For the last few months they have been working 24/7 to make a great success of the EMAJ 2009.´
Meet our superheroes fighting for better intercultural journalism.
| Krystian Lada | Project Manager Tel.: + 31 20 5312907  krystian.lada@amsterdam.goethe.org |
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| Henning Radke | Project Management Assistant Once upon a time Henning received an e-mail from Krystian, the project manager, asking him if he wants to join the EMAJ 2009 Project. And he said: “Yes!” Several months passed by since then - full of contacting people from all over the world and explaining things in languages Henning doesn’t speak... Organizing the EMAJ 2009 is a challenge but Henning definitely likes it. Oh yes, he does! One of the most frequent words in project management in general is “deadline”. Krystian uses this particular word very often. In his “other” life, Henning is a student of Dutch language and Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam and the Free University Berlin. He likes candies, theater, hearing loud music when no one else is at home, Berlin and Amsterdam. |
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| Maha Alkahef Searching in every small corner but I'm not a cockroach, listening to every whisper or word but I am not a ghost, writing every detail but I am not a detective, standing behind the camera but I am not a cameraman. I can't keep a secret, so you can guess that I am a journalist. My name is Maha Alkahef, I am a 27 year old, working for a Syrian news website and with experience from Syrian Arab News Agency SANA. My principles in life are truth and justice. |
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| Gülsen Devre Gülsen is 28 years old. She studied philosophy, international relations and Arabic language and culture in Amsterdam. Me, myself and I? I love to connect people, while working for a better society... "Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood." [Khalil Gibran] |
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| Marina Ferhatovic | Web Editor Known during the 2008 edition of EMAJ for forcing people into a group hug. She has lived half of her life in Bosnia and the other half in Sweden, but now 27 years old and enriched by experiences such as EMAJ claims to be a world citizen. She works as a freelance journalist in Gothenburg with working experience from Göteborgs-Posten and Metro. She loves dancing, reading books recommended or given to her and waking up in a new city every week. And yes, if she ruled the word, group hug would be the official international greeting gesture. |
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| Letizia Gambini Letizia likes ice-cream in the mornings, reading, watching films and is a Facebook-fanatic. She is 25 and works as Media and External Relations Coordinator for the European Youth Forum (YFJ) in Brussels but is originally from Italy. As an Italian, Letizia cannot live without Nutella and believes that pizza with chicken, ketchup or pineapple is NOT pizza (!) but is otherwise a passionate for intercultural dialogue. She is Member of the European Board of European Youth Press and since her participation in EMAJ 2008 in Amman, she's fallen in love with the Middle East and hopes to learn Arabic soon enough. Insch'Allah! |
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| Ahmed Esmat His friends call him "Esmat connecting people" due to his contacts everywhere. He is 27 years old and is the owner of "Alex Agenda" Magazine. Marketing is his passion and he is proud of establishing the first youth cultural magazine in Alexandria. He is also involved in the civil society in the region, supporting youth empowerment, entrepreneurship as he deeply believes that young people can develop and creates change. His life time motto is: "I'll fight till the end, I'll live with honour or I'm going to die hard". As a true Alexandrian he likes pasta, shrimps and calamari. |
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| Nasry Esmat His Facebook description reads: “A mentally retarded person who found his cure in journalism... His ambitions kept growing till he became the slave you meet everyday.” At least part about ambition seems to be true as he is a journalist at Al-Ahram newspaper, interactivity editor at FilGoal.com, trainer, university lecturer and most importantly a former EMAJer. He has attended seven cultural exchange programs as well as a fellow of University of Florida and is a winner of Mostapha Amin award for young journalists 2002 . |
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| Krisztian Gal Krisztian was the Indiana Jones of the 2008 edition of EMAJ, as he bought the hat of the movie hero to protect himself from the sun in desert landscape of Petra, Jordan. In real life he lives in Hungary and is 23 years old. He is freelancing for an online political-economic magazine www.fn.hu, has an undergraduate in international relations and will soon graduate in political science. Hanging out with friends, reading, travelling – these gives him the most. Currently he is studying in Spain. His advice to the participants of the EMAJ 2009 is: “Be open-minded, listen what others are saying and be ready to learn new things anytime.” |
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| Pawel Krzysiek Do you think it is possible to come to a place as one person and leave as a completely different one? I think it is! It happened to me during the last edition of EMAJ in Jordan. Coming as a research-oriented young journalist (planning to do a boring PHd.), I ended up in Syria freelancing for United Nations’ agencies from refugee camps, youth centres and anti-Western demonstrations! Learning, exploring and spreading the message about those who really need us! Crazy, unstable and looking for troubles (Arab governments included:)). It’s just me - Pawel Krzysiek, 25, from Poland. The EMAJ-er. |
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