Tarek Zeidan Visiting Fellow
Tarek Zeidan is a sexual and bodily rights activist from Lebanon advocating for the rights and protection of LGBT communities in the MENA region. He is the executive director of Helem, the first LGBT rights organization in the Arab World founded in 2001. His expertise lies in global LGBTIQ advocacy, digital rights, economic justice, and political participation. Tarek is an Ashoka Foundation global changemaker fellow, a Ford Foundation global fellow, and a fellow at the Harvard Center for Public Leadership. He has previously worked as the head of communications and strategic planning for the MENA region at the Brookings Institution and at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He obtained his MA in human rights advocacy and leadership studies from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He lives in Beirut, Lebanon.
During his fellowship, Tarek will concentrate on the impact of artificial intelligence on LGBTQ rights in the MENA region and the wider global south. His research seeks to examine possible legal and policy frameworks to safeguard and protect marginalized communities affected by existing and emerging discriminatory technologies.