Speakers

Rawan Damen

Director General, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ)

Since 2020, Rawan Damen has led ARIJ through a period of dynamic growth—doubling its budget and team. Under her leadership, ARIJ launched the Arab World’s first Fact Checkers Network, the first Arabic whistleblower platform, and a forward-looking AI strategy. She has overseen the publication of over 250 investigations, many of which have received international awards.

With more than 25 years in journalism and documentary filmmaking, her work has earned global acclaim. She is the creator of award-winning series such Al-Nakba.

Previously, she served between 2006 – 2016 as Commissioning Senior Producer at Al Jazeera, supervising over 250 documentaries and investigations. She serves as a MENA representative at GFMD Steering Committee (2025 – 2029).

She holds a Master’s in Communication from the University of Leeds (2003) and a BA in Media and Sociology from Birzeit University (2001) —both with distinction. In 2015, she received the Arab Thought Foundation’s Media Creativity Award.