Marybelle Cherfan | Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

Bio

Marybelle Cherfan is a multidisciplinary PhD researcher in Global Politics, Human Rights and Sustainability at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA) in Italy, where her work explores the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, human rights, and governance. As the Program Coordinator for the Master’s in Electoral Policy and Administration, jointly administered by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, UNITAR, and International IDEA, Marybelle manages the multilingual program, offered in English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese. While the program focuses broadly on electoral policy and administration, Marybelle has organized webinars on topics such as AI and elections, social media’s impact on electoral processes, and digital competencies for informed voting. She also supervises theses exploring these areas and is currently developing a course on rights-based electoral processes, emphasizing the integration of human rights into electoral governance frameworks. She has over five years of experience delivering training on human-centered Integrated Border Management (IBM), migration, and Disaster Risk Management (DRM). Marybelle holds two Master’s degrees—one in Human Rights and Conflict Management from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and another in Digital Economy and Data Science (valedictorian) from Saint Joseph University. Her academic foundation spans the disciplines of human rights, technology governance, and digital law, informing her multidisciplinary approach to research and training.

Research

Her doctoral research, titled "Rights-Based Firewalls: AI Governance for Electoral Integrity in the Lead-Up to Elections" focuses on leveraging AI within rights-based frameworks to safeguard democratic processes while addressing regulatory and ethical challenges.

Marybelle co-authored the research titled "AI and Human Rights at the Frontlines of Humanitarian Crises: Towards a Rights-Based Integrated Border and Disaster Risk Management (IBDRM)" which focuses on leveraging AI to enhance human rights safeguards and improve cooperation in managing crises at the intersection of border and disaster management.

Courses

Marybelle has lectured on International Strategic Management, Cross-Border Management, Development Studies, and Political Science at institutions such as the EU Business School and London Metropolitan University. At Saint Joseph University, she taught Economic Statistics, focusing on equipping students with practical skills in data analysis for real-world applications.