Forward_Moves

Raja Haddad
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Society & Culture
  • Weekly

Forward_Moves is a podcast hosted by Raja Haddad, that shares lived experiences and stories of successful personalities in the Middle East from the creative world of art, design, entertainment, hospitality, business, and other disciplines. Powered by Podeo — Listen here

  1. 2d ago

    Lubna Mobied: Curiosity, Contradictions and Finding Your Own Antidote

    We open Season 4 of Forward Moves with Lubna Mobied, a long-time friend and kindred spirit whose journey has always resisted easy categorisation.   At the heart of this conversation is curiosity: the instinct to look beyond familiar boundaries, embrace contradictions and remain open to reinvention.   With a perspective shaped by culture, technology, creativity and human connection, Lubna reflects on the fluid nature of identity, the changing relationship between cultures, and the tension between technological progress and the value of human expression and craftsmanship.   Her latest venture, Antidote, brings many of these ideas together at the intersection of culture, experience and wellness — exploring how wellbeing can become part of everyday life rather than something we seek out only when we need it.   A conversation about the freedom to evolve, the importance of staying curious, and finding ways to remain grounded in a world that never seems to stand still.   Connect Lubna’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmobied? Antidote https://www.instagram.com/antidote.wellness? Lubna’s Substack https://substack.com/@lmobied? antidotewellnessbar.com   https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves? https://x.com/forward_moovz https://open.substack.com/pub/rajaforward   Raja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj? Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    Lubna Mobied: Curiosity, Contradictions and Finding Your Own Antidote

  2. Sep 15

    [ From the Vault ] Bady is drawing history, stamp size

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons. In this episode Raja sat down in Paris with Bady Dalloul—French-Syrian multimedia artist whose work spans drawing, collage, objects, and installation—to trace a practice built on imaginary nations, miniature archives, and the deliberate blurring of fact and fiction. From inventing fictional countries with his brother during summers vacationing in Damascus when they were young, to a lesson in Byzantine art history that cracked open everything he thought he knew about who gets to tell the story, Bady's work is less about documenting history and more about exposing how it's made.  This episode outlines what it means to make work that protects the people whose stories it carries—and why, for Bady, working small is never a limitation. It's an invitation.  Connect with Bady Dalloul  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badydalloul/  Website: https://thethirdline.com/artists/79-bady-dalloul/  Connect with Raja Haddad | Forward_Moves  YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves/  Twitter/X: https://x.com/forward_moovz Raja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj/  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [ From the Vault ] Bady is drawing history, stamp size

  3. Sep 1

    [ From the Vault ] Music keeps Salma moving forward

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons. In this episode Raja sits down in Paris with Salma Mousfi—the Lebanese singer whose voice became inseparable from Ziad Rahbani’s legacy through the cult classic album Monodose— to trace a life that refuses to hold still.  Salma didn’t plan to become a central figure of Middle Eastern avant- garde music. She was just a teenager who had to sing to exist. What followed—a decade-long collaboration with Ziad Rahbani, years of stepping away from the spotlight to raise children and run a shop in Grasse, a pivot to jewelry design in Paris, and now a return to the stage with a tribute to the mentor she lost—reads less like a career and more like a life fully inhabited. This conversation explores what it means to carry a legacy without being crushed by it. It’s about the politics of being a Lebanese woman expat who reinvents herself not by choice but by circumstance. And about why Salma believes every musician who ever played with Ziad owes it to him to perform his music live. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [ From the Vault ] Music keeps Salma moving forward

  4. Aug 25

    [ From the Vault ] Stories from the kitchen table with Chef Ahmad Halawa

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons. In this episode of Forward_Moves, host Raja Haddad sits down with Chef Ahmad Halawa, the Palestinian culinary artist bringing people together—one plate at a time. From childhood memories in his family kitchen to launching a supper club in Dubai, Ahmad shares how food became his way of preserving culture, connecting communities, and telling stories that words sometimes can’t. 📌 This is more than a conversation about food—it’s about home, legacy, and why a good dish sometimes just needs to hug you. 🎧 Now on YouTube & all major podcast platforms. Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves/  X: https://x.com/forward_moovz  Raja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj/  Follow Ahmad: https://www.instagram.com/chefhalawa  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [ From the Vault ] Stories from the kitchen table with Chef Ahmad Halawa

  5. Aug 18

    [ From the Vault ] Building purposeful beauty with Zain Masud

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons. In this episode form 2025 Raja Haddad is joined by Zain Masud, a London-trained art world professional turned landscape designer, who is reshaping how we experience space, memory, and nature in the Middle East. 🎙️We explore: - Zain’s journey from the global art scene to land-based design in the Arab world - Why she views nature as storytelling—and gardens as living archives - How beauty, emotion, and identity are layered into space - Designing spaces that heal, include, and speak to a deeper sense of belonging - Letting go of perfection and trusting the process of reinvention 🌱 This is an episode about starting over, looking inward, and designing spaces that feel like home. 👉 Watch the full episode now on YouTube, or tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.  Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves/  X: https://x.com/forward_moovz  Lina’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lina_movements/  Raja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj/  Follow Zain: https://www.instagram.com/zainmasud/?hl=en  Follow Zain’s Studio: https://www.instagram.com/studiozainmasud/  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [ From the Vault ] Building purposeful beauty with Zain Masud

