Think and Do Tank & Independent Consultancy

CC
Connecting
Cultures

Bridging rigorous research with practitioner experience across politics, civil society, and media — from the Mediterranean and MENA to the Sahel and West Africa.

Who We Are

A Think-and-Do Tank and Consultancy Connecting Continents and Cultures

CC is an independent think-and-do tank and consultancy that bridges rigorous research with hands-on project-management. We work across politics, civil society, media, and digital innovation — combining analytical depth with practitioner experience to deliver real impact at every level, from local communities to strategic policy.

Our strength lies in our interdisciplinarity: we connect geopolitics, security, media, culture and development in ways that single-discipline consultancies cannot. From field research and capacity-building to high-level policy advice, we operate across the full spectrum — from grassroots engagement to EU-funded strategy. Our geographic focus spans the Mediterranean, the MENA region, and the Sahel and West Africa.

6+
Associate Research Fellows
3
Active International Projects
3
Regions: Mediterranean · MENA · Sahel & West Africa
EU
Funded Projects incl. German Foreign Office
Mediterranean Region
MENA
Sahel & West Africa
France · Germany · Spain
Syria · Jordan
Libya · Tunisia

Leadership & Core Team

AE
Dr. Asiem El Difraoui
Research Director & Co-Founder

Political scientist and award-winning journalist specialising in propaganda and disinformation. Author of a doctoral thesis on jihadist propaganda; co-author of the Arab Media Handbook.

VS
Verena Schad
Program Director & Co-Founder

Communications expert and journalist with experience in reputation, crisis, and change management. Formerly worked on Germany's international image and in MENA/Sahel project coordination.

Abdullatif Sleibi
Senior Data Analyst, PAX

Specialising in online mis/disinformation, extremism, AI regulation, and Protection of Civilians policies. Contributor to media literacy projects with the European Institute of the Mediterranean.

Guillaume Soto-Mayor
President, Egregor

Expert in political and security issues in Africa and Europe, with field research on religious, social violence, disinformation, and hate speech.

Dr. Elise Bernard
ESSEC – Geopolitics Chair

Elise Bernard is a Senior Researcher and geopolitics expert affiliated with the ESSEC Geopolitics Chair at the Centre européen de Droit et économie. With nearly two decades of experience, she has worked across academia, think tanks and international organisations on public law, European integration and political transformation in Southeast Europe. She holds a PhD in Public Law from Sorbonne Paris III and has extensive expertise in research coordination, election observation and policy advice on governance, asylum and democratic processes.

Dr. Lana Kazkaz
Scholar, Blanquerna Observatory

Journalist and guest professor focusing on hate speech, interfaith dialogue, and religion-media relations in the Middle East. PhD, Ramon Llull University Barcelona.

Nagla Abed
Senior Project Leader & M&E Expert

Nagla Abed is a Senior Project Leader and Monitoring & Evaluation expert with more than 20 years of experience managing EU-funded programmes on youth engagement and civil society across the Euro-Mediterranean region. She previously worked with the Anna Lindh Foundation, where she specialised in the design, implementation and evaluation of multi-country initiatives. She holds degrees in Law and Euroculture from the Universities of Göttingen and Groningen, with research focusing on EU development policies, women's empowerment and civil society in the Middle East and North Africa.

David Fajolles
Sciences Po Paris & Institut Catholique de Paris

David Fajolles teaches comparative cultural policy, heritage and international relations, as well as technology foresight, at Sciences Po Paris and the Institut Catholique de Paris. He previously worked at the European Union Institute for Security Studies and served in the offices of the French Ministers for European Affairs and Culture. He has been Secretary-General of the French National Commission for UNESCO and Director-General of the Robert de Sorbon Foundation. He is a graduate of the École normale supérieure, a former Procter Fellow at Princeton University, and co-author of Atlas de l'influence française au XXIe siècle.

Nancy Ali
Grand Egyptian Museum

Nancy Ali is Director of Innovation at Legacy, the operator of the Grand Egyptian Museum, where she develops projects at the intersection of heritage, storytelling and digital innovation. She holds a PhD from Sorbonne University and is a Research Associate at the Centre de Recherche en Littérature Comparée (CRLC). Before joining the museum sector, she worked in advertising and at the Cairo International Film Festival. She also writes and produces films and contributed to the creative concept for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2025.

Projects & Initiatives

Examples of projects that were developed and managed by members of our team.

Media Literacy

Syria Media Literacy Lab

Advanced training for Syrian media professionals in media literacy and combating disinformation. Funded by the German Foreign Office. Amman, November 2025.

Visit Project →
Digital Innovation

Digital Sahel

Supporting digital transformation for civil society actors in the Sahel region, including training programmes and hybrid initiatives for youth and communities.

Youth & Culture

Élan for Europe

Promoting creativity and critical thinking by connecting youth and artists across regions, fostering intercultural exchange and collaboration.

Media Literacy for the Mediterranean Consortium →

Research & Analysis

2026
El Difraoui, A. – Le Grand Continent, Paris
2026
Asiem El Difraoui, Carola Richter, Anja Wollenberg – forthcoming 2026
2025
El Difraoui, A. – Le Grand Continent, Paris
2025
El Difraoui, A. – Études Sécurité, Le Grand Continent, Paris
2025
Soto-Mayor, G. with Mame Yacine Diop – IRIS, June 2025
2024
Soto-Mayor, G. – De Gruyter-Brill, Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Vol. 295
2022
Bernard, E. – Intereconomics, Volume 57, No. 4, pp. 229–231
Get in Touch

Get in Touch

Whether you are interested in research cooperation, project partnerships, policy dialogue, or media consultancy, we welcome your inquiry.

Phone
Address
Domaine Le Jardin del Sud
Le Cros
34390 Saint-Vincent-d'Olargues
France

Representation in Cairo
Nancy Ali
nancy@cc-connect.org
Contact
Verena Schad & Asiem El Difraoui
info@cc-connect.org