2018-19
2018-19
Halla Alsafadi
MSc in Management (Finance)
Halla is from Gaza City. She is 28 years old, married and the mother of a young child. She graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in English Language and Literature. In Durham, she will pursue her MSc in Management (Finance) at Durham University Business School.
During her university years, Halla volunteered as the Youth Exchange and Study Scholarship (YES) alumni coordinator with AMIDEAST, developing a a variety of education and environmental awareness projects. She was then hired by AMIDEAST as an English Language Trainer. She has worked as story collection consultant with UN-Women and published stories about vulnerable women in Gaza in different humanitarian clusters such as WASH, education, health, food security, shelter, and protection.
She also works as a freelance journalist and was a war correspondent during the 2012 and 2014 bombings of Gaza. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP-UK) employs her as a commissioned journalist and video producer
Halla looks forward to her time in Durham as a period when she will gain managerial skills and understanding that will enable her to further develop her careers.
She enjoys reading, cooking and walking. Halla’s aim, she says, has always been to ‘give a voice to the voiceless’, challenge the social restrictions on women imposed by the society, and break the stereotype of Gazan women in the Western world.
Anas Almassri
MSc Conflict Prevention and Peace-building
Aged 23, Anas is an Islamic University of Gaza graduate in English and Education. During and after his undergraduate study, he worked at two human rights organizations and has built a strong knowledge of government, armed conflict, democracy, and rule of law. He also conducted training on personal and academic career development in voluntary and professional settings. Anas particularly enjoyed promoting civic engagement and intercultural exchange among youthful peers in Gaza. At AMIDEAST, he led over 300 young men and women as they delivered 27 community development initiatives—an experience that fuelled his passion and curiosity about bottom-up approaches to peace-building and development.
At Durham, Anas is seeking to fulfil this passion and curiosity on the MSc Conflict Prevention and Peace-building program. He is excited to benefit from the diverse expertise of faculty at the School of Government and International Affairs. Over the course of the program, he intends to investigate the role of foreign intervention and soft power, primarily public diplomacy, in conflict prevention, mediation, and resolution. Anas finds great energy and inspiration in listening to music, and he hopes to master playing the piano, one day. His reading interests vary from language and psychology to global politics and international education.