Lucas Welch

Lucas is the President & Founder of Soliya – a nonprofit organization using new media technologies to develop a global network of young adults and empowering them to bridge the divide between Western & predominantly Muslim societies. The primary way in which Soliya achieves this goal is through its “Connect Program” – a unique cross-cultural education program that enables university students in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe & the United States to engage in intensive facilitated dialogue and collaborative media production, all in a rich online environment as part of an accredited course. To date, over 80 universities in over 25 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe & the United States have participated in Soliya’s Connect Program. Prior to his work with Soliya, Lucas worked as a producer for ABC News with Peter Jennings. He also taught “New Media” at Birzeit University in the West Bank, conducted research at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and worked as the associate producer on “The Shape of the Future” – a documentary series produced in Arabic, Hebrew, English & French about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Welch has spoken at the World Economic Forum, the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum, the US-Islamic World Forum, and the International Youth Forum. He was recently named a TED Fellow and a “Global Expert” by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum. He has appeared on CNN International, Public Radio International and Al Jazeera amongst others. Lucas graduated with a B.A. from Brown University and was named one of the “world’s best emerging social entrepreneurs” by Echoing Green in 2004.