Mr Jean Plantureux-Plantu

Head of the Pierre Sadek Foundation jury for the competition “La Plume de Pierre”, Plantu dropped his medical studies in 1971 and moved to Brussels to enroll in drawing courses at the École Saint-Luc. In 1972, he was hired at the newspaper “Le Monde” where he published his first humorous cartoon on the Vietnam War. Since 1991, he has published a weekly page at L’Express magazine.

In 2002, he met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Paris to arrange a convention gathering international cartoonists, ultimately creating the Cartooning for Peace organization in 2006. “Cartooning for Peace” promotes freedom of expression in the world and has more than 140 participants today.

Plantu has participated in a large number of collective and individual exhibitions in France and throughout the world and has received numerous awards for his work. Among them are the Honoris Causa Prize of the University of Liège in Belgium, in September 2013 and in 2016, and the European “Maria Helena Vaz da Silva” Prize awarded by the National Culture Center of Lisbon in Portugal.

He has published more than 65 books

Dr Tarek Mitri

Tarek Mitri is the director of the Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (AUB).

From 2005 to 2011, he served in four successive Lebanese governments as Minister of the Environment, Minister of Administrative Reform, Minister of Culture, Minister of Information and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Between 2012 and 2014, he was the special representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Libya.

He has held various positions in the field of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. He has taught at Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), Balamand University, the University of Geneva, the Free University of Amsterdam, Harvard University and the American University of Beirut (AUB).

He chairs the Councils of the Nicolas Sursock Museum and the Institute of Palestinian Studies. He is also a member of the Strategic Council of Université Saint-Joseph (USJ) and a member of the Arab Center for Research and Political Studies.

He has written several books and articles on contemporary Arab conflicts, religion, politics, interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

Mrs Luce Mondor

Luce Mondor is an associate professor of Modern Letters, a Doctor of French Literature and Civilization and a professor of General Knowledge at DSAA Design.

She is also a pedagogical adviser to the IUFM (Institut de Formation des Maîtres) and responsible for cultural events at the Estienne School (Estiennales, Presse Citron, exhibitions, conferences, annual internal publication “Les Mots dits”). Mrs Mondor is the author of books and publications on the literature of exile, Caribbean literature, humor and discrepancy.

She has organized writing workshops with Daniel Pennac, Jean-Bernard Pouy and Philippe Di Folco and created in 2016 l’Agence Frontale, a consultancy agency in cultural communication.

In 1993, she held the Trophée Presse Citron, a national competition for press design, which became the Trophée Presse Citron / BnF in 2014.

Mr. Ali Jaber

Dean, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communication at American University of Dubai (AUD)

Group TV Director, Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, MBC.

Ali founded and managed Future TV from 1992 till 2003.

In 2004, he was approached by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and was brought in as a consultant to head Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), to revamp and re-launch its seven national and pan-Arab satellite channels.

In 2006, Ali was appointed DMI’s managing Editor.

In July 2008 Ali was named Dean of Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communication (MBRSC)

In 2011 Ali was appointed judge for the internationally mega-successful format, “Arabs Got Talent”.

During that same year, and in parallel, Ali became the Group TV Director of MBC’s 20 channels.

Ali Jaber serves on the Dubai government Council for Design and Fashion, he also helped set up thenon-governmental organization: Young Arab Leaders (YAL) and was on the Advisory Board of American University of Beirut, School of Architecture and Design, in Beirut, Lebanon. Ali currently spearheads the Dubai government initiative the set up the Dubai School of Design in association with Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) and the New York based Parsons school of design and Fashion. Ali is also the goodwill ambassador for Sanad, the home hospice organization in Lebanon which offers free physical, psychological and spiritual support for terminally ill patients.

Mr Nizar Daher

From Nizar Daher’s professional activities, we notably highlight these several prominent positions: Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Captain of the Lebanese plastic artists in 2017.

In 2016, he was a member of the Baalbeck International Festivals Committee.

He undertook the role of “Visiting Professor” at the Institute of Professional Arts, Hunan Province, China in 2015.

From 2013 until 2018, he was a member of the Scientific Council at the Higher Institute of Doctor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lebanese University.

