Alaa Badr is a PhD researcher at the political and social sciences department at the European University Institute. She holds a Master in Political theory from SciencesPo Paris where she researched Self-Criticism in Arab Political thought and received her B.A. in Political Science with a regional focus on the Middle East from SciencesPo Paris, Menton Campus. She spent a year at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) studying Islamic philosophy and Qur’anic translation. Throughout her studies, she has carried out different research projects including immigration in Berlin, Post-Communist space in Prague & Theatre scene in Athens. In this sense, she is a firm believer in the importance of intercultural understanding and in dialogue as a way of communication that’s why she co-founded YAUMEA (Youth, Art & Unity in the MENA region); an association which promotes voices of the youth through a series of dialogues, research and art projects.