Bernhard Hillenkamp is a graduate in Middle Eastern Studies and a political scientist with over 15 years of experience in political analysis and cooperation with civil society in Lebanon and Syria. From 2015 to 2020, he served as Country Director of forumZFD in Beirut. forumZFD is dedicated to supporting local civil society actors engaged in conflict transformation. He is currently working as a freelance consultant based in Berlin and has recently visited Damascus.