Wybo Nicolai, founder of the World Watch List and former global field director Wybo Nicolai has had over 30 years of experience in the field, including five years in the Soviet Union and 17 years in the Middle East. He’s also the creator of the World Watch List, ranking the 50 most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. Wybo is Dutch and is married with two children. He has a degree in Modern History. Wybo joined Open Doors in 1985. He began as a Researcher on the Soviet Union. From 1988-1990 he worked in the Communication Department--Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. In 1991, he was responsible for ODI (Open Doors International) Global Research. That year, he created the World Watch List, still the most widely distributed, accepted list to measure religious freedom on a global level. During the period 1991-1996 he was responsible for expanding the work of Open Doors in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran, while also starting the work of Open Doors in countries like Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India. In 1996, he became the Open Doors Deputy Director for the Middle East region. In 2002, he was appointed as the Regional Director for the Middle East region. He stayed with the team for the Middle East for 18 years. In 2014 he joined the Executive Leadership of Open Doors, being responsible for all the Fieldwork globally. In 2019 he returned to his roots, and he was appointed as Senior Director of Global Research and Innovations.