Participant Biographies
Daoud Sleem Daoud Abed-Elnour, System Manager for the Computer
Department in Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan. Mr. Abed-Elnour graduated
with an honors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Bridgeport
Connecticut and spent four years with a number of computer systems integrators and
vendors in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in marketing and technical support roles before
joining Greater Amman Municipality in 1985 as Technology Consultant for the Mayor
and e-governance representative. At the Municipality, he has identified and led a
number of key computerization projects which has made the company to be fully
computerized with 38 remote sites networked to main center.
Mohammad Aburawi, Technical Cordinator of GIS Committee, Ministry of
Planning, Libya. Mohamed M. Aburawi is a faculty member at the Department of
Architecture and Urban Planning, Alfateh University. Besides he is involved in GIS in
to ways. The first as the coordinator of the vectorization of the 2nd generation maps at
the Urban Planning Agency (UPA), and the second as the national coordinator of a
UPA-UN HABITAT executed project (Human Resources Development and
Management Program). His previous research and experience were related to
computer application in Architecture. He will be involved in Planning and
development of human resources and infrastructure for national and regional GIS
centers (11 centers).
Touran Mahdi Alasafi, Expert Engineer and Head of GIS Department, Ministry
of Construction & Housing (MOCH), Iraq. Mr. Alasafi received his Bachelor of
Science in electrical engineering from the University of Baghdad. He specializes in
ArcGIS I + II, Building Geodatabase I + II, and took part in the Case Studies of Water
Supply Infrastructure- Beheira, and Rashidiya-Iraq/ Georeferencing.
Yolla Al Asmar, GIS Technician, Jordan Valley Authority, Jordan. As a GIS
Technician, Ms. Al Asmar supports the GIS Division of the Jordan Valley Authority
(JVA) and various projects of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) under the
umbrella of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in all aspect related to RS- and Geo
Information Systems. She focuses on assisting in development, maintenance and
manipulation of spatial database structures and interfaces; administration of GIS and
Remote Sensing Program Packages (ArcGIS, ArcView, ER Mapper) in a multi-user
environment; preparation of proposals for use of satellite imagery to analyze effects
of groundwater by-law in Dhuleil pilot area; training staff of the JVA GIS Division on
the job, and guiding them in accomplishing their daily duties; and supporting third
party projects working for the benefit of Jordan Valley Authority. She holds a B.SC.
in Surveying and Geomatics Engineering from AL-Balaqa' Applied University AlSALT, HK of Jordan.
Mohamed Aba Alel, Director of the Department of Topography and
Cartography, Municipality of Tunis, Tunisia.
Nabeelah Ahmad Ibraheem Al-Aqaileh, Manager, GIS Unit, Greater Amman
Municipality, Jordan.
Khaled Al Bedewi, Manager of External Affairs, Arab Towns Organization.
Ghazi Al Fayyadh, General Manager/CHairman, Atlas Co., Iraq.
Nadim Jeries Jabra Al-Hadweh, City Engineer and the Head of Engineering
Department, West Bank/Gaza. Mr. Al-Hadweh joined Beit Jala Municipality in 1991
and is now the City Engineer and the Head of Engineering Department at the
Municipality. His work includes managing the Engineering Department Sections i.e.
planning and building permits section, projects and maintenance section. His work
also includes following up on updating the master plan, attending the weekly council
meetings and coordinating with foreign donors to execute different projects in the
city. He also attended a 40 hours course in GIS last year. The Engineering
Department started entering data using GIS only last month but it is still at very early
stage.
Khairaddin Aljarani, Engineer, Libyan Center of Remote Sensing and Space
Science, Tripoli Libya. Mr. Aljarani received a BS degree in civil engineering from
Tri State University ,Indiana U.S.A and since returning to Libya has worked in the
secretariat of atomic energy with a research group doing some work on heavy weight
concrete using local materials. Since 1983 he has worked with the technical
department of the Libyan Center of Remote Sensing and Space Science heading the
planning and economical studies and supervising some construction projects for the
center. He also actively consults as an engineer to other companies.
