Ali Al Mokdad

After months of reflection, I’ve put my thoughts into a small book—about aid, presence, resilience, and what remains when the system fails. It speaks from the heart to the heart of the sector. amzn.eu/d/aDf6dkA #QuantumHumanitarian #AidReflections #HumanitarianWork

A reminder I keep coming back to: Rising isn't the achievement. What you do from up there is. Invest in your team. Back emerging leaders. Build the environment you wish you'd had. The goal was never to be the only one at the top. Full episode (in Arabic) in the comments

Published today on the cover of The Copenhagen Post — a piece on leadership, retention, and the future of Danish SMEs. Denmark's SMEs have a retention problem - and culture alone will not fix it. Leadership will.

Danish workplace culture offers trust and balance, but without clearer direction and integration, SMEs risk underusing international talent and losing them before long-term impact is realised. Read my latest article on the subject : cphpost.dk/2026-04-20/bus…

Full conversation on YouTube: youtu.be/bv47XLE50hw?si…

One of the most challenging and most rewarding roles is the one that sits between two worlds - translating realities, connecting perspectives, and building bridges across very different ways of thinking. That is a leadership responsibility that too few people talk about and too few organizations invest in. The gap between area and country, country and region, region and HQ, and country and HQ requires leaders who can see different perspectives, hold multiple realities at once, and connect.

I just approved my first budget line for AI agents filed under operating costs, not IT, not innovation. That is new. AI is no longer just a tool we experiment with. It is becoming a resource we forecast, cost per output, and govern - like a contractor, like a team. Most budget frameworks are not built for this yet. They will be.

People ask me… what do you do when you are under extreme pressure? When you have to make a decision that defines your identity, your strategy, your next step? Over the years I developed a technique that has never failed me. I sit with three versions of myself. The past me — who already survived hard things. That version reminds me I have been here before and got through it. The present me — dealing with exactly what is in front of me right now. Seeing it clearly. Not running from it. And the future me — who already came out the other side. Looking back at this moment and asking, what would you do? Those three versions become a conversation. A compass. They help me think clearly when everything around me is uncertain. I have used this in the most difficult moments of my life. And I still use it today.

Civil society is built on the courage of people who bear witness. When NGO staff speak up about injustice, whether it concerns the treatment of displaced people, abuses of power, or failures within their own organizations, they should be listened to and protected rather than punished. Speaking the truth about suffering and injustice is not misconduct. It is part of the moral responsibility that comes with humanitarian work.

Localisation is like a garden. Technology is the rain, but without gardeners, good soil, and clear boundaries, rain becomes a flood. Technology, including AI and automation, brings real opportunity. To get the best out of it, we must invest in local innovation, resilient infrastructure, shared ecosystems, and partnerships that move decision making closer to the frontline. People must stay at the centre of every choice. Link to the full webinar in the first comment.

We never realize we’re in a 'Chapter' until the page has already turned.

The future is already here; local leadership is the bridge that carries it to everyone. Join an interesting and insightful conversation with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy

Read Humentum's A Bridge to the Future: Shifting Forward in 2026. lnkd.in/eXfdfAhb