Nadia Al-Sakkaf

Dr. Nadia Al-Sakkaf is a renowned independent Yemeni researcher with expertise in media, gender, democratic transitions, climate change, and development. She was the first woman appointed as Minister of Information and before that was Chief Editor of the country's first English language newspaper, The Yemen Times. She is co-founder of the Connecting Yemen initiative to advocate for accessible and affordable internet in Yemen. Al-Sakkaf is a recipient of many international and local awards, she was also recognized by the BBC as one of 100 Women who changed the world, and one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders in 2015. She published extensively in the fields of politics, media, and development. She has written many policy, research papers, and book chapters, and has authored two books on Yemeni women's empowerment. She also published a book collection on the experiences of Yemeni women as electoral candidates available in Arabic and English. Her 2011 TED Talk, "See Yemen through my eyes", is one of the most-watched videos on Yemen. It was translated into 34 languages and has over half a million views. She is the current Director of Research at Arabia Brain Trust.