Dr. Emzahim A. Al-Kareem, Lecturer in environmental application of remote
sensing & GIS in building and construction department, University of
Technology, Iraq. Mr. Al-Kareem is a PhD holder and is currently the Head Deputy
of Building & Construction Engineering Department where he is in charge of the
remote sensing & GIS center and university staff and the manager of more than 6
pilot projects of GIS & remote sensing applications.
Rayan Mohammad Ibrahem Al-Mohaisen, Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan.
Abdul Khaleg A. Al-Qasaily, Managing Director, GIS & Remote Sensing
Consultant, Geotech, Yemen. Mr. Al-Qasaily received a M.Sc. of Geodesy with a
specialization GIS & Remote Sensing from Dresden University of Technology in
Germany. He is familiar with a wide variety of GIS and remote sensing software and
other applications and programs. Currently he is the Geotech Managing Director,
tasked with managing and executing projects in GIS, Remote Sensing and digital
mapping services, and training and providing technical support for international
organizations, governmental authorities and the private sector. Previous projects
include the management of the design database, GPS & GIS data collection, GIS
system set up and GIS training for the Ministry of the Interior in Yemen; GIS project
management, GIS data collection, integration of the data and building of the
application to be used for the free zone activities for the Aden Free Zone Authority in
Yemen; and delivery of high resolution satellite imagery and processing of Quickbird
imagery and interpretation and production of processed, rectified imagery for an
irrigation project in Zabid and Tuban for the World Bank and Ministry of Agriculture,
Yemen.
Faisal Alselwi, Secretariat of the Minister of State, Head of Information, Sanaa
City, Yemen.
Wafaa Zeki Taha Al-Shaikh, Senior Chief Translator (GIS trainer), Secretary of
Habitat National Committee, GIS Department, Ministry Of Construction &
Housing, Iraq. Ms. Al-Shaikh graduated from the University of Al-Mustansirya,
College of Arts with a BSc in Arts/English Literature. In her capacity as GIS Trainer,
she has attended workshops and is familiar with a wide variety of geospatial
technology and applications including: Cartography, Remote Sensing, GIS, and GPS.
Ali Saleh Al Olayani, Surveying Dep. Manager, Municipality of Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Naji Alwaiel, General Manager of Computer Center in the Mayors Office, Sana
City, Yemen.
M. Ilyas Amakrane, Civil Engineer, Regional Director, ERAC (regional planning
and construction agency for the region of North East Morocco), Morocco.
Adil Abu Zreyba Ammara, Technical Manger, Consultant Office, Ministry of
Planning, Libya. Mr. Ammara holds a B.SC from the University of Garyounis,
Benghazi, Libya. He is responsible for managing the consultants for building multistory administrative and commercial buildings, hotels, and single and multi story
buildings. He is familiar with Auto Cad and GIS applications.
Ahmad Ashur, GIS Manager, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA),
Aqaba, Jordan. Mr. Ashur received his diploma in surveying and cartographic
engineering and in his current position he manages and maintains a comprehensive
GIS within Aqaba Special Economic Zone to be available for policy makers, planners
and service providers. Mr. Ashur supervises a group of GIS operators and surveyors
to implement and maintain the system. He is a member of the National GIS working
group and a member of the technical committee for the National Landuse Plan. He
has experience in ESRI software, ENVI software and Oracle database.
Marwa Badawy, Architect / GIS Specialist, Ismaiala City, Egypt. Marwa Badawy
holds a B.Sc. in Architecture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University,
Egypt. In the past few years she participated in projects such as the Suzan Mubarak
Library for Children in Ismailia; the Urban Planning Development of El Talatini sq. in
Ismailia using Arcview 3 and the Surveying and Development of ElMalaha Club in
Ismailia. Currently, Ms. Badawy works as GIS specialist in the Participatory Slum
Upgrading Project in Ismailia, a project funded by the Italian Cooperation and
implemented by Ismailia Governorate under UNDP management. Ms. Badawy also
holds an advanced degree in GIS, from the ITI institute and has used Arc GIS in
developing base maps and infrastructure mapping in the two slum areas of Ismailia
Project.
Refaat Mohammad Ameen Bani-Khalaf, Biologist, Water Resources Quality
Protection Department, WAJ/ Ministry of Water & Irrigation. Mr Bani-Khalaf
holds a Msc Degree in Water Resources & Environment. He has served in the
Watershed Protection Management as well as the Microbiology Division at the Water
Authority of Jordan and is proficient in Arcgis Software.
