Mahmoud Bastati is a social media researcher and digital participation expert, serving as Process Design Lead at Build Up, where he develops tech-enabled participatory processes for peacebuilding. Over the past decade, he has worked across Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, and Yemen, with international and local partners. He has co-created and supported tech-enabled products, such as chatbots, online courses, digital games, animation series, and digital deliberation platforms. He is the founder of Bebasata, a collective of animators, comic artists, and writers working for social change in Syria, and Mersal, a WhatsApp chatbot facilitating political deliberation in Sudan. He recently co-authored the Sudan Digital Battlefield report, examining narratives and information warfare in the Sudan conflict.