Muna Fadhil

Journalist | Documentary Producer | MENA Researcher
Stories on conflict, children, and identity

Hi!
Thanks for dropping by. I’m Muna, a nomadic American Iraqi. I have lived and worked across the MENA region, from Algeria to Iraq, the US, the UK, Tanzania, and I’ve traveled to many more. My travels have led to an eclectic career, kind of like my ‘Jack of all trades’ friend Grover here! I’ve worked in urban planning, teaching, counter-extremism, and children’s television, to name a few!

I am, to my very core, a creative storyteller. My career and heart are dedicated to supporting communities—especially children— cope with and recover from armed conflict. Wars have shaped my childhood and continue to influence my adult life.

I spent a decade working for the UN in communication posts, program management, grant writing, and program development. I also spent five years researching and writing about political Islam, counter extremism, and combating hate speech. I hold degrees in journalism and documentary filmmaking. At my last job I was having a hoot as an Associate Producer at Ahlan Simsim, the Arabic offshoot of the beloved kids' show Sesame Street. I’m now a New York–based producer, helping organizations craft impactful storytelling and communication strategies that support communities in crisis.

↓

Areas of expertise

  • I worked in television, radio broadcasting, and documentary film production across international media organizations. At Sesame Workshop in New York, I was part of the production team for Ahlan Simsim, the Arabic version of Sesame Street where I oversaw production processes across multiple teams and time zones from storyboards and rough cuts to broadcast and digital campaigns, reaching millions of children across the Middle East and beyond. Earlier, at BBC Media Action in London, I managed a UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office–funded project with Iraqi radio stations to strengthen editorial standards and counter misinformation through public-service broadcasting. In addition to broadcast work, I oversaw end to end production of two short documentaries showcased at DOC NYC in New York and the Film and Media Exchange in Stuttgart, and mentored documentary students at the New York Film Academy.

  • With more than a decade of experience as a researcher, investigative reporter, and media trainer, I track conflict, propaganda, and extremism — from the frontlines to the think tanks.

    I've reported for The Guardian and East London Lines, and worked with international organizations and governments to research and counter extremist narratives. I co-authored Planting the Seeds of the Poisonous Tree — a Hedayah and George Washington University analysis of how extremist groups weaponize education systems to shape ideology — and translated and digitized primary ISIS documents for GWU's ISIS Files, putting critical source material in the hands of journalists and researchers worldwide.

    At the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, I designed and delivered investigative journalism trainings for Algerian reporters across print, radio, and TV, and built a 120-page curriculum on countering extremist propaganda.

    My MA in Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London took me to Jordan, where I secured rare access to Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi — al-Qaeda's most influential spiritual leader — to trace the ideological roots of ISIS for my thesis. My Documentary Filmmaking degree from NYFA took me to Iraq, where I interviewed ISIS affiliates and survivors — from a teacher who taught the ISIS curriculum to a Yazidi mine-clearer uncovering mass graves.

    Awards and Recognition

    • Chevening Scholarship for achievements in journalism, 2014
    • Invitation to the Women of the Future Summit reception at Buckingham Palace, 2014
    • Best Student Magazine, BBC Magazine Academy Awards, 2015

  • Since 2005, I've overseen and secured funding for humanitarian and development programs across the Middle East, working with UN agencies and international organizations on education, community resilience, and crisis response.

    With BBC Media Action, I supported Iraqi radio stations during ISIS's invasion — strengthening editorial standards and helping broadcasters counter misinformation in real time. As UNESCO's Syria Emergency Coordinator in northern Iraq, I led the emergency education response across the region, coordinating ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, and local authorities to expand access to schooling for displaced Syrian children. Earlier roles with the International Organization for Migration and UN-Habitat covered communications, donor reporting, and operational coordination for programs supporting refugees, urban governance, and public sector reform in Iraq.

    Over my career, I've secured more than $4 million for humanitarian and development initiatives — including a $1 million Australian government grant for psychosocial programs integrating Iraqi refugee children into Jordanian schools, $500,000 to build schools for Syrian refugees in camps in northern Iraq, and more than $1.5 million for a children's medical evacuation program. I also co-authored the proposal that secured £100K for a research initiative on Iraq's national broadcaster Al-Iraqia.

    My donor portfolio spans the U.S. State Department, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, USAID, DFID, and the Qatari government — managing reporting and partnerships to sustain program delivery and accountability.

  • Since 2005, I have provided Arabic translation and localization services. At Sesame Workshop, I manage script localization, rough cuts, and social media content to ensure cultural and linguistic accuracy. Previously, I translated technical reports and media laws for BBC Media Action in both English and Arabic, and I adapted investigative reports for Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) from Arabic to English. I also earned an Outstanding Quality Award for training 3,000+ diplomats and aid workers on the cultures of Iraq and the Arab Levant during a UN induction program.

  • I started writing short stories fueled by my grandparents' massive library. I was devouring Arabic translations of Russian and French classics like Victor Hugo and Gogol by the time I was 8. By middle school, I secretly read books by Egyptian feminists like Nawal El Saadawi and Ihsan Abdel Quddous, hiding them from my mother. In college in Baghdad, I traded banned books with friends like they were precious contraband.

    My short stories have been published in the UK, US, Japan, and Iran. They appeared in Flash Fiction International (W. W. Norton & Company), Aesthetica magazine, and Carnegie Learning's Lenses on Literature. I contributed to the "Lanterns of Hope" project with the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program as a mentor and panelist and worked as a translator and copy editor for Jamila’s Thread & Other Stories, an anthology of Arabic folktales by Project Pen.