Established in memory of the late Egyptian political writer and commentator Bassem Sabry, the Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellowship is awarded to a young professional who is committed to the principles of democratic and inclusive change: values that Sabry promoted and espoused during his lifetime. The fellowship affords rising stars based in the MENA region the unique opportunity to spend six months at TIMEP’s offices in Washington, DC, while producing original analysis; contributing to programming that furthers transparent, accountable, and just societies; and engaging with the policymaking community.
TIMEP established the Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellowship in 2014 to honor the late Bassem Sabry, a writer and commentator on Egyptian and regional politics. Sabry’s balanced writing and commentary throughout the 2011 Egyptian revolution and following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak earned wide praise and attracted a global audience; his remarkable character and skill at his craft made him unique among Egyptian political commentators. He was known for his careful and meticulous approach to creating sound analysis and his rejection of the easy politics of polarization, exclusion and violence, inspiring a generation of young knowledge-producers, writers, and analysts in the time since his passing.
Since 2014, TIMEP has hosted eight Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellows from around the MENA region whose areas of work have ranged across diverse spaces:
- Mohamed Adam on the biases within Egyptian media
- Ragab Saad on Egypt’s political parties
- Hussein Baoumi on civil society’s role in furthering democracy and human rights in Egypt
- Aymen Abderahmen on Tunisia’s path toward transitional justice
- Oumayma Ben Abdallah on personal freedoms in Tunisia
- Deema Abu Alkhair on child recruitment in the Syrian conflict
- Nourhan Fahmy on prosecutorial and judicial independence in Egypt and its intersection with the rule of law
- Mohamed Mandour on how Egyptians in exile have organized politically since 2013
While at TIMEP, these fellows’ research, analysis, and programming instilled unique nuance into the policy discourse. Following their fellowships, they have gone on to contribute to the academic, policy, and civil society spaces in their countries of origin and beyond.
TIMEP accepts applications for its Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellowship, in partnership with host organization Atlas Corps, which arranges for the logistics of fellows’ stays in Washington, DC and offers a practical leadership training program to complement the fellowship experience. Details about how and when to apply will be made available on our Opportunities page when TIMEP is actively recruiting for the program.