Nour Munawar is an archaeologist and cultural heritage expert. He holds a PhD in heritage studies from the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Munawar’s expertise extends beyond the fields of heritage and memory studies, historical and contemporary archaeology, museum studies, and encompasses identity and heritage politics, uses of the past, narrative theory, heritage governance in national and international contexts, colonialism and postcolonialism, migration and diaspora, and decolonization of heritage and museology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Arab region, Eastern Europe, and beyond. Before moving back to the Netherlands, Nour held positions at Brown University (USA), UCL-Qatar (Qatar), the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (Qatar).

Nour has widely published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes in heritage studies, archaeology, and cultural studies. He is currently working on his book monograph titled “Rebuilding Syria: Cultural Heritage and Memory After Conflict” which is planned to be published by Edinburgh University Press. Munawar is also working on two edited volumes: one with Palgrave McMillan on the Politics of Post-Conflict Heritage Reconstruction, and the other with Routledge on Cultural Heritage in Post-Conflict in the MENA region.

Munawar was recently awarded a prestigious grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the “NWO Talent Program – VENI scheme 2022” to conduct his research on "Decolonial Futures: Heritage, Memory, and Narratives in the Making in MENA". The project will be conducted at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), between December 2023 - November 2027.

Nour has an international track record of media appearances aimed at both academic peers and general public. His public outreach activities include interviews in several international TV (Aljazeera), Qatari national TV (Qatar TV), Arab regional TV (Alaraby TV), national news agency (Qatar News Agency), Dutch newspaper (De Telegraph), media outlets (Folia Magazine of the UvA), European academic newsletters (European Archaeologist “TEA” of the European Association of Archaeologists), European media outlets (The Huffington Post Italy and SME svet Slovak newspaper), and popular magazine specials (Polandia TV). 

Munawar is a very active member of the scientific community, a UNESCO expert on safeguarding cultural heritage, and a member of numerous international academic and professional organizations concerned with the cultural heritage management, such as, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS), the British Association of Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the RRR Network (Re-enactment, Replication, Reconstruction).