Founders

Ingrid Bouilliart, Global Ambassador & Chairman

Ingrid Bouilliart has been traveling to Wadi Rum for over 10 years. She recently spent a year working and living with a bedouin family in Wadi Rum and hence has specifically experienced integration into the bedouin culture. She understands and speak scolloquial arabic.

For the last eight years, she has covered relevant positions within the belgian government. Ingrid advises the Chairman of the major political party on social and economic decisions and served as Head of Social Integration, for the respective Cabinet.

She has working experience in Europe and the Middle East building bridges with interested parties, foundations and political organizations.

Mark Abouzeid, Project Manager & Communications Director

Mark Abouzeid’s career in communications spans over 25 years and includes photography, design, PR and editorial. Since 1998, he has concentrated his efforts on photojournalism leveraging his deep understanding of international economics, tourism destinations, world cultures, social issues and consumer trends.

Mark coordinates all work in the field, on the one hand, and acts as the public face of BHP speaking at schools, responding to magazine interviews and directing all communications activities.  based in Florence, Italy, he is fluent in English and Italian  understands French and is learning Arabic.

For his work and projects, Mark has received numerous awards including special recognition by the Italian Association of Professional Photographers in 2008 and a Peace Prize from the Region of Puglia for “Nemico Fratello”, a traveling exhibit and lecture series promoting positive imagery of the Arab World.

Saleem Ali Lafi, Bedouin Ambassador & Heritage Director

The son of Sheikh Ali Lafi Zelabieh, Saleem has made his own cultural heritage a central focus for his entire life. An accomplished horseman and musician, Saleem is a walking living library of the traditions, culture and society of the Zelabieh Tribe.

Having been raised in the desert and at a very early age established himself as a successful camel jockey, Saleem has spent a lifetime offering foreign tourists an authentic insight into the traditions and lifestyle of the Bedu. Shunning mass tourism, Salim offers visitors the chance to experience immersion into the environment and lifestyle of the Zelabieh tribe. His agency, Jordan Tracks, is the only licensed tourism representative in Wadi Rum.

Not merely acting as a liaison and knowledgebase for the project, Saleem uses his insight to direct all inventory efforts and has served as primary videographer for several field expeditions.

Nora Mertens, Videographer

Having done her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies, with a focus on social sciences, literature, media sciences and languages, as well as writing a thesis on “Film as an icon of reality and its objects: perception, recognition, interpretation”, Nora is involved with video representation and interviews.