"On behalf of the Board of AIWF, I
take this opportunity to extend my warmest wishes to all women
advocates, our partners in the private sector, and grassroots
organisations all over the world who are working tirelessly to honour
the spirit and mission of International Women’s Day." - Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani,
Founder & Chairman of the Arab International Women's Forum, on
the occasion of International Women's Day 2019
On
12 March 2019, the Arab International Women’s Forum was delighted
to welcome over 70 leading members of the London-and Europe-based
Arab, British and international business community to the AIWF
Special Reception celebrating the occasion of International Women’s
Day 2019. The AIWF Special Reception, held in the evening at the
Royal Automobile Club in London, was hosted by AIWF Chairman Haifa
Al Kaylani
who was supported by several valued AIWF Board Members.
The
Reception was exceptionally well attended by senior leadership and
representatives of the diplomatic corps and leading private sector,
civil society and academic organisations including from the Royal
Academy of Engineering, Boodle Hatfield, St Mark's Hospital/Imperial
College, Schlumberger, Vistra, Northern Trust, the Financial Times,
the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, Gulf International Bank, PwC,
Heidrick & Struggles, Saudi British Joint Business Council, the
National Bank of Egypt, Imperial College London Business School, the
Global Diplomatic Forum, St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group, the
Europe Arab Bank, the Commonwealth Disaster Management Agency, the
Women’s Engineering Society, Gulf Times, and WWF UK, among many
others.
Ambassador
Ibrahim Mohieldeen,
Head of the London mission for the League of Arab States, delivered
special remarks as a Guest of Honour at the AIWF Special Reception
following Mrs Al Kaylani's keynote opening address, in which she
welcomed the distinguished guests and valued partners and members in
attendance and reiterated the support of AIWF for the spirit and
mission of International Women's Day
International
Women’s Day,” Mrs Al Kaylani said, “is a celebration of what
women have done and will continue to do to further calls to ‘Balance
for Better’ in every aspect of daily life in the Arab region and
globally. Each year, AIWF is proud to join the international
development community in celebrating International Women's Day and in
2019 we are especially proud to honour the IWD theme of ‘Balance
for Better’ across the full year’s programme, supporting the
global call-to-action for driving gender balance and achieving a
gender-equal world that will work for both women and men and leave no
one behind.” In line with AIWF’s recent initiatives to empower
and support women-led innovation in STEM, she said, “AIWF is also
especially proud to support the UN Women campaign for International
Women's Day,
Think
Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change,
which puts innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the
heart of efforts to achieve gender equality.”
The
2019 IWD call for action is very much at the heart of what AIWF has
been doing at the Arab and international level for over 18 years to
create a more stable and more balanced future for women and youth in
the MENA region and internationally. Through its key programmes and
initiatives and working closely with our global network of corporate
and institutional partners, AIWF prioritises women’s and youth
issues, examining strategies for job creation and inclusive
sustainable development. AIWF supports a universal, rights-based
approach to bringing about meaningful, multilateral collaboration
between all stakeholders