Houssem Aoudi
CEO and founder, Wasabi/Afkar, Tunisia
Houssem Aoudi is a Tunisian entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the media, civic engagement, and social innovation. He believes that supportive communities are the best catalysts for change. Houssem is the founder and CEO of the Afkar “Think and Action Tank” and Wasabi, a media and communications company. He is also the co-founder and former CEO of the country’s first coworking space “Cogite”.
Kamal Abuzayan
Co-founder and General Manger, Deraz Corner, Libya
Kamal co-founded Deraz Company in 2016. He loves to read and research, is admirer of art that he greatly appreciates, enjoys designing, and has a technical vision. He has always seeked to develop from a practical, scientific and social standpoint, and acquire the greatest developing experience in design, social responsibility, and management.
Marina Batinić
Co-founder and Project Manager, Culture Hub Croatia, Croatia
Marina has MA degrees in Art History and English, in History, Archaeology and Mediterranean Arts, and Cultural Heritage Management, obtained in Croatia, France and Spain respectively. She was trained at the EU Commission and the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine in Paris. Some of her previous positions include the University of Perpignan and Kanal – Centre Pompidou. Currently she is managing Culture Hub Croatia and working as a research coordinator for Edgeryders in Brussels.
Relja Bobić
Co-founder and International Cooperation Manager, Nova Iskra, Serbia
Since 1999, he has been the author of numerous projects in Serbia and abroad, in the domains of music, art education, visual culture and others. He was the artistic director of the festivals “Dis-patch and “+++”. Since 2011, he is a member of the Nova Iskra team, where he focuses on the development of education programmes and international cooperation. He was one of the founders of the European Creative Hubs Network.
Amra Čomor
Project Leader, Networks INT, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Amra Čomor is a Project Leader at Networks in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently she is working on a national level project concerning local communities. The overall project objective is to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on women empowerment and the inclusion of marginalised groups, but also to support creative contents in 24 community hubs across the country and promote their collaboration.
Zina Dajani
Founder & CEO, Antwork, Lebanon
Zina Dajani founded Antwork, a proptech bridging real estate and technology and turning any space into monetizable coworking space with a community focus. Currently, it is operating in the ME and Europe, with 20 years expertise in structuring, financing and managing services companies, and real estate development. Zina developed the award-winning Beirut Terraces tower, designed by Herzog & de Meuron. She holds an MSc in Real Estate Development from the MIT and a BArch from the AUB.
Shadda Elmagri
CEO, Deraz Corner, Libya
Ambitious architect aspires to be amongst those who create the change in the society. Alongside her dedication to architecture, Shadda is an advocate for women and youth rights, she has the ability to lead and multitask efficiently, which qualified her to be the CEO of Deraz Corner, where she has always been concerned with building a community capable of making a change.
Riane Guefaifia
Digital Content Officer, Sylabs, Algeria
Riane is a young Algerian creative, passionned by design and technology. She has worked for Sylabs since 2 years, started as an intern and is today the hub’s creative officer. She covers all digital creations of Sylabs and the support for several startups, manages the maker space (3-D printers, laser cutters), trainer in design and video making, chroniclers at Jow Radio, Riane is holding a bachelor degree from USTHB in telecommunications.
Raed Hamouri
Executive Director, Disarming Design from Palestine, Palestine
Raed Hamouri is Executive Director of DDFP and an active community builder. Designer and architect, activator of “Hosh Jalsa” the HQ of DDFP, which is acting as an alternative school of design in Palestine. A social activist, he has worked for international sustainable development organizations for more than 14 years.
Elvis Hoxha
Co-founder, Destil Creative Space, Albania
Elvis Hoxha is a co-founder and CEO of Destil Creative Space. He has graduated from the Faculty of Journalism. His previous positions include project manager from IPA II CBC at the Ministry of European Integration. Since 5 years, Elvis has been at the core of Destil’s activity contributing to the startup and creative ecosystem. Elvis is also a self-taught drummer and was part of one of the most alternative local bands.
