Elza Maalouf

Elza S. Maalouf (born 1965 in Zahlé, Lebanon) is a Lebanese-American futurist, social scientist, and cultural development specialist focusing her work on geopolitics, cultural and political reform in the Arab world including Palestine, Kuwait, Dubai, and in Syria through the European Union SHAMS project (Sustainable Human Activities in Mediterranean urban Systems). She is the author of the 2014 book ' (October 2014 SelectBooks, Inc. New York, Publishers). She is a highly sought after keynote speaker and executive trainer.
Influences
Elza S. Maalouf studied the works of philosophers and mythologists like Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts and one of her mentors and a close friend, Jean Houston. She’s a life-long student of depth psychology and consciousness studies, the works of Carl Jung, and Eastern Philosophy. Maalouf is also influenced by integral philosopher Ken Wilber and Eastern philosophers and poets like Averroes, Rumi, Rabia Basri, and May Ziade. Her thinking continues to be shaped by the works of, and private discussions with influential thinkers like Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, Deepak Chopra, and evolutionary biologists Elisabet Sahtouris and Bruce Lipton.
Maalouf studied value systems approach through the prism of the ‘bio-psycho-social systems’ framework of Dr. Clare W. Graves. Since 2002 she has worked with renowned geopolitical advisor Dr. Don E. Beck, Graves’ successor and one of the architects behind South Africa’s transition from Apartheid. Maalouf then pioneered the integral movement and the application of Spiral Dynamics integral in the Middle East.
Career
As one of the foremost futurists and experts on the memetics of the Middle East, Elza Maalouf was elected as a member of the Board of Advisors for Peace Through Commerce and to the Evolutionary Leaders in Service to Conscious Evolution, an organization made up of the leading global minds in the fields of science, spirituality, and related studies with the primary purpose of advancing the conscious evolution of humanity.
Maalouf has been invited to lecture at prominent events hosted by The World Future Society, the Oslo Center for Human Transformation, and the American Society for Training and Development. In her workshops and keynote presentations she examines memetic patterns of emergence in the Middle East and offers analysis of the anatomy of conflicts in the Muslim world based on Muzafer Sherif’s realistic conflict theory. Maalouf has been a keynote speaker at the United Nations twice:
*June 21, 2007, with Dr. Beck at the Values Caucus to a full audience, ‘standing room only’, and
*June 4, 2013, with the Evolutionary Leadership group presentations to the United Nations diplomatic and NGO community at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria.
Having developed a unique value system approach to ‘Functional Governance’ with a focus on multiple emergent constructs within sociocultural systems, she has also lectured at many events presented at the Adizes Graduate School in Santa Barbara, California, as well as the University of Virginia and the University of California at Irvine. In October 2012, she presented at a conference hosted by the Collège de Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Leadership
Elza S. Maalouf helped found and co-found several highly active initiatives:
*The “Build Palestine Initiative” is a mentoring project through which Elza Maalouf has advised the Fateh Third Generation and mentors leaders of the Arab Millennial Generation throughout the Arab world.
*Elza S. Maalouf co-founded The Center for Human Emergence Middle-East, a think tank that emphasizes the scientific understanding of Middle Eastern cultures specifically. The CHE-Middle East is one of several global Centers for Human Emergence including those in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, with activities growing in Canada, Great Britain, and elsewhere. Key thought leaders at CHE include John L. Peterson, founder of the Arlington Institute; Dr. Teddy Larson; Howard Bloom, Dr. Ichak Adizes, and others.
*Global Feminine is a collaborative effort founded by Ms. Maalouf and other leaders to create an alliance of women and organizations that are leading change, often behind the scenes, through the application of value-systems thinking in their countries and organizations. The Global Feminine is based on a model of distributed intelligence, rather than central command, and includes women working in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.
*Ms. Maalouf is founder and CEO of The Integral Insights Consulting (IIC) Group which brings research on human potential to bear on organizational challenges and opportunities. The IIC Group is dedicated to the multi-faceted development of individuals, teams and organizations in the United States and Arab countries.
Publications
Maalouf is the author of the 2014 book EMERGE! The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East which is a whole systems approach to understanding the past, present and future of the Middle East through the unique lens of value systems and cultural change. She is a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and Integral Leadership Review, and writes several blogs (iPolitics, Indigenous Intelligence). She has been interviewed and her work has been referenced many times over the years on a variety of interrelated subjects, most recently reframing the issues shaping the Arab Spring.
Personal History
The Maaloufs belong to the Ghassanid tribe, an ancient Christian Kingdom in the Levant. Her mother’s ancestry stems from one of the original families of the Phoenician civilization.
Elza S. Maalouf graduated from the Lebanese University Faculty of Law and Political Science and became a member of the Beirut Bar Association in 1986. She lives in La Jolla, California with her husband Said E. Dawlabani, a cultural economist.
More Audio, Video, Writings
* The Michael Ostrolenk Show (June 12, 2013): Elza Maalouf on Memetic Patterns in the Middle East (radio)
* mepeace.org (January 26, 2013): Elza S. Maalouf describes the template of change in the middle east, posted by Neri Bar-On (audio)
* Radio EnlightenNext with Tom Steininger (September 22, 2012): A turning point in the middle east? (audio)
* Women on the Edge of Evolution (March 9, 2011): Supporting Our Arab Sisters: Standing For the Equality of Women in the Middle East (audio)
* Inside Edge Foundation 25th Anniversary keynote (May 11, 2011): Rapid Change in the Middle East (video)
* Empowerment - Inspiring Women Summit (May 1, 2010), Host: Elayne Doughty, Featuring: Jessica Roemischer, Elza Maalouf, Ariane de Bonvoisin (audio plus transcript)
* Women on the Edge of Evolution (Dec 22, 2009): Clair Zammit interviews Elza Maalouf (audio plus written summary)
* Integral Leadership Review (Volume VII, No. 2, March 2007): Palestine Speaks in Colors: Unraveling the Deep Cultural Codes and Designing Integral Solutions
* A Better World with Mitchell Raven (November 26, 2007): Mid East Peace Dialogue from a Holistic View (radio)
* Inside Edge (Feb 15, 2006): The Emergence Of The Modern Arab Identity (video)
Note: There are a number of videos on YouTube of Elza S. Maaloufs’ live presentations.

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