In 1998, he handled the position of Advisor to the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Balamand.
From 1993 until 1995, he was the Director of the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University (1st branch).

Most notably, he has also won several awards among which:
The Pushkin Medal – Russia in 2017.
The Russian Medal of Merit at the Russian Academy of Arts, Moscow in 2015.
The “Diploma of First Class” issued by the “Pushkin State Museum” at Mikhailovsky Reserve, Russia.
His art works are spread aroud 14 museums in Russia – China – Kuwait – Tunisia – Kazakhstan and Jordan.
In addition to the Museum of the Lebanese University, the Library of the President of the Russian Federation in the Kremlin, and within the group of the Holy Pontiff, His Holiness Pope Francis I at the Vatican.

Furthermore, he is renowned for several publications such as six works in Arabic, French, English and Russian.
What’s more, in 2007 The Ministry of Communications in Lebanon issued a plaque with a picture of the “Hills” painting which was acquired by the Russian Hermitage Museum in 2003.

Mr Armand Homsi

Passionate for drawing, his first cartoons were published in the french weekly « Le Commerce du Levant ».
Winner of the cartoon contest held by «An Nahar» newspaper in 1994, he leaves Paris where he worked as a designer, to join « An Nahar » as an Editorial cartoonist. He makes cartoon videos for An Nahar Web TV as well. He also draws cartoons for the french monthly « Noun ».

On a side note, a design project led him to explore the wide world of advertising. He held the post of Creative Director at I&C DDB, and later at Fortune Promoseven. Today, he still works in the advertising along with his work as a cartoonist at An Nahar.

His cartoons were showcased in many venues: Beirut, London, Angoulême, Cologne, Malta, Algiers…)

Mrs Scarlett Haddad

Scarlett Haddad is a journalist at L’Orient-Le Jour since 1994 and formerly working at l’Hebdo Magazine, with a two-year break between 1991 and 1993 in Montreal, Canada. She won the UNDP prize for journalism in 2000.

She’s also a correspondent for the weekly French magazine L’Express, since 1996.

Scarlett is also professor of journalistic writing at ALBA university from 2009 to 2013. She contributed since 2015 to the Masters in Political Communication at the USJ Institute of Political Science with a course of political journalism. Moreover, she’s an analyst and political columnist in various TV talk shows.

Mr Eli Khoury

Eli Khoury is a strategic communication, content and media specialist with over twenty years record in corporate, national and institutional brand development and counter narrative engagement. He is acknowledged as having raised the standard of communications in the MENA region as a result of the practices he introduced.

In 1992, he launched the Saatchi agency in Beirut; which shortly after, became one of the largest recipients of advertising awards in the region.
In 2000, he launched Quantum Communications, a policy and strategic communications advisory, an undisputed industry reference in regional socio-political communication.

Eli currently heads the M&C Saatchi MENA agency and the Quantum Group of companies, which now includes Mercury, M and NOW, the Group’s nascent digital content and publishing arm.

Throughout the years, Khoury embraced communications and content from a perspective laced with democratic entrepreneurship and socio-political consciousness.

As a citizen and patriot of Lebanon, Eli was among the key planners and promoters of the 2005 Cedar Revolution.
He has equally co-founded the Washington-based Lebanon Renaissance Foundation. Khoury also has co-published the Beirut Spring with veteran journalist Ghassan Tweini of An Nahar.

Mr Omar Sadek

Omar Sadek holds a B.A in economics, political science, communication and marketing from the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University. He also holds a Master degree in Media and Communication from the London School of Economics (LSE).

He started his career at Grey Advertisement Agency. Afterwards, he redirected his professional career to work as head of the marketing department at Future TV, where he became chief executive. He joined Impact BBDO Beirut in 2007 where he held the position of Development Officer. His knowledge and expertise in multiple communication fields led him to the creation of a new media and political communication department at the Beirut Agency. This work earned him a medal of recognition from the Lebanese Ministry of Interior during the legislatives elections of 2009.

He taught media and communication strategy at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA).

Mr Sadek won many advertisement and communication prizes while working with local, regional and international television programs, in particular with his “Cheyef Halak?” campaign.