Ola Saleh

TrustWorks Associate

Ola is a peacebuilding advisor, radicalisation expert, youth mentor, learning designer and facilitator.

Ola is a creative problem solver who started her journey as a feminist advocate in 2005. Her professional background in grounded in social movements, humanitarian, and development cooperation contexts in the field and head office. She holds a Master’s degree in Conflictology from the Open University of Catalonia, Spain.

Her experience ranges from supporting women’s participation in local political and peacebuilding procceses, track ii and track i efforts, enhancing multi-track approaches, to gender sensitive conflict analysis, developing peacebuilding strategies, and practice informed research.

She has delivered numerous co-learning workshops and one on one coaching to civil society organisations, management staff in Ukraine, BiH, South Caucasus, Rwanda, Liberia, MENA, and Sweden. This includes IRL training, hybrid learning, and e-learning on developing theories of change, DNH and gender, cultural heritage and gender, ideation sessions, as well as various peacebuilding subject matter training and coaching. Furthermore, she has mentored youth change actors to design and deliver social change initiatives in their local contexts. She has also advised senior management teams & boards on antiracist discourse and practice in the development and culture sectors.

Ola is a recognised EU radicalisation expert, she is a second term member of the EU Radicalisation Awareness Network expert pool on preventing and countering violent extremism. Her focus is on gender responsive approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism.

Regional Specialization

Global, in addition to direct experience from work at country and regional level with MENA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, South Caucasus, and Liberia.

Thematic Specialization

Women/Youth Peace and Security agendas, Gender responsive approaches to Peace and Security, inclusive peace mediation, political analysis, Gender and the DNH Framework, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, Programme and learning Design.

Languages

English, Arabic, Swedish

Selected Publications

  • Authored: Female Radicalised Offenders in Prison and Probation: Lessons for the Future (forthcoming), The EU commission, The Radicalization Awareness Network, 2021.
  • Co-authored: The Missing Peace, A gender brief on the escalation over Nagorno Karabakh. Kvinna till Kvinna, October 2020.
  • Co-authored: Shadow resolution on women’s economic rights, leadership, and participation. Kvinna till Kvinna, October 2020.
  • Co-authored: A Right Not A Gift. Kvinna till Kvinna, May 2020.
  • Co-authored: Do No Harm, A Gender Guidance Note. CDA Collaborative, March 2018.
  • Authored: Gender Pragmatism in Extremism, Cultures Interactive, 2015.