Ziad Abdel Samad

Ziad Abdel Samad "is the Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), based in Beirut, since 1999. ANND brings together 30 NGOs and nine national networks from 12 Arab countries, which are active in the fields of social development, human rights, gender, and the environment. The Network, established in 1997, focuses on developing the capacity of Arab civil society organizations and promoting democracy, human rights, participation, and good governance in civil society and among governments. It has been an active participant in a number of United Nations conferences, WTO negotiations, and the World Social Forums.

"Mr. Abdel Samad is a member of the Lebanese Negotiating Committee for the accession in the WTO. He sits on the International Council of the World Social Forum and the Coordination Committee of Social Watch, an international network of citizen coalitions that monitors the implementation of the commitments made at the 1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen. Mr. Abdel Samad is a member of the Board of Directors of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. He is also a member of the UNDP CSO Advisory Committee to the Administrator. Mr. Abdel Samad is the President of the National Steering Committee of the UNDP Local Initiative Facility for Urban Environment (LIFE) program in Lebanon and General Manager of the Centre for Developmental Studies (MADA), a Lebanese centre for social and economic studies and research. In addition, Mr. Abdel Samad is the Vice President of the Lebanese Development Forum (LDF), which is a Lebanese NGO established in 2001." 


 * Committee Member, UNDP-CSO
 * Advisory Council, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law