Ahmed Samy Nasr Lotf, M.A., Class of 2016: A Humanitarian Journey

Since graduating from AGS in 2016, Ahmed Samy Lotf has started a rich and diverse journey in the humanitarian sector, gaining experience with all three types of organizations that are major players in the field: an NGO, a governmental agency, and an intergovernmental organization.

Ahmed first volunteered with the NGO ERCI (Emergency Response Centre International) in Greece to help refugees. There, he participated in developing an educational program in Thessaloniki, and assisted in an emergency rescue program on the Island of Lesbos.

He went on to do a six-month internship at the UN World Food Program's Regional Office in Cairo, in the Government Partnerships and External Relations Unit. His work focused mainly on reaching out to donor States to help refugees from countries undergoing war or other types of crisis situations in the Middle East. He was specifically in charge of conducting research and policy analysis in support of fundraising campaigns, as well as reporting on the projects funded and implementing the global forecast exercise.

When his WFP contract ended, Ahmed joined USAID in Egypt, where he switched his focus to local development, helping in decentralization and fighting government corruption.

Ahmed is currently back in Greece helping refugees though ERCI, and will soon return Egypt to join UN Global Compact as a project associate, working on integrity and anti-corruption in small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

"I have tried my best to continue following my main career goal of 'helping the unfortunate, being the voice of the unheard, exerting efforts and energy for vulnerable populations and minorities'. This goal was the main reason why I quit my well-paid job in the corporate sector in Turkey after two years to start my Master's program at the American Graduate School in Paris."

Ahmed Samy Lotf with the World Food Program's staff at his farewell party in Cairo: