Estella Carpi

Estella Carpi is a social anthropologist specialized in humanitarianism, identity politics and forced displacements, with a primary focus on Lebanon. She is an associate professor in Humanitarian Studies at University College London. Before and after receiving her PhD from the University of Sydney (2015), she worked extensively for several research, policy and academic institutions in Egypt (UNDP and IDRC), Lebanon (AUB and UN-Habitat), Türkiye (Koç University) and the United Arab Emirates (NYUAD and Trends Research & Advisory). She is the author of The Politics of Crisis-Making: Cultures of Assistance and Forced Displacement in Lebanon, published with Indiana University Press in 2023. She also provides consultancies on safeguarding in vulnerable contexts for NGOs.

Jill Alpes

Jill Alpes (she/her) is a legal anthropologist of migration specialized in the study of brokers and legal plurality in migration governance, with a geographical focus on West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Migration Studies of the Lebanese American University and research affiliate at CESSMA (Centre d’études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatiques), she currently acts as principal investigator for “REMOVED: Removal Infrastructures for Syrians in Lebanon and Turkey,” funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation (2024- 2026). Based on fieldwork in Cameroon, Mali and Lebanon, she is the author of one book and 15 peer-reviewed articles in international journals on migration risks at points of departure, arrival and after returns and deportation. Her book Abroad at Any Cost: Brokering High-risk Migration and Illegality in West Africa challenges narratives of smuggling and trafficking and considers the governance of migration from the perspective of individuals and families in a country of departure in West Africa. Dr. Alpes cultivates an active interest in mixing qualitative and legal research methods with creative and participatory methodologies, such as futures literacy labs. She is a member of the UN Working Group on Returns of the UN Migration Network and has worked for and in collaboration with foundations and migrants and refugee rights organizations, such as Amnesty, Oxfam, the Danish Refugee Council and Picum..

Charbel Maydaa

Dr. Maydaa (he/she/they) is the founder and former Director of MOSAIC MENA (MOSAIC, the MENA Organization for Services, Advocacy, Integration and Capacity building) a non-governmental organization committed to the improvement of the health and wellness of LGBTIQ persons in the MENA region. He is a certified trainer on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, Sex Characteristics, Reproductive Health/Rights and Clinical Management for women and men survivors of sexual violence/rape. He currently serves as the Alternate Co-Chair and West Asia Representative of ILGA Asia, as well as a Researcher and Co-Investigator at the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security hub at the London School of Economics. Dr. Maydaa is the Co-author of the paper “Trust no one, beware of everyone: Vulnerabilities of LGBTI Refugees in Lebanon” published in the edited volume “A Gendered Approach to the Syrian Refugee Crisis” (Routledge 2017).

Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss

Abbas Ismail 

Abbas Ismail (he/him) is affiliated with the Centre for International Studies of Lisbon (CEI) and is a PhD candidate in International Studies at the ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon. He was awarded a scholarship by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). His research evaluates mediation strategies employed by international and regional organizations—such as the Arab League, the United Nations and the European Union—in the Syrian Peace Process, focusing on their effectiveness. He explores how each organization’s unique mediation strategy addresses the complexities of the conflict, considering specific contextual factors like geopolitical dynamics and cultural norms. Through his analysis, he seeks to provide valuable insights into the dynamics of mediation and peacebuilding efforts in the Middle East, also highlighting the influence of these efforts on migration patterns and population movements. Before joining the Institute for Migration Studies at LAU, Abbas was a visiting researcher at The Arab and Muslim Worlds Observatory (OMAM) at the Université libre de Bruxelles (MSH-ULB) and conducted fieldwork in Brussels and Beirut. He was also a Civil War Paths fellow based in the Department of Politics at the University of York, United Kingdom.

Yara El Zakka 

Yara (they/them) holds an MA in Migration Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Lebanese American University. Their research interests are centered on refugee studies, especially at the intersection of politics, space, gender and development. In their main research, Yara examined the interrelationship between youth development and spatial configurations, focusing on the socio-spatial inequalities youth face in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. They have also worked on two main studies on the Lebanese diaspora and political transformation in Lebanon. They are currently working on different projects that revolve around politics and humanitarianism, refugee and asylum routes and spatio-political containment at border crossings. Apart from academic research, Yara has been working in the humanitarian and emergency fields for over four years, focused on youth and adolescent development, partnerships and coordination, and knowledge management in Palestinian Refugee Camps and gatherings in Lebanon.

Josiane Matar 

Josiane (she/her) is a D Phil candidate in Migration Studies and has been awarded the Rhodes scholarship for Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Her research explores emerging practices of governmentality and the socio-political and economic linkages that develop between refugees and the rural poor in displacement-affected communities facing economic hardships. Josiane holds a master’s degree in International Public Management from the Paris Institute of Political Studies – Sciences Po and a bachelor’s in Political Science and International Affairs from the Lebanese American University. Prior to joining Oxford, Josiane volunteered and conducted field research in several refugee camps across Lebanon. She has also worked as a consultant for the research division at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) and as an events and media coordinator at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.

