Benkredda received an undergraduate degree in Frankfurt, at
Goethe University. He studied international relations and philosophy of law, graduating with an
MA in Middle East Politics from the
University of Exeter. He worked for the
German Foreign Office in Berlin, the
Council for Arab-British Understanding in London, and for
Zenith Magazine in various cities in the Middle East. He has also worked for the
League of Arab States and the
Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. His articles on media and democracy in the Arab world have appeared in
Gulf News,
Khaleej Times,
The National and the
European Magazine. He has contributed commentary on Arab affairs to a number of international media, including
Aljazeera TV,
Spiegel Online, and the New York Times. Benkredda is one of the founders of the Berlin-based think tank
Candid Foundation. In 2019, he co-initiated
Tunisia's first-ever televised candidate debate in the run-up to the
2019 Tunisian presidential election.
Dubai Debates In January 2011, Benkredda founded the Dubai Debates, intending for it to be an independent platform for discussing important issues facing the Arab world. The project was supported by groups such as KAS (
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung),
Vital Voices, and CNN International. In the spring of 2012, he suspended the project and created a sister organization in Tunis, Tunisia. Live television debates have been held in Tunis, Sanaa, Amman and Istanbul. ==Awards and recognition==