
December
14, 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates -
On the 14th December 2020 there was a Board meeting of the Arab
International Women’s Forum (‘AIWF’). The meeting was held to
discuss the decision of Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani, the original Founder of
the AIWF, to step down as Chair and to approve the appointment of the
new Chair, Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby as of 1st of January 2021. Mrs Al
Kaylani will remain as a Director of the AIWF and hold the title of
President & Founder. Mrs Al Kaylani founded the Arab
International Women’s Forum 20 years’ ago and she felt now was an
appropriate time to hand over the role to a successor.
AIWF
was set up as a development organisation based in London with the
clear aim of supporting women’s leadership and social and economic
growth in the MENA region and always within an international context.
AIWF is a leader in convening stakeholders from government, business,
civil society, academia and media to develop key initiatives
addressing the capacity, skills and leadership of Arab women. It is a
key belief of the AIWF that empowering women is crucial to the
prosperity and sustainability of the MENA region.
Through
Mrs Al Kaylani’s leadership, the Forum has led on numerous
initiatives and landmark reports and recommendations which have been
widely disseminated. While this year has been a challenging year for
many organisations throughout the world, despite the restrictions of
COVID, AIWF has remained active through a series of substantive
webinars.
AIWF
is delighted to announce that Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby has agreed to take
on the role of Chair. Dr Al Shuaiby has been a member of the AIWF
Board since 2009 and is well known within the MENA region as a strong
and impactful leader.
Accepting
the appointment, Dr Shuaiby said “I am delighted to be taking on
the role of the Chair of AIWF, following in the footsteps of its
founder who has built the organisation into such a well-known forum
within the MENA region and internationally. I am also pleased that
Haifa will remain as an active Director in the organisation and look
forward to continuing our partnership for the benefit of AIWF”.
Commenting
on the handover, Mrs Al Kaylani said “I am proud to have founded
the AIWF and honoured to have served as Chair for close to 20 years.
I am excited about the prospect of Dr
Afnan’s
leadership and am confident that she will be an outstanding Chair. I
look forward to supporting her in taking the AIWF to its next phase
of development.”
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