Fawzi Baorud, Council Member, in charge of GIS project in municipality,
Jounieh Municipality, Lebenon.
Omar A. Bin Zahya, Technical Manager, ECCO Consultant Planning Division,
Ministry of Planning, Libya. Mr. Bin Zaya holds a B.SC from Al Fateh University in
Tripoli, Libya. He is an IM and GIS Team leader in the Libyan 3rd Generation
Planning Project and has a good knowledge of Autocad and related planning
applications. He is currently planning, organizing, managing and controlling the 3rd
Generation Planning Project activities.
Jihène Ghiloufi Dahmeni, Principal Engineer, Chief of the Service of
Information Processing and Distribution, Great Tunis Urban Agency, Tunisia. In
her position as Chief of the Service of Information Processing and Distribution, Ms.
Dahmeni is in charge of the direction of the urban information management at the
Great Tunis Urban Agency. The nature of the work is to develop the function of
observation of urban expansion by the installation and operation of information
systems which allows data-gathering relative to urban development, including data
processing and diffusion near the various users. Hence, the Great Tunis Urban
Agency has set up a database supported by GIS, which contains information such as
road networks, urban development plans, public amenities, administrative limitations,
land use maps.
Habiba Eid, National Project Director, Sustainable Ismailia Governorate Project,
Egypt.
Ahmad El Adasani, Assistant of the Secretary, Arab Towns Organization.
Omer El Jazouli, Mayor, Marrakech, Morocco.
Yousef Hasan, Planning Director, Jordan Valley Authority, Jordan. Mr. Hassan
is responsible for performing the planning and various studies for JVA in cooperation
of all JVA directorates including the strategic plan initiation and follow up, Preparation
of reports about JVA projects performance and follow up with donors and lending
agencies. Follow up with local governors the progress of JVA projects and activities
performed at their governorates. Supervising the GIS works for all JVA directorates
and projects
Ahmad S. Abu Hijleh, Water Resources & Environment Specialist, Jordan. Mr.
Abu Hijleh holds a MS.c. degree in water resources, with 18 years of experience
focused on: (i) Water Resources evaluation and management (Quantity &Quality
Wise) projects, (ii) Environmental impacts and managements projects. Within these
two fields, his work experiences include preparation of work plans, supervising and/or
participating in the required field activities and preparing required reports. Mr. Hijleh
has worked and still working for international organizations, governmental
organizations, and non governmental organizations. The Geographical extension of
his experience covers: Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.
Jwan Hobeishe, President, Jounieh Municipality, Lebanon.
Dr. Omar A. Jassim, University of Technology, Iraq. Mr. Jassim has a M.Sc.
degree in Highway and Airport Engineering from the University of Technology in
Baghdad and a Ph.D. in Highway and Airport Engineering / Remote Sensing,
University of Technology in Baghdad, Iraq. He has expertise in GIS and Remote
Sensing programs and AutoCAD as well as in survey instruments and highway
engineering design. He is a member of the Iraqi Engineering Union and has
participated with RTI (Research Triangle Institute) to train engineers of Municipality of
al Mosul and the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation on GIS
software. He worked previously as an engineer with the Ministry of Housing and
Construction.
Fatma Jomni, GIS Application Coordinator, Agency for Urbanism Grande Tunis
(AUGT). Tunisia. Ms. Jomni holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and since
2004 has held the post of Director of Studies and Research of AUGT. Currently she
participates in transportation studies (as the guiding regional plan of transportation of
the cities of Tunis and of Sfax, the guiding outline of special lines of the Big Tunis),
as well as to the management studies of the circulation for the account of the
municipalities of the Big Tunis all of which base themselves on road data and on the
GIS. As part of the studies, she is tasked with developing a basis of municipal road
data and the application of the circulation plans, as well as a collective transportation
guide for the region of Grand Tunis to improve public information and to
encourage citizens to use energy-saving transportation methods.
