Omar Chu
Editor
Omar Chu
Omar is currently studying for a BA Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. His first experiences of journalism came as a member of his high school newspaper, The Echo, and he later received further training to become a reporter for Pearl World Youth News. Omar was introduced to Mahmoud Jabari and Lens for Change, when they were fellow participants in the Peace it Together 2008 summer program. There, they spent two weeks in dialogue with fellow Canadian, Israeli and Palestinian youths before working on a documentary alongside Ofek Ravid and Aya Abu Hamdieh entitled “Inspired.” Omar and Mahmoud have since collaborated on a report about a Palestinian family living in Hebron. Omar has also continued to embrace the importance of youth in building peace by volunteering as a mentor for both Most Mira and PeaceJam UK.
Chloe Clarkson
Co-Editor
" peace can be achieved if enough individuals work together, and that Lens for Change is a powerful step towards peace "
Chloe while Teaching English in Ghana
Chloe is a nineteen-year-old Canadian with aspirations of becoming a foreign correspondent in the Middle East and Africa. She is studying professional writing and social justice studies at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, and is an avid photographer on the side.
Since 2005 Chloe has been an active mediator, trained by the Community Justice Initiative in Langley BC. Through this she has resolved conflict between children as an alternative to punishment in High Schools, this training is also very convenient in her day-to-day life.
Through her mediation training in 2008 Chloe attended Peace it Together, a three-week program designed to connect Israeli and Palestinian youths though dialogue and collaborative filmmaking. Through this program Chloe developed here keen interest in social justice and the media’s effect on world issues, and met Mahmoud Jabari, author of Lens for Change. Mahmoud’s fervent dedication to peaceful activism and work in the media inspired Chloe to study Journalism herself, in Canada.
Since meeting Mahmoud Chloe has travelled to the Middle East and Africa to open her mind to new cultures and volunteer as an English and writing teacher.
Since 2005 Chloe has been an active mediator, trained by the Community Justice Initiative in Langley BC. Through this she has resolved conflict between children as an alternative to punishment in High Schools, this training is also very convenient in her day-to-day life.
Through her mediation training in 2008 Chloe attended Peace it Together, a three-week program designed to connect Israeli and Palestinian youths though dialogue and collaborative filmmaking. Through this program Chloe developed here keen interest in social justice and the media’s effect on world issues, and met Mahmoud Jabari, author of Lens for Change. Mahmoud’s fervent dedication to peaceful activism and work in the media inspired Chloe to study Journalism herself, in Canada.
Since meeting Mahmoud Chloe has travelled to the Middle East and Africa to open her mind to new cultures and volunteer as an English and writing teacher.
Tala Qaddurah
Projects' Assistant
Tala Qaddurah
Tala studies civil engineering in Birzeit university/Ramallah which she enjoys quite a lot and yet is passionate about a variety of other different things such as books, music, sports, history, food, people, and learning about the world. She likes to write and does so on a regular basis.
On community level, Tala has always liked working with people; while in school, she was a member of the math and English clubs, dedicated to help under-achieving students catch up with their classmates. She’s also a prominent community volunteer. Recently, Tala joined the iEARN team, because she was extremely thrilled by the opportunity to “learn with the world, not just about it”, and she's also joined Lens For Change family as projects' assistant.
