We are #anticlichés storytellers.
We want to share another face of the Middle East by unveiling real people's life stories.
Our Mission
Friends of the Middle East is a social enterprise created in 2016 in Paris to develop the knowledge on the Middle East & foster the understanding of real people's life experiences.
It is also based in Lyon (France), Beirut (Lebanon) and is building a worldwide community.
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What We Do
We design activities to serve our mission using a financially sustainable approach.
1. DOCUMENTARIES
CREATION - DIRECTION - PRODUCTION
We create high-quality videos & documentaries telling the stories of real people from the region. We design distribution impact plans & we work with all kinds of actors.
2. COMMUNITIES
ENGAGEMENT - DISTRIBUTION
We are building engaged communities all over the world to support our mission, the documentary distribution and to create a wider impact.
3. MEETUPS
EDUCATION - ACTION
We design and organize meetups to deal with key thematics of the region through Middle Eastern people's life experiences. They are taking place in Paris, Lyon & Beirut.
Key figures
800
"Meetup" members (France & Lebanon)
8
meetups organized (France & Lebanon)
43
active members, volunteers & connectors
16
countries represented
Our worldwide community
After one year, this is where we are.
Documentary project:
"Changemakers in the Arab World"
A documentary project initiated and currently developed by Friends of the Middle East in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia.
It will tell the inspirational quest of Clara, young lebanese, and Thomas, young french, both going on a journey to meet "changemakers" carrying solutions in the Arab World.
Film partners
(Dream) Team
Here is the founding team followed by our film crew!
CLEMENT TOURON
CO-FOUNDER
General Secretary
Clément, French, can’t stop thinking about his trip to Israel/Palestine. With a history-geography & journalism background, he’s willing to explore the unexplored topics of the region.
NUJUD Z. AMOUDI
CO-FOUNDER
Community Developer
Nujud came from Syria to France in 2014 and is eager to share different realities of her native region. She has a talent when it comes to engaging people and coming up with creative ideas !
ROMAN FOY
CO-FOUNDER
President
Roman, born French from an Algerian mother and a French father, wrote a thesis about agricultural systems in Syria, he’s now teaching History-Geography at high-school. He speaks arabic and is interested in using popular education to build bridges between people.
THOMAS VAILLEUX
INITIATOR & CO-FOUNDER
Storytelling for Impact
Thomas has been travelling for 18 years from Morocco to Iran to explore people’s differences and lives. He’s on a mission to unveil the Other Middle East, human and inspiring. He speaks lebanese and is in charge of developing the organization.
CLARA KOSSAIFI
FILM DIRECTOR
Clara is a young awarded Lebanese director with an extraordinary talent to bring people’s emotions to the big screen using a delicate artistic technique. By co-directing our documentary, she’s satisfyong her need to make an impact at her scale.
BACHAR KHATTAR
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Bachar is a renowned videographer in Lebanon with the spirit of an entrepreneur, rare thing! Doer, Bachar is also moved by the necessity of educating our children to become responsible citizens to change our societies.
TANIA KAMMOUN
SOUND ENGINEER
Tania is an experienced Lebanese sound engineer, addicted to her smile and positive attitude! She brings humor when tensions are arising while being always available and reliable.
NICOLAS CARDAHI
EDITOR
Nicolas is a thoughtful French-Lebanese videographer and editor. Workaholic, he’s solutions-oriented and autonomous, a great chance when it comes to editing a movie!
Board of Advisors
We have gathered experimented consultants, entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship experts on the region or on a specific field to help us make the right decisions to support our development.
BORIS MARCEL
PROJECT GROWTH
French social entrepreneur, consultant and speaker about social innovation, Boris has co-founded several projects such as Say Yess, Ticket for Change, Europe Tomorrow and more recently Tomorrow! He is also managing an urban agriculture social entreprise called « Cols verts ».
INTISSAR BOUFTAIM
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Passionate about entrepreneurship and social innovation,
Intissar believes in the power of people to tackle our world's most pressing challenges. She co-founded the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in 2012 and currently lead the pre-incubation program of Ticket for Change "Le Parcours Entrepreneur".
AHMED HATEM
SOCIAL INNOVATION
Ahmed helps social entrepreneurs shift paradigms in business and government. He now directs the MENA Venture Program at Ashoka, where he searches for, mentors and invests in social entrepreneurs across the MENA region. Earlier, he was part of the Innovation Lab at UNDP Egypt to build incubators in three governorates as well as implement problem-solving camps.
NATHANAEL COSTE
FILM DISTRIBUTION
Nathanaël, former Geographer, has co-directed several independent documentary films. Co-director of the initiarory road-trip "A Quest for Meaning" (4500 collaborative screening - 3 years - 60 countries), he is currently developing the association Kamea Meah as an alternative platform for documentary creation and distribution.
You want to work with us?
You're interested in co-producing our documentaries?
You want to volunteer or co-create a mission with us?
You have a question?
Let's get in touch!
© 2017