Ali Naddeh's Recent LinkedIn Posts

I applied to volunteer at WUF13 not knowing if I’d be selected. When the confirmation came, it wasn’t just excitement. It was the beginning of a journey I hadn’t expected. On day one, I put on this uniform and walked into the accreditation area. Around me, people were already in motion. Each one knowing what to d…

10 days in Baku. More than 57,000 participants. 176 countries. One theme: Housing the World. The largest World Urban Forum in history, and I was in the room. I came as an urban planner from Al Ain. I left with one clear thought: When 176 countries gather around one urban challenge, you don’t get one answer. You…

Not every city changes you. Some simply stop asking you to be who you usually are. No plan. No fixed direction. Just enough space to walk, to stop, to notice, and to exist without a role to play. Somewhere in that freedom, something quieter comes forward. Not a new person, but a part of yourself that routine usual…

Cities protect what they name. Walking in Al Ain, a metal tag on a Ghaf tree stopped me mid-walk. Only native trees get this. A name. A code. An identity. The Ghaf has lived here for centuries — and in the UAE, it carries more than ecological value. It carries memory. This tree was given a number: 𝗔𝗔𝗠-𝗚𝗛-𝟵𝟰…

10 days in Baku. More than 57,000 participants. 176 countries. One theme: Housing the World. The largest World Urban Forum in history, and I was in the room. I came as an urban planner from Al Ain. I left with one clear thought: When 176 countries gather around one urban challenge, you don’t get one answer. You…

I’ve walked through cities that left no trace. And others I still carry. Not because of what I saw,  but because of who I met inside them. The late-night walk that turned into a conversation you still think about. The corner you kept returning to,  not for the place, but for the person. The familiar face that be…