Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on Asia and on EU affairs. She is a Belgian citizen. In 2017, ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' listed Islam among 20 women who are driving Europe’s major political debates. Politico designated Islam as "the ultimate insider outsider."

Early life

Islam was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in Pakistan. She moved to Brussels as a student. Islam graduated in journalism and social communication from the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Career

Journalism

After graduating Islam joined the

Far Eastern Economic Review The ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (''FEER'') was an Asian business magazine published between 1946 and December 2009 in the English language. Based in Hong Kong, the news magazine published weekly until December 2004, when it converted to a m ...

, where she was a Europe correspondent for more than 20 years. In February 2022, Islam took the position of editor of the EUobserver magazine publication.

Research and academia

In 2007, Islam joined the

European Policy Centre The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a Brussels-based not-for-profit think tank on European Union affairs, founded in 1997. Activities Under the guidance of Herman Van Rompuy, the EPC's Chief Executive is Fabian Zuleeg, a German economist. Its ...

think tank in Brussels. where she worked on migration and Asia. Islam is a visiting professor at the Natolin campus of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

. She is also a fellow at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...

. Islam took the job of Director of Europe and Geopolitics at the think tank

Friends of Europe Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think-tank for European Union policy analysis and debate. The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions. Its declared ...

, where she stayed for nine years. After leaving Friends of Europe, Islam started her own consultancy called New Horizons Project. Islam called out the complacency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

with

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between 20 ...

’s undemocratic tendencies, which undermines the credibility of Europe on the international stage.

''Brussels So White'' commentator

Islam repeatedly expressed concerned about the lack of ethnic diversity in the EU policy making circles. Together with James Kanter, Islam launched a series dedicated to the issue of Brussels So White on the

EU Scream EU Scream is a podcast based in Brussels. EU Scream was set up in 2018 by Tom Brookes from the European Climate Foundation and by James Kanter from ''The New York Times''. James Kanter had left the New York Times before the launch of EU Scream. ...

podcast in 2022. She also raised the alarm about the far-right influence on the European institutions, when in comes to the treatment of Muslims and minorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam, Shada Living people Year of birth uncertain Université libre de Bruxelles alumni Belgian women journalists Academic staff of the College of Europe Year of birth missing (living people)