Ayman Mhanna is the Executive Director of the Beirut-based Samir Kassir Foundation, the leading freedom of expression NGO in the Levant region. He joined SKF in September 2011. In this capacity, Ayman oversees the Foundation’s monitoring of violations targeting media and culture professionals, advocacy for more liberal legislation, research into the future of the media sector, and training activities to build the capacity of emerging, independent media initiatives. From January 2016 to February 2017, he was also the Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), a network of 200+ media development and journalism assistance organisations. Both at the Samir Kassir Foundation and GFMD, Ayman oversaw the organization of large scale conferences, workshops and festivals, gathering hundreds of participants. He previously served as Senior Program Officer for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (2007-2011) working on election observation, electoral reform and civil society involvement in public policy-making. He was also a lecturer on the Master’s programme at Saint Joseph University’s Faculty of Economics, teaching Policy Development and Communications (2011-2016). Ayman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris. He is a member of Friends of Europe’s European Young Leaders program – MENA chapter (class of 2017) and a member of the international Contact Group on Content and Jurisdiction at the Internet Jurisdiction Policy Network for 2019-2022.