Ms Samaa Moustafa has been a regional officer for the Arab states under the UNESCO 2003 convention for safeguarding Intangible cultural heritage from 2014 to 2017 and a Project Officer for Culture at the UNESCO Cairo Office until 2023, where she coordinated multiple cultural projects and activities in safeguarding cultural heritage for sustainable development at the UNESCO Cairo office. She is currently working at the Royal Commission for AlUla as the ICH programme manager.

Her work operationalises the concept that Culture and Heritage are a major momentum for development. She has worked on international inter-disciplinary programmes since 2009, at the international, regional and national levels. Along with her experience in Intercultural Communication, Sustainable Development, and Cultural Heritage management, Ms. Moustafa holds a BA degree in anthropology from the American university in Cairo (AUC), and two master’s degrees in international human rights law from AUC and in social anthropology from the University of Edinburgh. She has worked extensively with various partners and beneficiaries on UNESCO’s 2003 Convention.