Aude Thepenier graduated with a degree in Politics from Sciences Po Rennes and Lyon, and has since worked in arts and culture across North Africa and the Middle East. She spent three years in Egypt at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina developing cross-cultural projects between European institutions and the Library of Alexandria, and later worked for the Cultural Council of the Union for the Mediterranean, a French cultural service that promotes dialogue and exchange on both sides of the Mediterranean. Aude now works as a cultural consultant for several organizations, including in Libya and Tunisia for the World Organization Against Torture.