Our Fellows

Bosch Stiftung Fellow

Lynn Maalouf is a Beirut-based writer, activist and trainer whose work focuses on the issue of the missing and disappeared persons in Lebanon. She is the co-founder and senior researcher at Act for the Disappeared, Lebanese human rights NGO. Prior to that, she headed the country program of the International Center for Transitional Justice for five years, during which time she co-authored a handbook on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, conducted a process that led to the development of the Draft Law for the Missing and Disappeared Persons in Lebanon, and conceived and implemented an oral history project, Badna Naaraf (We want to Know), with high school and university students, about citizens’ daily life during the Lebanese conflict. She is the main author of “Lebanon’s Legacy of Political Violence, a mapping of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Lebanon 1975-2008,” released in 2013. She is a member of scientific committee of “Beit Beirut” and a board member of R-Shief, and a regular contributor to the International Justice Tribune.

In Lebanon, where the consequences of impunity coupled with memory erasure are both severe and multi-faceted, Lynn has focused on collecting facts about the conflict, developing platforms to share narratives of the conflict, and developing tools to increase knowledge and strengthen stakeholders’ advocacy efforts. As an AHDA fellow, Lynn plans to develop a project related to memorialization of the missing that raises the profile of the victims and their families—a project that is complicated by the fact that it will take place in a society still in the grips of forgetfulness.

Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) Fellow

Kelen Meregali currently works at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ). Her organization seeks to help societies in transition to address legacies of human rights violations and build civic trust in state institutions through transitional justice mechanisms. Kelen joined ICTJ three years ago as an Associate for the Truth and Memory Program, assisting with the support and advice for truth seeking initiatives processes in a variety of countries to advance the right to truth and to enhance society’s discussion about the past, and now also as a Program Office Manager assisting with the overseeing of programmatic work for the organization. Prior to moving to New York, she has worked at the Amnesty Commission of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice since 2007 and as a consultant for UNDP since 2009. During this time she was part of a team that helped to strengthen and reorganize the commission, as well as design and implement the Commission’s innovative “Amnesty Caravan” outreach program throughout Brazil, relating to the national reparations program and public policies on education and memorialization.

As a fellow in the AHDA Program, Kelen seeks to explore the devastating legacy of forced assimilation in Indian Residential Schools in Canada stemming from the 1870s, when children were ripped from their families and forced to learn new languages and religions. She will focus on a project featuring a multimedia web-based platform encouraging active engagement, especially by young people, with the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The project aims to show the multi-faceted, inter-generational nature of harm and its impacts, to foster trust by breaking down the stereotypes that beget discrimination, while also encouraging dialogue among citizens about future policymaking options for addressing the past. Kelen sees this as a pilot project that could serve as a model for other truth-seeking bodies, including those in Guatemala, Peru, and soon Brazil and Tunisia. Kelen received her law degree from the Pontific Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (2007) and holds a post-graduate degree on International Law from the Superior School for Federal Prosecutors (2010).

Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellow

Munini Mutuku works at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission in Kenya. This body was established in 2008 after the 2007/’08 post-election violence in Kenya. It is one of the Government agencies recommended in the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commissions Report of 2013 as key to spearheading dialogue and reconciliation initiatives in the Country. Among other programs, the Commission works to facilitate dialogue and reconciliation initiatives around the country. As a Senior Program Officer in the Reconciliation and Integration Department, Munini works on the promotion of reconciliation dialogue initiatives in conflict affected communities, project development, mentorship programs and project supervision.

Previously, Munini worked at the Centre for Minority Rights and Development working on projects advocating for the rights of minority and indigenous peoples in Kenya and other African Countries. Munini is a social scientist by training, with extensive work experience in peacebuilding, human rights, and social justice. She holds a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Conflict Management from Alice-Salomon University of Applied Sciences (Berlin) and a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democracy from the European Inter-University Center (Italy) and University of Vienna (Austria).

Munini’s proposed project for the AHDA Fellowship seeks to engage young people in historical dialogue processes. In particular, her project will focus on the Turbi massacre, which occurred in July 2005 in the Marsabit District of Northern Kenya. This massacre, which involved communities with a history of antagonism and conflict, continues to evade redress and reconciliation efforts, and Munini’s project thus seeks to support community dialogue initiatives in an attempt to promote reconciliation and healing between this two communities.