Matan Israeli
Co-founder and Director, Muslala, Israel
Matan is the CEO and co-founder of the Muslala community that brings together creative artists, social activists, educators, and entrepreneurs in the heart of Jerusalem since 2009. Matan leads Muslala’s main project – the artistic & sustainable revival process of the commercial “Clal Center” in downtown Jerusalem.
Mariem Kane
Co-founder and Partnership Manager, Hadina RIMTIC, Mauritania
Mariem KANE co-created the first incubator, Hadina RIMTIC. She is an ICT Engineer graduated in France. She participated in several programmes, such as YALI in the USA and LEAD Campus at Science Po Paris. Her professional experience started in France and moved to Mauritania working for a telecom operator company. Now she is an executive board member of the High Council of Youth, and CEO of her own company Kanzy Consulting.
Nevena Korać
Web Content Creator, Propeler, Montenegro
Nevena Korac is a content creator for Propeler. Currently, she works as a social media specialist for a software development company based in Montenegro. Nevena is experienced in branding and marketing strategy creation, content creation, and event management. She works with youths to help them get the skills they need for a future carrier. She believes creativity is the key strength every human being should be practicing, every day.
Arijana Koskarova
Founder, Creative Hub, North Macedonia
Arijana Koskarova, MBA, is a Forbes under 30 Entrepreneur, founder of Creative Hub, a non-formal education and coworking centre. She is the founder of the Balkan Entrepreneurship Summit, CruiseKPI app, and former Director of Marketing & Revenue at RCL Corporation.
Malek Maazoun
Founder and CEO, Coart – Creative coworking space, Tunisia
Malek Maazoun is an engineer and musician based in Sfax. Currently, he is a social entrepreneur in the field of creative and cultural industries, involved in the establishment of the first creative coworking space @sfax; he is President of the cultural association “Artists without Borders – Tunisia”.
Muhammad Nagi
Managing Director, AlMaqarr Co., Egypt
Nagi is the co-founder & Managing Director of AlMaqarr, Egypt’s leading coworking space that helps idea-stage entrepreneurs to collaborate and gain support to further their ideas and transform them into sustainable projects and businesses. After spending more than 6 years working closely with startups and supporting organizations, he knows what it takes to start something from scratch and continuously promotes collaboration with a belief that working together creates exceptions.
Luka Piškorič
co-founder and managing director - Poligon Creative Centre, Slovenia
Luka Piškorič is a co-founder and Managing Director of Poligon, Institute for development of creative industries and Poligon Creative Centre. With over 20 years' experience in cultural and creative industries, he works internationally as an expert for bottom-up development of CCI and creative hubs. Luka is a member of the Council of the Cultural Policy Designers Network and member of the Board of Directors of the European Creative Hubs Network.
Atılım Sahin
Creative Hub Director, ATÖLYE, Turkey
Atılım is a connector, community developer, and facilitator. His educational background has blended within the fields of mechanical engineering, product design, interaction design, and performative arts. He is currently Creative Hub Director with ATÖLYE, Secretary-General with the European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN), Creative Enterprise Programme Facilitator with Nesta, and a board member with the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey. He loves jamming with his percussions, hiking in the jungle, playing ping-pong and cycling across Istanbul traffic jams.
Talel Sahmim
National Coordinator, Unido, Tunisia
Talel is a specialist in cluster development in the creative and cultural sector, with great experience in coaching and sector development. He has created and today manages several coworking spaces, the last one being the design hub Nabeul. Talel has experience in entrepreneurship, and is responsible for several incubators in Tunisia.
Blerta Thaci
Executive Director, Open Data Kosovo, Kosovo
Blerta Thaci is the Executive Director of Open Data Kosovo and the founder of Girls Coding Kosova. Her main goal is to contribute to public causes and help the youth of Kosovo build their capacities in the tech industry. She studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UP. In 2018, she was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe and in 2017, the Women in ICT Award.