Roula Mekhael, Lebanon, is executive director of Maharat Foundation, an organization founded by journalists to monitor and promote free speech. The foundation is the Lebanese member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), which serves as a watchdog on media freedom issues worldwide. She also has been a journalist for An Nahar newspaper, and a founder of the Lebanese Center for Civic Education. She writes frequently about professionalism and sectarianism in Lebanese media, and conducted the 2012 Media Sustainability Index for the country.