My name is Noha Heraiba and I am an editor and translator at Dialogue Across Borders and intern coordinator with the Center for Arab-West Understanding in Cairo. Our primary focus is on building bridges between the Western world and the Arab world through intercultural and interreligious dialogue. As an Egyptian who has studied in Egypt, the Gulf, and Canada, I have learned a great deal about how complicated the world is and how crucial dialogue is for finding ways to flourish together.

Given the current state of world affairs, it has become more urgent to find spaces where people can discuss and even debate their differences rather than have them fuel conflict. We believe that through dialogue, not only can real differences be acknowledged, but the many similarities we all share can also be recognized. When two apparently conflicting sides can meditate on their similarities and differences, they are brought one step closer to understanding which can lead to greater mutual respect. It is this calling that attracted me to Dialogue Across Borders and the Center for Arab-West Understanding.

Our database serves this vision in helping to create understanding between East and West. Among other materials, we provide summary translations of Arabic and Egyptian news media. Thus, rather than learning about the Middle East from outside news outlets, our readers are provided an inside look at religion and culture in the Middle East. One of my main responsibilities is to ensure that all the uploaded articles are in the best possible form. These translations are then edited and cross-checked with their Arabic source so that our readers can gain the most insight from their content. At present, we publish forty or fifty of these translations every month.

[A recent meeting with staff and interns at our office in Cairo. I’m in the middle flashing the peace sign :).]

In addition, I help to coordinate our intern program. We are constantly taking on talented new interns to contribute to our database and gain hands-on experience living in an Arab country. Their contributions both in the past and present have been significant. Currently, we are home to 5 interns: Sophie Cooper from the US is studying Comparative Literature and Arabic at Harvard University; Ella O’Loughlin from the UK is currently finishing her BA in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge University; Jacob Snow from the UK is about to graduate in Politics and International Relations from Royal Holloway, University of London; Saskia Heisterborg from the Netherlands has a BA in International Relations and Organizations from the University of Groningen and is currently completing an MA in Middle Eastern Studies and Journalism at the University of Groningen; and finally, Habiba Abdullah from Egypt who studied at the University of Bradford in the UK and is a new graduate from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University. Their talents and contributions to the center have been invaluable, and we look forward to hosting more great minds like theirs in the future to allow for the journey of dialogue to continue.

It is true that much international news these days can be depressing. Nevertheless, we are so often encouraged by the new insights and greater understanding that we discover through our work. If you know students or young people who would benefit from such an experience, please encourage them to contact us at [email protected].

All the very best,

Noha Heraiba

Editor and Translator – Dialogue Across Borders

Intern Coordinator – Center for Arab-West Understanding

July 7, 2024