal person for the annual organization of both the youngsters camps (completing its 15th year in August 2023) and young professional camps since 2014. As a founding member, I have also continued to be engaged in the strategic development of ADEF which now boasts several programs.