Dr. Oussama (Sam) Cherribi is a Moroccan-Dutch sociologist, former politician for The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) party, and current professor at Emory University. He was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002.
Cherribi is often interviewed by news organizations on developments in European and Middle East and North African (MENA) regions, and is an often-invited public speaker.
Early life and education
Cherribi was born 4 September 1959 in Kenitra, Morocco.
Cherribi studied literature in his town of birth and philosophy and sociology at the University of Rabat, sociology at the University of Nancy in France and, from 1983 onwards, philosophy and sociology at the University of Amsterdam.
After graduating in 1991, Cherribi entered a joint Ph.D. program at the Amsterdam School of Social Science Research at the University of Amsterdam & Leiden University. In 2000, while in office as a Member of the Dutch Parliament, he received his PhD in the social sciences. Cherribi also worked as a broadcaster and translator at the Dutch Public Service Television, NOS and, Dutch World Service from 1985-90.
Parliament and Legislation
Cherribi served in the Dutch Parliament from 1994 until 2002. Throughout his tenure in parliament, Cherribi was a member of VVD, which belonged to The Group of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, and likewise the Purple (Paars) government coalition of social democrats and liberals. Throughout his career as a Member of the Dutch Parliament (MP), Cherribi served on the Standing Committees of Foreign Affairs, Technology, Youth, Interior Affairs, Education, Welfare and Health. Furthermore, from 1995 until 2002, Cherribi was elected to represent the Netherlands in the Assembly of the Council of Europe.
As a member of the Standing Committee on Higher Education, Cherribi introduced legislation on comprehensive cultural training for imams in the Netherlands and Europe. A part of the Duplex Ordo program, this legislation encouraged imams living in the Netherlands to become educated on secular topics in order to facilitate positive relations between the Muslim community and Dutch society at-large.
As a European Council member representing the Netherlands, Cherribi played a crucial role in the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. Cherribi drafted and proposed much of the legislation, including additions regarding "Internet Domain Names," that was ratified in November 2001. The Budapest Convention, which was consequently ratified by the United States Congress in 2006, sets precedent for future cybercrime laws until today.
In 1995, in an effort to bring politics to the people, Cherribi founded Den Haag-Online, a Dutch-language discussion board that allowed citizens to communicate with Members of Parliament via cyberspace. The goal of this project was to promote transparency and accountability in the Dutch government. This project was one of the nascent internet’s first social media outlets.
Cherribi successfully campaigned for the former Dutch-speaking colonies of Suriname and South Africa to be accepted into the Belgian-Dutch Language Union Taalunie. Cherribi undertook this effort in order to promote the global use of Dutch in the age of the Internet.
In December 1998 and November 2001, Cherribi joined Dutch delegation as an Official Observer at the New York UN General Assembly, participating in committee meetings, deliberations, and meetings with other delegations.
Cherribi served as a member of the now-defunct Assembly of the West European Union, serving on numerous high-budget social and security-related committees.
In April, 2002, Dr. Cherribi served as the Rapporteur and Moderator for the Council of Europe Conference on Cultural Cooperation between Europe and North Africa. The Conference was held in the debating chambers of the Moroccan Parliament, in Rabat. This event, put on by the Council of Europe in Morocco, discussed further collaboration between the two governments.
As a Dutch MP, Cherribi hosted and moderated numerous other panels and conferences, both within the EU (North South Center) and abroad. Many of these conferences were centered around international development and education for MPs of developing nations.
Cherribi organized the African Diaspora Roundtable at the US Congress in 2017.
Civil Society
Cherribi was a Member of the Board of Directors for the Amsterdam Art Council for over 10 years and was the organization’s only immigrant board member. He was also placed in charge of Migrant TV (MTV) from 1990-1993.