AIWF is greatly saddened to have received the news of the passing of Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Professor Emeritus of International Political Economy, Founder of the Evian Group, and distinguished member of the AIWF Board, on 21 December in Lausanne, Switzerland.
A Member of the AIWF Board from 2012, he was wholly devoted to the AIWF mission to break down barriers and support women and young people in the economy and in business, in the Arab world and internationally. Jean-Pierre fully endorsed the AIWF Young Arab Women Leaders initiative that aims to serve as a platform for young women aspiring to leadership in business and public service, and he was a distinguished guest speaker lending his invaluable expertise and insight at the May 2013 conference at Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine.
In his keynote address, titled Women, Growth and Development: Are there lessons from East Asia for the Arab World?, Jean-Pierre called it “an incontestable point … that there is a direct correlation between the social status of women and the level of national economic development”, and stated that the importance of educating women would resound in the “transmission and legacies bequeathed to the next generations”. He said: “The Arab world faces a stark choice. Either it experiences a resurgence and a renaissance similar to or indeed surpassing East Asia, or it wallows in economic, social, political and intellectual decline, with its populations remaining what has been described as the “orphans of globalisation”. Not only would the Arab region and the entire Greater Middle East be far better were it to become, as it was in the past, an active, dynamic, creative member of the global community, but so indeed would the global community itself be much better off.”
Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder & Chairman of the Arab International Women’s Forum, paid tribute to Jean-Pierre Lehmann in the following statement: “AIWF is deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved and valued Board Member Jean-Pierre, who was a mentor and friend and to me personally and to all of us at the Arab International Women’s Forum. We will always remember Jean-Pierre with the utmost fondness, respect and gratitude for all his important work to better the lives of young people globally through inclusive world trade, development and global governance, and his thought leadership on the role of business in reducing poverty and inequality, especially for women and young people. All of us at AIWF will keenly miss his presence and his immensely valued expertise on the many areas of shared concern, and we will honour Jean-Pierre’s memory by carrying forward his values and dedication to achieving a more diverse and equitable working world in all our future programmes.”
Jean-Pierre Lehmann is survived by his wife of over 49 years, Françoise, as well as his three children and seven grandchildren.
