Haifa Al Kaylani, 01 September 2025 – This morning in Abu Dhabi, I was delighted to attend ‘A Symposium on the Evolution of Strategic Philanthropy in the MENA Region’, co-hosted by HE Badr Jafar, Special Envoy to the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy and Fabio Piano, Interim Vice Chancellor, NYU Abu Dhabi.
This outstanding and highly conversational event, held in the Blue Hall at NYUAD Arts Center on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, united leading figures in philanthropy, academia, and business, and explored how traditional charitable giving is being re-shaped by a new generation of philanthropists. It was my first visit to the excellent NYUAD Arts Center, home to NYU Abu Dhabi’s Theater, Music, Film and New Media, Visual Arts, and Interactive Media departments and Abu Dhabi’s cultural hub, launched to nurture a dynamic relationship between the arts, scholarship, and the community with a range of public programs to animate and enrich cultural life in the UAE. With a special focus on how strategic philanthropy has developed in the region both historically and in recent years, the distinguished panel included:
HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majid Al Saud, Secretary General, Alwaleed Philanthropies
HE Badr Jafar, CEO, Crescent Enterprises; Special Envoy to the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy; Member, The Giving Pledge
Muna Easa Al Gurg, Vice Chairperson, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group; Founder, Meem Foundation; Member, The Giving Pledge
Fadi Ghandour, Founder and CEO, Wamda Capital; Co-founder, Aramex_
Badr Jafar’s work on Philanthropy is globally renowned, both as the CEO of Crescent Enterprises and as the Founder of the Pearl Initiative, which AIWF is proud to have as a long-standing Institutional Partner. Badr also recently authored a significant work titled ‘The Business of Philanthropy’, to which I was delighted to discuss the power of giving and how it can create real change for women and young people in the MENA region, driving transformation and progress and shaping a more sustainable, equitable future for all. I am proud to have joined philanthropists around the world to support Badr’s stellar efforts to highlight and promote the power of sustainable philanthropy, impact investing and charitable giving, and how it could transform the economic and social empowerment of women and young people, and indeed marginalised communities all over the world.
I now look forward to my participation at the esteemed IUCN Philanthropy Summit on 08 October 2025 in the UAE, and extend my warmest congratulations to Badr Jafar and Fabio Piano for what was an incredibly valuable and thought-provoking symposium today.
