Zainab Gaafar - Sudan

Since July 1, 2017

Zainab Gaafar has been appointed as Sudan's Country Reporter, as part of the WAC's Country Editors/Reporters program. Zainab is one of the most consistent and passionate reporters who work in detail, since she was accepted to the program. She is always tracing new formations, initiatives, local news to create a new content from her local region, regardless of Sudan's slow progressing social, economic and political context. She is a good hunter for real and original news. She does not miss the minor detail that happens in her local region and she immediately turns it into a new writing.

Zainab does not have a sharp style and doesn't follow the same type of news, her focus is quite broad and she can write ranging from a conference, an exhibition, interior architecture, photographic essay to a minor detail of the street. The most important feature of Zainab is to work systematically, which she can easily report it. Her contents are original and simple, and the language of her writing is quite clear and she easily conveys the message into the texts to give the essence of a story. Zainab's most popular article Impact Hub Khartoum: An Innovative Working Space has reached over 4,995 views at the time of this article.

"I applied to be a Reporter on WAC because Sudan is one of those countries that the only news you get to hear from aren't particularly bright or positive, but I thought If takes over this role, I will be able to give Sudan a chance to portray a different side that isn't known by many people around the world," Zainab Gaafar told World Architecture Community.

Zainab O.M. Gaafar is a young architect based in Khartoum, Sudan. Zainab received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Khartoum and Master's Degree from the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) at the University of Khartoum. She studied as a Research Assistant at the BRRI, University of Khartoum between 2014-15 on various architecture researches and publications. Her academic publications include an academic paper focusing on Sustainability Evaluation for Low-Cost Housing Projects in Sudan, with special reference for Khartoum State Fund for Housing and Development Projects. 

She is the co-founder of Roshan Engineering, an architecture office with a social mindset in the heart, it is run by youthful and progressive minds with hopes to provide new creative solutions to current construction and social issues.

"Being a Country Reporter on WAC means becoming a small voice for the architecture and construction industry in Sudan."

"Writing news reports has given me the opportunity to interact with great architects and designers, as well as explore and research architecture for news and media. The mindset used in media is something completely different than the academic method I used to." 

"Such experience was personally rewarding and it definitely helped me develop my writing skills and become more analytical when choosing my content," she added. "And, the flexibility of the framework was very suitable for me and I think it's quite effective."

"I have been trying to promote WAC to young architects in my country who have a fresh perspective for architecture and I think they can bring great work to the surface as well as learning from the community the same way I did."

"I do share the articles through my social media with all of my acquaintances. I find the news from India most interesting for me," commented Gaafar. 

You can follow Zainab on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

If you also want to be part of our volunteer reporters and become "the voice of your country on WAC while being the face of WAC in your country", please send your motivation message and your CV to [email protected]. We also accept more than one reporter by country.

Top image courtesy of Zainab Gaafar