Samia Zeit Khalilieh, Building Engineer and Architect-Planner, Beit Jala
Municipality, West Bank/Gaza. Samia Zeit Khalilieh manages the portfolio of
buildings licensing, including checking building applications to issuing licenses,
guiding the control and monitoring of buildings and construction movement within the
city. She designs and implements proposed projects of the city and contributes to
the city’s beautification activities. She is also responsible for establishing and
maintaining links and relations with the city’s Diaspora.
Hisham Khatib, Head of GIS Department, Ministry of Public Works, Jordan.
Susan A. Kilani, Director of Water Resources Quality Protection for the Water
Authority of Jordan / Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan. Ms. Kilani holds a
bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in hydrogeology.
Currently Ms. Kilani is responsible for developing groundwater and surface water
protection guidelines in collaboration with all concerned counterparts in the country;
as well as the delineation of water resource protection zones and working with the
concerned partners to enforce implementation of laws and regulations in that regard.
She conducts and participates in watershed studies and research and works to
establish a uniform methodology for watershed management in Jordan to prescribe
solutions using an integrated approach. She works with the academic institutions to
strengthen the ties between the students and the environment and works with
communities and stakeholders within each area to participate in solving pollution
problems.
Abdelkader Lkasmi, Principal Engineer, Chief of Strategic Studies, Planning
and Environmental Protection, City of Marrakech, Morocco. Mr. Lkasmi holds a
diploma in Engineering: Applied Rural Works from I.N.A.V. Hassan II, Rabat,
Morocco and a diploma in Engineering: Hydraulics from National Polytechnic
Institute, Toulouse, France. Currently with the City of Marrakech, he is the Engineer
in Chief, and Chief of Studies for planning and environmental protection. He is
responsible for the technical management of ISO 14001 Certification for city services
and he is an active member of working group on water for Agenda 21 for Marrakech.
Manar Mahasneh, Head of GIS Division, Jordan Valley Authority (JVA), Jordan.
As part of her work, Ms. Mahasneh, an engineer, develops analyzes, visualizes,
manipulates and maintains of all types of spatial data. She is responsible for the
provision of consultancies, training, needs- and gap assessments, technical support
and all other kinds of services related to GIS and spatial data. She also provides
services and training for all GIS related tasks and is responsible for building the JVA
geospatial database. Projects she has undertaken include the Brackish- and
Reclaimed Water Project, KfW-Feasibility Study for the reuse of treated waste-water
in the Northern Valley, digitalization of data from different sources, spatial
visualization of tabulated data, building digital inventory assets for JVA installations,
and thematic mapping.
Musbah Maruf, Technical Consultant, National Consultant Bureau, Ministry of
Planning, Libya. Mr. Musbah has an engineering degree from Al Fateh University in
Tripoli, Libya. He is a team leader of NCB Technical Bureau National Consultant
office, and has taken courses in Arc GIS 1-2 and GeoDatabase 1-2 and is familiar
with computer applications and planning related issues.
Dr. Mustafa Mohammad Mezughi, Chairman, Urban Planning Agency, Ministry
of Planning, Libya.
Hanan Hadi Ali Mohammed, Director of GIS department – Design Directorate
Baghdad Municipality /Chief Engineer, Iraq. Ms. Mohammed holds a B.Sc. in
Architectural Engineering from the College of Engineering at Baghdad University.
She has served as a member of the GIS Department since 1999 and before that
worked in the Master Plan Department of the Design Directorate of Baghdad
Municipality. In her current position, she is responsible for establishing and
upgrading the GIS section, preparing & producing digital maps of Baghdad city with
different scales and details within the user requirements, maintaining and analyzing
up-to-date statistical data related to projects, and preparing and formulating the
required training courses and building capacity programs for the GIS sections in the
Municipality of Baghdad. She is familiar with data collection and analysis and has
prepared urban plan studies.
Mohammed Ahmed Najamaldin, Chemical Engineer, Ministry of Environment,
Iraq. Mr. Najamaldin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering
from Baghdad University and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from IHE, the
Netherlands. Since 1998 he has worked at the Ministry of Environment monitoring
industrial pollution, and carrying out studies on emissions from cement and brick
factories as well as fertilizers and power plants. He is the Project Manager for the
development of an environmental database using GIS technology.
Areeg Nawaiseh, Civil Engineer, GIS Dept, Ministry of Public Works, Jordan.