Maria Calvário da Paz

Maria (she/her) holds a BA in International Relations from Coventry University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Humanitarian Action. Maria’s research focus is centered on the intersection of social inclusion of refugees and sports, specifically Syrian refugee youth in Lebanon. Her work is dedicated to exploring the concept of the triple nexus by examining the interplay of peace, social inclusion and the transformative power of sports in the lives of refugee communities. In addition, Maria has worked alongside Ajuda de Mãe, a Portuguese NGO, where she collaborated on a project that focused on empowering and supporting young mothers on their educational journeys.

Dima Masoud

Masoud (she/her) is a Graduate Research Fellow at the Center for Immigrant, Refugee and Global Health at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health. She is a global public health professional with more than seven years of experience in leading, supporting, monitoring and evaluating programs while conducting qualitative and quantitative research and teaching. Her academic background, rigorous training and certifications have equipped her to deeply understand various international health issues affecting refugees and immigrants. Dima’s work as a graduate research fellow has exposed her to many projects that target the health of immigrants and refugees in the US and abroad, including areas of heightened vulnerability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, in her previous role as a researcher at the Institute for Community and Public Health at Birzeit University, she was tasked with leading a project in the 19 UNRWA refugee camps in the West Bank and Jordan to better understand the reproductive health needs of adolescent girls. For her dissertation, she is focused on understanding the gender-based violence experience of Syrian refugee women in North Lebanon.

Asli Saban

Saban (she/her) graduated from Başkent University’s Department of Social Work in 2014. She has been working in the migration space for over five years now, with an emphasis on refugees and displaced groups in Turkey, Lebanon and the Middle East. She is a former member and regional focal point of the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth’s Migration Working Group. Asli has worked as a Research Consultant for the Global Compact for Migration implementation in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Her work mainly focuses on marginalized migrant and refugee groups, labor rights, child protection and GBV, with a recent focus on the intersections of these areas of focus within the Dom Syrian refugee community in the MENA.

Romain Mellies Horiot

Romain (he/him) is a graduate student completing his MA in human rights, refugee and asylum law at the Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs. He has a background in history, sociology and international political science. His research currently centers around refugee and asylum law under the legal, historical and sociological prism. His ongoing research engages with the EU’s and France’s response to refugee movements from the SWANA region since 2011. Prior to joining the IMS, Romain served as a research assistant at the French National Court of Asylum (CNDA)’s Research Centre, studying the European asylum framework and its flaws, and the access to asylum for Palestinian refugees in the EU.

Dana Azzeh

Dana (she/her) is an Educator and an independent researcher. She holds a Master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, with a focus on international social welfare and services for immigrants and refugees. Dana worked as a research assistant with several academic institutions, as well as a Lecturer at the German Jordanian University, where she taught a course on “Conducting Research with Refugees and Vulnerable Populations” alongside other social work courses. In addition to her academic background, Dana is a humanitarian practitioner, and has worked for UNHCR and other NGOs in different capacities across Jordan, Turkey, and Uganda. Her current research centers on identity formation among Palestinian refugee youth in Lebanon.

Kristýna Kvasničková

Kvasničková (she/her) is a PhD student of Social Geography and Regional Development (SGRR) and a researcher at GEOMIGRACE Research Center at the Charles University (CU) in Prague, Czechia. She is a member of a research team focusing on factors influencing immobility in the Global South countries. She is a member of the Czech Evaluation Society CES and has previously worked as a program director of an NGO in Poland focused on Global Education. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Ostrava in NGO management and a master’s degree in Global Migration and Development Studies from CU. Kristýna also holds a diploma from Ethics in Journalism that helps her navigate her work as a freelance photojournalist focused on social and political issues. Her published work includes the Czech newspapers Deník N and Hospodářské Noviny.

Bechara Samneh

Samneh (he/him) is the Special Projects Coordinator at ILGA Asia for the Special Project to Assist LGBTI Afghans at Risk. He serves as one the MENA Organization for Services Advocacy Integration and Capacity Building (MOSAIC MENA) Board Members, where his work is focused on finding specialized and comprehensive service provisions for marginalized groups on a national and regional level. Additionally, he works in research and advocacy for policy reform on intersectional topics specialized in SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity/Expressions, and Sex Characteristics), refugees and environmental justice. He also served as the Youth Program Coordinator at MOSAIC, working on the capacity development of youths and their respective communities. He publishes academic and para-academic articles on social engagement in the fight against human rights violations, especially in the areas of LGBTIQ+ rights violations in the MENA region. He holds an MA in Economics and Policies from University College London (UCL), an MA in International Management of Public Procurement from the University of Rome - Tor Vergata, and a BA in Chemical Engineering from the American University of Beirut (AUB).

Miguel Mendelek

Mendelek (he/him) is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Saint Joseph University (USJ). He completed his BA in Political Science and International Affairs in 2018, and his MA in International Affairs in 2021 at LAU. His research interests are focused on social movements, migration, security, governance and gender studies. His approach is multidisciplinary in nature, and aims to better understand interconnected events in the historical, political, and international landscapes.