MESC Online Lecture Series
Title: War, Crisis, and Survival: A Feminist Perspective from Lebanon
Joulia Bou Karroum is a Gender Equality, Safeguarding, and Social Inclusion (GESSI) expert with over 18 years of experience across local, regional, and international organizations in the MENA region. Her work focuses on advancing gender equality, human rights, and inclusive development through program design, implementation, and capacity building.
She currently serves as Components Coordinator for the Women Empowerment Hub in Lebanon, implemented by Expertise France and funded by the European Union. In this role, she oversees the technical implementation and monitoring of initiatives across three core pillars: women and youth participation in public and political life, women’s economic inclusion and inclusive workplaces, and GBV assistance and access to justice.
Previously, she performed as Senior Advisor at FHI 360, where she led the integration of GESI strategies across the USAID-funded LEB-CAAP program. Her experience also includes roles with Hivos, The Stabilisation Network, and Analysis Research Knowledge (ARK), as well as program leadership with Amnesty International and the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections.
Joulia specializes in gender and development, human rights, governance, and advocacy. She has designed and delivered extensive training programs and contributed to curriculum development, including VAW – GBV and gender data, with a strong focus on civil society capacity building. Her work includes gender analysis, policy development, and collaboration with Lebanon’s public sector to promote rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches.
She holds a degree in Economics and International Management and is a certified trainer in human rights
mechanisms, gender, gender data, elections, and community engagement. She is also a co-founder and board member of civil society organizations and networks.
This event is organized by the Middle East Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Department of Politics and Global Affairs