Elke Kaschl Mohni

Dr. Elke Kaschl Mohni has been the Delegate for European Affairs and Regional Director for Southwest Europe for the Goethe-Institut, the German Cultural Center, in Brussels since 2019. She has been with the Goethe-Institut since 2004, holding positions as Regional Director Middle East/North Africa in Cairo (2016-19) and Head of Strategy in Munich headquarters (2012-16), as well as director of the institutes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2009-12) and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2005-09). She graduated with a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Berne, Switzerland with a thesis on “Dance and Authenticity in Israel and Palestine: Performing the Nation”, a comparative ethnographic study on the construction of identity through artistic practice in a conflict context. Her MA is in Contemporary Arab Studies from Georgetown University, Washington DC, with a focus on politics and cultural studies.

As a cultural manager, Elke Kaschl Mohni aims to support free and fair artistic and cultural engagement in Europe and beyond. She seeks to enable creative border-crossings against the grain of established categories and allow for out-of-the-box thinking and the unexpected, thus hoping to help unfold the potential of culture as a powerful driver of innovation, social cohesion, democratic values, and peaceful interaction, especially now in these times of multiple crisis and global challenges. A special interest of hers is to explore trans-Mediterranean cultural entanglements, as well as new African-European cultural narratives. She has worked, studied, and travelled widely in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States.