Mark Peters, CDM International Inc.
Ghazi Qossous, GIS Consultant, project manager, Ministry of Public Works,
Jordan.
Dr. Sulaiman Rgeyhi, Head of Search and Consultant to Planning. Ministry of
Planning, Libya. Mr. Rgeyhi is a consultant to Government Consultant Offices and
implements the 3rd Generation Planning Project with the UPA.
Faiez Samet, Chief Engineer, Strategic Planning and Development, Greater
Sfax, Tunisia. Since October 2005, Mr. Samet has been the Principal Engineer in
civil engineering with the Municipality of Sfax in charge of installation of the
Observatory of Development of Greater Sfax. In addition, he works with the GIS of
Sfax as well as the ‘Indicators of the Durable Development’ of Grand Sfax. Mr.
Samet holds a diploma in civil engineering and has attended several technical GIS
trainings.
Mohaed Moncef Serbaji, Doctor Engineer, University of Sfax, Faculty of
Sciences and National Engineering School, Tunisia. In his profession as
Assistant Professor, Mr. Serbaji is involved with applied research projects using
remote sensing & geographic information systems, intersectoral interdisciplinary
themes including water resources, impacts of land use change, land degradation &
desertification, natural disasters, environmental assessment, integrated coastal
management, policy analysis of natural resources & sustainable development. He is
a consultant on earth and environmental-related development projects, water
resources and planning. He holds a Ph.D. in Geology and Environment from the
Science Faculty at the University of Tunis II and specializes in a wide range of areas
including remote sensing and geographic information systems applications, natural
resources & water, project design, assessment and management and industrial risk
assessment for integrated coastal management.
Majid Ahmed Shamkhe, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Environment, Iraq. Mr.
Shamkhe received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from
Baghdad University and currently is undertaking an environmental site assessment of
military industries and is working to build an environmental database in Iraq with the
use of GIS technology. He has participated in the monitoring of industrial and air
pollution, and has served with the industrial safety department in Iraq.
Deema M. Abu Thiab, Senior Planning Architect, Aqaba Special Economic Zone
Authority (ASEZA), Jordan. Ms. Thiab received his bachelor degree of science in
2001 from the University of Jordan in architectural engineering and was appointed as
a Planning Architect at Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) in 2002.
For the last four years, she was responsible for Updating the General Land Use Map
(The ASEZ Master Plan) and developing plans for land use patterns, parks and
recreation opportunities. In addition, she was responsible for introducing and
implementing comprehensive building rules and regulations regarding heights,
density, setbacks, to develop a consistent character for ASEZ and developing urban
design guidelines for special areas to emphasize development standards that are
suitable for local development and investment. Her responsibilities also include
working with elected and appointed officials such as environmental specialists and
community representatives to lead the planning process with goal of creating
communities of lasting values.
Sahar Hazim Fatohi Tomashe, Chief Engineer in GIS Department, Design
Directorate, Baghdad City Municipality, Iraq. Ms. Tomashe received her degree
in civil engineering from Baghdad University and specializes in Geographic
information system. Currently the chief engineer in the GIS department, Ms.
Tomashe is responsible for using GIS tools and applications to find solutions to urban
planning problems in Baghdad. She helps develop the action plans to implement
solutions in the areas of land subdivision , building permits, land use, zoning ,
vacancy of land for planning & locating new projects, managing & maintaining
service networks, potable water, and wastewater.
Mona Mahrous Abdel Wahed, GIS Expert and Trainer, Geographic Information
System Sector at Urban Training and Research Institute at the Ministry of
Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, Egypt. Ms. Wahed holds a MSc. in
City Planning from Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering. She is currently a
Lecture Assistant at the Housing Building National Research Center (HBRC). Since
2001, Ms. Wahed has been a member of the Geographic Information System Sector
at the Urban Training & Studies Institute of HBRC. Her experience includes
lecturing, training and advisory services in Geographic Information System, and the
urban planning and architectural fields. Her major assignments include preparation
and delivery of several trainings in Geographic Information System field. She is
currently the Course Coordinator of "Basics of GIS in Urban Development" and "GIS
Applications in Upgrading Informal Settlements". UTI's target is to train all types of
participants from local governments (from different Arab countries) and the private
sector.