  6. Aug 11

    [ From the Vault ] Turning Passion into Purpose with Chef B

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons. In this episode  Chef Bader Najeeb, Emirati pastry chef, chocolatier, and founder of Burnt Orange, sits down with Raja for a deliciously honest conversation about baking, identity, and doing what truly moves you. From making fondant in his childhood kitchen to opening one of Dubai’s most soulful cafés, Bader shares how desserts became his language for storytelling, for self-expression, and for staying true to his roots. 📌 Whether you're a foodie, creative, or founder, this is your reminder that the best things come when you follow what actually matters to you. 🎧 Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. #Forward_Moves #ChefBaderNajeeb #BurntOrangeDXB #CulinaryCreativity #EmiratiVoices #Chocolatier #Foody #Chef #EmiratiChef #DubaiCafes #MiddleEastCreatives #dubai #abudhabi #mydubai #dubailife #inspiration #uaefood #followforfollow #chocolatechefb #burntorangechocolatier Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves/  X: https://x.com/forward_moovz  Lina’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lina_movements/  Raja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj/  Follow Chef Bader: https://www.instagram.com/chef.b/?hl=en Follow Burnt Orange: https://www.instagram.com/burntorangechocolatier/?hl=en  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [ From the Vault ] Turning Passion into Purpose with Chef B

  7. Aug 4

    [FROM THE VAULT] I Don't Want to Stay in Yesterday

    [FROM THE VAULT] is the summer series where we go back to some episodes that marked the past 3 seasons, and as we prepare to launch season 4. In this episode, Dubai based photographer Natalya Urmanova, shares thoughts about fear, reinvention, and the art of seeing beyond the surface.  Raised around her father’s darkroom and shaped by 15 years in luxury fashion, Natalya shares how she walked away from the corporate world with “shaking legs,” only to discover photography as a portal into a parallel world — one where she could finally live, feel, and create freely. Known for her cinematic black-and-white portraits, Natalya speaks about photographing essence rather than faces, why she builds meticulous visual worlds only to surrender to spontaneity, and how fear often signals forward motion. From her first exhibition — and the vulnerability behind it — to why she believes in never “staying in yesterday,” this episode is a powerful reflection on creativity, courage, and choosing honesty over certainty.  🎧 Listen now and subscribe to Forward Moves for conversations shaping the creative economy in the Middle East and beyond.  🔗 Connect with Natalya Urmanova Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urmanova_imagery Website: https://www.urmanovaimagery.com  🔗 Follow Forward Moves YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forward_moves X / Twitter: https://x.com/forward_moovz Raja Haddad: https://www.instagram.com/octoraj  📌 PINNED COMMENT Natalya says: “The fear of staying was much bigger than the fear of leaving.”  What’s something you’ve felt called to walk away from — even without knowing what comes next? Share your thoughts below . If this conversation resonated, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share the episode with someone navigating their own creative leap.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    [FROM THE VAULT] I Don't Want to Stay in Yesterday

  8. Jun 2

    The Mentor and The Mentee

    The word mentor arrives with a very specific image.  Teacher and student. Expert and apprentice.  The knowledge moves in one direction — from the one who has it to the one who doesn't yet. It is a reassuring image. It implies order. It implies that wisdom has a clear address and can be reliably delivered. The problem is that it bears almost no resemblance to how creative knowledge actually travels. The sensibility, the instinct These do not transfer through programs or pairings or quarterly check-ins.  They have to be absorbed. Often sideways. Often from sources the recipient didn't recognise as teachers at the time. In this  episode of the Forward_Moves Recap Series, four guests describe their most formative transmissions — none of which looked anything like the conventional image. One learned from a house. One from a rejection. One from a single conversation with a stranger in New York. One from a father who gave her everything except formal instruction. And what connects all four stories is this: the most important thing they received was not knowledge in the form of information. It was permission. Voices in This Episode Naz Gibril  —  British-Libyan fashion and luxury strategist  Mishari Al-Nassar  —  Kuwaiti interior architect and designer  Asmaa Shabibi  —  Co-founder of Lawrie Shabibi gallery in Dubai  Natalya Urmanova  —  Dubai-based photographer    Chapters 03:49  Naz Gibril on where mentorship actually matters most 06:38 Mishari Al-Nassar on his grandfather's legacy 09:59  Asmaa Shabibi on the New York collector who changed everything 13:39 Natalya Urmanova on her subjects and her role 17:30  Raja's eight-episode recap: eight threads across thirty-eight conversations Send us Fan Mail Support the show Download. Share. Subscribe.  Powered by Podeo — Listen to this episode

    The Mentor and The Mentee
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About

Forward_Moves is a podcast hosted by Raja Haddad, that shares lived experiences and stories of successful personalities in the Middle East from the creative world of art, design, entertainment, hospitality, business, and other disciplines. Powered by Podeo — Listen here

Information

  • Creator
    Raja Haddad
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Forward_Moves
  • Show Website
    Forward_Moves

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