Laila Hourani is a cultural leader and novelist with twenty-five years' experience in art, culture and media development, intercultural relations and partnership building for social development. Laila moved to Norway one year ago to join Mimeta as director of their international cultural rights and cultural development program. She is also MENA regional lead for the International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS), under a partnership between Mimeta and IRIS. Prior to that, Laila has lead the development of arts, culture and media strategies and portfolios for the Ford Foundation MENA office in Egypt, and the British Council MENA programs in Syria. The strategies Laila has developed have contributed to strengthening the independent cultural sector in the MENA region and supporting storytellers working under difficult conditions in MENA and Africa. Born in Damascus to a Palestinian refugee family, educated in Lebanon, Cyprus and Russia, forced out of Syria into Egypt at the height of the Arab Spring, Laila has experienced first-hand the atrocities of war, and the aspirations of revolution. She has also experienced the power of creative storytelling to transform individuals and communities. Her debut novel Baoh, published in 2009 by Aldab publishing in Beirut, is inspired by some of these experiences.