Mr. Hassan Haridi is currently Economic Editor at Al-Akhbar Al-Youm, an Egyptian news outlet. In his position, Mr. Haridi reports on the diverse challenges facing the Egyptian economy and works to keep the government accountable by closely tracking whether state officials are using public monies ethically and efficiently.
As an economic editor who wants to promote government accountability, Mr. Haridi was in an ideal place to participate in the Promoting Financial Accountability program in August 2016. This program helped the International Visitors understand the role of independent media in reporting cases of financial mismanagement and corruption, and how to best create and support professional organizations.
During his visit to Utah, Mr. Haridi met with both nonprofit and independent government organizations tasked with keeping government entities accountable. Most pertinent to Mr. Haridi’s background in journalism was his meeting with the Alliance for a Better Utah, which helps keep the public informed by responding to inaccurate statements made within public policy debate, exposing hypocritical statements made of elected officials, and cataloging how elected officials fail to serve the will of the people. It maintains credibility by providing intellectually honest, fact-based positions and maintaining independence from elected officials, political parties, and candidates.
Mr. Haridi says the program helped him succeed in his career by developing his critical thinking, interpersonal, and professional skills. He hopes to use his experiences to explore opportunities to create successful partnerships to develop and serve Egyptian society.
Mr. Haridi extends his sincere thanks to the American people and Utah Global Diplomacy and is “happy to build bridges of trust for the benefit of the Egyptian people and the American people."
