Dr. Azza Karam is the President and CEO of the Women’s Learning Partnership; Principal of  PLAZZA  LLC, and  a member  of  the United Nations’  Secretary  General High  Level  Advisory  Board on Multilateralism.

She  served  as Secretary  General  of the  World  Conference  of  Religions  for  Peace (WCRP)  from  2019-2023,  and  as  Director  of  it’s Women’s  Programmes from  2000-2004.  Prior  to  returning  to  WCRP, she worked  at  the  United  Nations  for  two  decades,  where  she  Coordinated  the Arab  Human  Development  Reports,  co-founded  and  Chaired the  United  Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion – with over 20 UN System bodies – and founded  and convened its Multi Faith Advisory Council, as part of the 750 global NGO database she  coordinated. During  her  tenure  at  the  United Nations,  Azza  was  a  Lead  Facilitator  for  UN  system  wide peer  to  peer  “Strategic  Learning  Exchanges”  on  ‘Religion,  Development  and  Diplomacy’.

She has worked with several intergovernmental and international organisations (the OSCE,  the EU, and International IDEA) in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and East and  Central Asia, where she created and managed global programmes on Women and Politics, as  well as Democratisation in the Middle East.

She has taught in various universities, including West Point Military Academy and is widely  published,  and  translated,  into  several  languages. She  has  received  multiple  awards,  including for her work on/in the United Nations, as well as in/on Interfaith work and Culture.  In  2022,  she  was  awarded  a Doctorate  in  Humane  Letters honoris  causa,  by  John  Cabot  University, in Rome, Italy.

Born in Egypt, Azza is also a citizen of the Netherlands.

photo credit; rfp.org 2019