My name is Mohammad Azraq and I a new member in Edgeryders. I just had a lovely conversation with Anique about this community, which I am very excited to get to know and learn about the ways in which I could be involved.
I call myself a wandering Arab! Being Arab is perhaps the only thing with which I can identify in terms of identity. I was born in Kuwait, was raised, and lived in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa, including Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia and the UAE.
I have professional experience in solar energy project design and management, peace-building and environmental research, and network development and organizational capacity building. My personal interests are in public health and personal hygiene, public transportation, and identity formation. I am also interested in the experimentation on how AI could help deal with social problems such as xenophobia, homophobia and racism.
I look forward to communicating with you in this virtual space and to hopefully in meeting with some of you in same space.
I will be hopping around a few places this spring and summer. Currently, I am in Cairo, and will be headed to New York/DC for a month on May 1 for a month and then to Athens and Greek islands for two weeks. I am planning to be in Bangalore, India for two months starting in July. If anyone is in the areas and wants to grab a coffee, I would be delighted.
Welcome, then, @Azraq! I, too, identify by region rather than by country; in my case it’s Europe (grew up in Italy, studied in the UK and Spain, live in Belgium). [quote=“Azraq, post:1, topic:8523”]
[…] how AI could help deal with social problems such as xenophobia, homophobia and racism
[/quote]
Wow, that’s some topic. How do you see it working?
So nice to hear about you , your story and your interesting experiences .Also , i welcome you to the platform. May I ask , is there a place for Tunisia in your schedule ?
@Azraq Welcome on board… Hopefully, we meet one day maybe in an Edgryders gathering … I am sure there will be many shared interests… I am an urban planner and I focus my work on social and environmental qualities in urban areas… these days I work on cycling mobility project and advocacy in Alexandria that I posted here before… things had advanced ever since and I promised @hazem to keep the community updated soon
Thank you, @alberto I am excited to be part of this community. I mostly look at my identity as a fluid concept. I am very interested in the idea of challenging what defines an “Arab” in 21st century away from the ethno-racial view of identity. To me, identity is not something you are born with, but rather something you acquire through your cultural and life experiences. I call myself a wandering Arab because of how I have lived much of my adult life.
Thanks a lot, @anique.yael I look forward to that! For anyone interested, you can read about my research on peace-building and the renewable energy nexus here. Happy to engage in the topic and others here
Hi @AnesB, very nice to hear from you. In fact, I used to live in Tunisia for two years, and only recently left it. I will definitely be going to visit for sure and would very happy to meet up then -)
Thanks a lot @Heba. Wonderful to hear from you. I am now in Cairo, but will be leaving next week for New York. Would love to connect next time I am in Egypt. Perhaps some time mid September. Would be happy to come to Alexandria to learn more about what you do. Sounds exciting and very important. There was a startup, I met with in Alex called Mista3gel, I think, a few years ago that was trying to encourage university students to use bikes as means for their commution. I don’t know if they are still around.
Oh, I agree. My own European identity is very much acquired, even an ongoing project I have.
In our case, the Euro thing is shaped by the Expansion of 2004 and onwards, when the EU acquired a lot of new members to the east of its former borders: the Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slowakia, Austria, Romania… intellectuals struggled to find a minimum common denominator that could hold together an Irishman and a Bulgarian, a Finn and a Sicilian. Not language, not religion, not politics (as long as you are formally a democracy you are good), certainly not culture, no common enemy.
In the end, Europe was framed as a sort of club. If a country subscribes to its rules (the Four Freedoms, paying into the budget etc. ) it’s welcome in. That’s quite challenging, because it’s the opposite of tribal. And yet, I find it very exciting and modern, and want to be a part of it.
Mesta3gl are no longer working I guess… And mid September sounds good… I am planning an exhibition about the activities we do in Bibliotheca Alexandrina around September
you are welcome @Azraq
I also live in Egypt. Luxor. I work in a small community through Qus baladna youth group. the group was concerned with contributing to the local community through cultural, social and charitable activities. I hope to meet you one day at a workshop In Upper Egypt or Cairo. You can see our page on Facebook قوص بلدنا
أهلاً .=)
Hello Mohammad , nice to know you , specially on edgeryders plateform =)
I’m Mohamed and I’m living in cairo as well , I’m doing masters at sustainable urban development . I’m related some how with environmental energy solutions , right now I’m working at furniture field beside my study .check if you want : Bitcut: Open source furniture platform - منصة لإنتاج أثاث مفتوح المصدر - #16 by LauraAuguste
-)