Rageh Omaar Keynote Speaker

Rageh Omaar has been a World Affairs correspondent for Al-Jazeera English since 2006. He presented the nightly weekday documentary series Witness until January 2010. The Rageh Omaar Report, first aired in February 2010, is a one-hour, monthly investigative documentary in which Rageh reports on the world’s most important current affairs stories.

Rageh became a household name as BBC Baghdad Correspondent, reporting on the invasion of Iraq in as he saw the events unfold from 2003 onwards. He won an EMMA Award for his coverage.

During the early stages of the Iraq conflict, Rageh’s broadcasts were also syndicated across the US where he was quickly dubbed the ‘Scud Stud.’ His account of the invasion, Revolution Day, fills the gap between the reality for those who were directly affected and the political process reported by the media.

Rageh began his career at The Voice before freelancing in foreign affairs. He went on to produce and report for Focus on Africa and Newshour before becoming the BBC’s Developing World Correspondent. He has since published Only Half of Me: Being a Muslim in Britain.