Sharjah’s NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA), an AIWF Global Partner, and the London-based international organisation Global Thinkers Forum (GTF) have launched the Athena MENA Mentoring Programme 2018 to help women in the region to develop new skills and expertise, and to enhance, enrich and expand their professional and personal prospects. The two organisations confirmed the launch of the programme at a signing ceremony held in London, reflecting NAMA’s ever-increasing efforts to empower women locally and globally and equip them with the leadership skills that help them chart their own future path.
The Athena MENA Mentoring Programme 2018 aims to develop the talents, abilities and business acumen of 10-15 women above the age of 22, and provide them with support and networking opportunities and give them a deeper insight into modern business practices. The programme offers guidance, mentorship, and professional advice for mentees by deepening their understanding of international markets and helping them with confidence-building. Adopting scientific and practical strategies and clear action plans for the inclusion of women in local, regional and global economies, the programme encourages women to launch and set up their own enterprises, a forward-thinking scheme that leads to creating a generation of active women leaders.
The Global Thinkers Forum provides the Athena MENA Programme with an elite group of highly-experienced mentors, many of whom are CEOs and directors of leading international companies and organisations, to present workshops and training sessions to mentees. The programme aims to benefit 100 women from the MENA region by 2020. The selected candidates are provided with a personalised development opportunity to address individual learning needs over a period of eight months.
“In our efforts to empower women we are inspired by the vision and directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of NAMA, who believes in women’s massive potential and their ability to make unique achievements and substantial contributions to the economy and community,” said HE Reem Bin Karam, Director of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment. “NAMA looks to the day when women can enjoy a position where they can create their own paths and be on an equal footing with their male counterparts in building their nations. Our partnership with the Global Thinkers Forum in launching the Athena MENA Mentoring Programme exemplifies our desire to see a new generation of women leaders able to take the initiative and inspire others to build a bright future and better tomorrow. It also reaffirms our absolute trust in women and their ability to innovate.”
She continued: “The Athena MENA Programme is the fruition of the Women Economic Empowerment Global Summit (WEEGS), which was held in Sharjah in December 2017, and highlighted the need to create a motivating environment for women that helps in production, development, growth and innovation on the basis of merit and competence. In this vein, we launched the ‘Pledge’ initiative that aims to enable women in the working environment.”
Elizabeth Filippouli, Founder and CEO of Global Thinkers Forum, to which AIWF Founder & Chairman Haifa Al Kaylani is proud to have been invited to serve as an Advisory Board Member, said: “We are delighted and honoured for the partnership with NAMA to launch this very important Mentoring Programme in MENA. The potential, talent and capacity that is to be found among women in the MENA region is huge. By launching this programme our aspiration is to highlight this dynamism that can add immense value to the MENA economies.”
According to the outcome of the 2017 Women Economic Empowerment Global Summit (WEEGS), there is a pressing need to provide a suitable environment for women to develop and grow through fair economic empowerment. The summit highlighted the importance of assessing challenges facing women and the inclusion of more women in the private sector, a move that will increase productivity and GDPs. The summit also underlined the need to influence global policy makers to ensure women’s integration in the economy, referring to the UAE as a model to be emulated by other countries. The summit offered a platform to motivate action, promote tolerance, integration and equality in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
