MEET

Amir Poya Ghazi is a senior project manager at VIKING Norsafe and has experience as an entrepreneur. 

As a politician in The Norweigian Labour parti (Arbeiderpartiet), he aims to work toward a fairer distribution of resources and reduce disparities through effective and targeted measures.

His commitment to local community and politics has been reflecting his desire to make a positive impact.

His involvement extends beyond politics, as he actively contributes to the national and international sports scene.

Amir is the coach for the norwegian national team in fullcontact karate.

As a scoially engaged member of his community, Amir has also been engaged in voluntary work throughout 2 dacades, amoung others, field work in refugee camps in Greece (2015 and 2016).

Mohammad Aman Haque was born in Bergen and grew up in Bergen, Toronto, and the UK.

He initiated his Islamic studies in 1999 at an Islamic seminary in Toronto, Canada. Then he completed his BA in Islamic Sciences and Arabic Literature (Alimiyyah) at the Institute of Islamic Education in Dewsbury, UK. Thereafter he attained a Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies and Leadership at the Cambridge Muslim College in Cambridge, UK as well as completing a Specialisation Studies programme in Islamic Jurisprudence (Mufti) at the the Center of Higher Islamic Research in Dhaka. Upon returning to Bergen he pursued an MA in Arabic at the University of Bergen, Norway.

He's had the fortune of teaching and working as an Imam in Toronto, Bergen, Oslo, London, and most recently at the Cambridge Mosque while auditing the BA program at the Cambridge Muslim College.

Laila Hourani is a cultural leader and novelist with twenty-five years’ experience in art, culture and media development, intercultural relations and partnership building for social impact. Born in Damascus to a Palestinian refugee family, educated in Lebanon, Cyprus and Russia, forced out of Syria into Egypt at the height of the Arab Spring, Laila has experienced the atrocities of war, and the aspirations of revolution. Her debut novel Baoh, published in 2009 by Aldab publishing in Beirut, is inspired by some of these experiences.

Laila moved to Norway in 2021 to join the Arendal based Norwegian cultural rights organization Mimeta, as Program Director. She left MIMETA in 2023 and shifted to self-employment as an expert consultant. She provides consultancy on narrative change through creative storytelling to the International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS), a Rockefeller Foundation project. Prior to moving to Norway, Laila has led the development of arts, culture, and media strategies and portfolios for the Ford Foundation MENA office in Egypt, British Council MENA in Syria, and The UNICEF office in Syria. Her work has contributed to enhancing cultural exchange between the UK and the Arab region, and to moving the creative narratives of storytellers from the Middle East, Africa and their diasporas in Europe, from the margins to international platforms and debates.

Kim Henrik Gronert is an adviser for multicultural dialogue. He is part of the staff of the director of culture and citizen dialogue in Kristiansand municipality. Gronert has a civil service degree in law and a master's degree in management. After completing his legal education, he has worked for the public sectors. Gronert has been a member of the Norwegian Extremism Commission.

From 2004 he joined Kristiansand municipality and since 2013 he has held the position of adviser for multicultural dialogue. Trhough his work, Gronert has had a special focus on encouraging multi cultural citizens to participate actively in the local community within the Kristiansand municipality. 

Kristiansand municipality has been keen to facilitate good relations with various multicultural organisations, including the Muslim community in the city. This work has led to the establishment of the project MEET (Muslim European Empowerment Programme).