El Hadj Djitteye is a native of Mali, in West Africa, and holds master’s degrees in English language and literature and international relations and diplomacy. El Hadj has 12 years of experience in international development and peacebuilding. He has worked with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Timbuktu Renaissance, Caravan to Class, the US Department of State, Creative Associates International, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, Global Integrity, the Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, and the United Nations Mission in Mali. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Timbuktu Center for Strategic Studies on the Sahel and is an Obama Foundation and Mandela Washington Fellow.
El Hadj has survived the war in his homeland and across Sub-Saharan Africa. This motivates his work to settle regional cultural and land conflicts and prevent extremist radicalization among youth. His writing and research explore good governance, peace and security, DDR, youth civic engagement, violent extremism, irregular migration, and cultural heritage development. For a year he managed the 6.000.000£ Sahel Stabilization and Development Initiative for the UK Embassy in Mali.