Prof. Dr. Azza Karam serves as the Secretary General of Religions for Peace – the largest multi religious leadership platform with 92 national and 6 regional Interreligious Councils. She also holds a  Professorship of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, in The  Netherlands – of which she is a citizen.  She served as a Senior Advisor on Culture, at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and  as Coordinator/Chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and  Development (UN IATF-R&D); and founder of the Multi Faith Advisory Council of the UN IATF R&D.

In those capacities, she coordinated engagement with members of a Global Interfaith  Network for Population and Development with over 600 faith-based organizations from all regions  of the world, representing all religions and interreligious affiliations. She was the Lead Facilitator for  the United Nations’ Strategic Learning Exchanges on Religion, Development and Diplomacy,  building on a legacy of serving as a trainer cum facilitator of inter- cultural leadership and  management in the Arab region as well as Europe and Central Asia.

Professor Karam has served in different positions in the United Nations since 2004, as well as other  intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations since the early 1990s, such as International IDEA,OSCE, and Religions for Peace. Simultaneously, she lectured in various academic institutions in  Europe, in North America (including the United States Military Academy/West Point), Africa and  the Middle East.