Rudayna Abdo

Founder at Thaki

My experience and deep interests:

• Education (Youth)

• Technology

• Urban Planning

I am based in: The Hague

As a daughter of Palestinian refugees, myself displaced from Lebanon during the civil war in the mid-1970s, and as a mother, I felt the need to contribute to the plight of children whose education has been stolen from them. Therefore, I resigned my executive position in the corporate world to found Thaki and dedicate myself to it fully.

One of my dreams is not only to help children regain their lost years but to unlock their potential and help them leapfrog over the gap. I’m a big believer in using technology to ignite the passion for learning and growing and nothing has opened my heart more than seeing refugee children in Lebanon just wanting to live normal lives and get on with their education. I truly believe in leveraging partnerships and one another to sustainably balance the inequity in this world.

In my previous life of 20+ years, I was an urban planner, envisioning, managing, and tailoring solutions to challenging housing, land use, and urban transportation issues across diverse urban geographies. I have a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies from MIT and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from McGill University.