Afshin Molavi

Afshin Molavi "is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank, where he writes on globalization, economic development, Middle East affairs, and Persian Gulf economies. He is the author of Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran, which was nominated for the Thomas Cook literary travel book of the year and was described by Foreign Affairs journal as "a brilliant tableau of today's Iran."

"A former Dubai and Riyadh-based correspondent for the Reuters news agency and a regular contributor to The Washington Post, Mr. Molavi has covered the Middle East and Washington for a wide range of international publications. His articles have appeared in the Financial Times, National Geographic, the New York Times, Businessweek, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the International Herald Tribune, and the foreign affairs journals of Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Brown universities. He comments regularly on Middle East issues on CNN, the BBC, National Public Radio and other broadcast outlets.

"Born in Tabriz, Iran, Mr. Molavi holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Middle East History and International Economics. He has also worked at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector development arm of the World Bank.

"In 2005, Mr. Molavi was selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos as a young global leader for the 21st century, joining an eclectic and distinguished group of business, political, cultural, and intellectual leaders under the age of 40 dedicated to improving the state of the world. Last year, he co-founded the Banu Foundation, an organization dedicated to assisting grass-roots organizations that are empowering women worldwide.

"Mr. Molavi just co-produced his first documentary feature film, a story that chronicles the life of a Sudanese child soldier, Emmanuel Jal, who has emerged as an international hip-hop star with a message of peace. The film, War Child, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February."

• Director, PARSA Community Foundation