Omran Salman

Education

Certificate in Translation Industry Essentials, New York University, School of Professional Studies, expected 2020.
Diploma in translation (English/Arabic/English), Bahrain University, March1998- September 1998.
Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication Engineering, University of Telecommunications and Post, Sofia, Bulgaria, September 1986- July 1990.

Professional Profile

20 years of experience in TV, Radio and Internet broadcasting in Arabic, including writing, reporting, producing, translating and selecting timely news material from primary and secondary sources, such as news wires, reporters, newspapers, and websites.
10 years of experience in translating, interpreting, transcribing, and gisting Arabic material into English.
Conducting open source research, specifically in areas pertaining to Middle Eastern affairs including culture, history, politics, geography, economy, and current events.
Conducting quantitative research, particularly in the field of terrorism and counterterrorism, including Jihadi movements and Islamic militant groups.
Skillful in presenting concepts and program strategies in a manner that provides insight to decision-makers.
Delivering Arabic language training to students of various levels and backgrounds, implementing the Communicative Approach method.
Designing and conducting mission-specific culture training to government personnel working in the Middle East.

Professional Experience

Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) – Alhurra TV Springfield, VA

Columnist 2018 – present

Created weekly online content in Arabic for Alhurra.com platform, with emphasis on political and religious reform in the Middle East.
Promoted the column using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, by drawing traffic to the website.
Provided thoughtful analysis of complex issues and produces sophisticated journalism with minimal direction.

Translator/Editor/Proofreader Alexandria, VA

Freelance 2018 – present

Translated into English from Arabic and from Arabic into English.
Edited and proofreader Arabic documents.
Worked for companies and private clients in the US, UK and the Middle East.
Specialized in Spiritual, Legal and Commercial Documentation, as well as Books, Newspapers and Magazines.

Navy Center for Language, Regional Expertise and Culture (CLREC) Washington, D.C.

Berlitz Cultural Consultant 2015 – present

Provided culture and language training to individuals and organizations working in the Middle East region.
Managed program and project design, training and evaluation, monitoring, facilitation, debriefing, community engagement, and other services to strengthen clients’ capacity for cross cultural communication in development settings.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) – Alhurra TV Springfield, VA

News Producer 2009 – 2018

Selected timely news material from all available sources (news wires, reporters, newspapers, websites, etc.)
Prepared format/rundown for newscast, summaries, updates or assigned special event coverage in order to be broadcasted on air.
Wrote stories for assigned newscasts.
Reviewed all scripts for assigned newscasts.

Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) Washington, D.C

Founder and Director of Arab Reform Project AAFAQ (HORIZONS) 2006 – 2009

Directed day-to-day decision-making in running AAFAQ website:
content and project management.
Budgeting and financial strategy.
recruitment and retention.
Relations and Communications.
Developed strong relations with the reformists and pro-democracy activists in the Middle East.
Managed technical administration of website hosting, design and building.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) Washington, D.C

Field Reporter and International Broadcasting Journalist, Radio Sawa 2003 – 2006

Field reporter from Manama, Bahrain – live reports and prepared packages to be broadcasted in Radio Sawa daily news programs.
Created and ran Sawa magazine – daily 20 minutes news program broadcasting to the Middle East, featuring political, economic, sports and entertainment news and current affairs.

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Washington, D.C

Senior Editor of Iraq Democracy Papers 2004 – 2005

Supervised a team of editors that research, propose and edit the writings for a 6-part series of Iraq Democracy papers- covers the key ideas and pillars of liberal democracy from different areas and cultures (Arabic, Islamic, Western and Asian).
Each publication is dealing with a core theme of democracy – for example Protecting Freedom, Preventing Despotism, Ethnic & Religious Co-existence, Accountability, Representation, Women & Democracy and Commentaries on the Iraqi Constitution.

Authored Works

“From Religion to Spirituality – A journey into the Creator, Created and Creation”/Arabic/, Dar Al-Khayal for printing and publishing – Beirut, Lebanon/2020
Translated into Arabic a book of “The Art of Being and Becoming” by Hazrat Inayat Khan/ Dar Al-Khayal for printing and publishing – Beirut, Lebanon/2020

Publications

“Jews of the Arab Gulf countries”, Alhurra.com/https://www.alhurra.com/different-angle/the-right-of-the-Jews-of-the-Gulf/ June 2020
“Saudi Arabia has Squandered Opportunity to Renew its Aging Political System,” The Middle East Media & Research institute /AAFAQ, July 2008.
“The Era of Iranian Hegemony in the Middle East is upon us,” The Middle East Media & Research institute /AAFAQ, January 2008.
“Dissent and Reform in Bahrain: Challenging Government Control of Media”, Conference about Dissent and Reform in the Arab World, the American Enterprise Institute, November 2006.

Professional Organizations

CAT tools:

Languages:

Native speaker of Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic, Persian Gulf dialect, Iraqi dialect, Yemeni dialect)
Superior Proficiency in English (ILR scale)

Computer Literacy