Category: RECORDS IN MIDDLE EAST

PALESTINIAN-CHILEAN: Heritage Hotel the ‘Kassis Kassa Hotel’ in Bethlehem – ‘a challenging project’ for Chilean Businesswoman Elizabeth Kassis

  • Elizabeth Kassis has turned her Palestinian father’s house into a hotel, nearly 80 years after he emigrated
  • ‘I want everyone in the diaspora to work for Palestine,’ Kassis tells Arab News

Chilean businesswoman Elizabeth Kassis has turned her ancestral home in Bethlehem’s Old City into a heritage hotel nearly 80 years after her father emigrated to Chile.

The Kassis Kassa Hotel is the Old City’s first heritage hotel, reflecting both the city’s traditional architecture and its long-standing association with the South American country.

The Palestinian community in Chile is reportedly the oldest outside the Arab world, with around half a million Palestinians moving there since the mid-19th century.

The hotel was officially opened on June 1, and the first group reservation was received on June 8.

“It was an exciting and challenging project that took years to implement,” Kassis, who was born in Chile, told Arab News. “It is rich in cultural history and has been carefully restored to preserve its original beauty and traditional Palestinian architecture.”

The project “will contribute to raising the level of tourism services in Palestine, as it is being implemented in cooperation with Bethlehem Municipality,” Kassis said.

We wanted the guests to get the full experience of what it means to live in a Palestinian house with real neighbors.

Elizabeth Kassis

“I think the experience of being a guest in a Palestinian house is a unique one. We wanted the guests to get the full experience of what it means to live in a Palestinian house with real neighbors.”

Kassis’ father visited Palestine in 1999, looking for ways to boost Bethlehem’s economy. Along with a group of Palestinian businessmen, he implemented a number of small projects at the turn of the century. He returned in 2015 and purchased his old family home. The restoration project began in 2016, led by his daughter.

Kassis said that setting up the hotel has been one of the most rewarding projects she has ever been involved in. In Chile, she managed her family’s farm and bred Arabian and Chilean horses. She has also worked as a TV presenter and is a talented visual artist who has participated in numerous exhibitions, as well as the co-founder of a band called Three Diaspora, which, she explained, “reshapes old songs that arrived in Chile with the first Palestinian immigrants.” The band has released several albums recorded with musicians from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.

Kassis has traveled extensively, but “found herself” in Palestine. “I want everyone in the diaspora to work for Palestine. I want people to feel, smell, eat, and live Palestine. This is my duty toward Palestine,” she said.

Engineer Raed Othman, who worked with Kassis on the project, told Arab News that Kassis loves Bethlehem and Palestinian heritage in general, and has devoted herself to promoting it to the world.

Bethlehem’s mayor, Hanna Hanania, told Arab News that, through her hotel and other efforts, Kassis is “building bridges” between Palestinian expats and their national heritage, especially the tens of thousands of expatriates from Bethlehem in South America.

He added that, as part of its attempts to attract investors to the city, the municipality plans to develop Al-Najma Street, where the hotel is located.

“The fact that Kassis Hotel is on this street will contribute to enhancing our vision regarding activating the location,” Hanania said.

Fadi Qattan, co-founder of the Kassis project, said the hotel promotes Palestinian heritage and culture through its food and its “beautiful location,” adding that he hoped journalists would visit the hotel and write about Palestinian food to “promote an accurate picture of the life and heritage of Palestinians.”

He continued: “The hotel is the first project wholly owned by an expatriate Palestinian family, which will encourage expatriate Palestinian families to return and invest in Bethlehem.”

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Kassis said that setting up the hotel has been one of the most rewarding projects she has ever been involved in. (Supplied)

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CHILEAN / PALESTINIAN

SAUDI ARABIA / ALGERIA: Saudi Justice Minister Waleed Al Samaani Elected as Head and Algeria’s Abdul Rashid Tabbi as Deputy Head of the Pan-Arab body -‘Council of Arab Justice Ministers’

Al-Samaani and Tabbi will serve in their roles for two years.

Saudi Justice Minister Waleed Al-Samaani has been elected head of the executive office of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Abdul Rashid Tabbi of Algeria was elected deputy head. Both will serve in their roles for two years.

The announcement came on Wednesday during the 71st session of the executive office, held at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Saudi Justice Minister Waleed Al-Samaani attends 71st session of the executive office of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers. (SPA)

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SAUDI ARABIA / ALGERIA

SAUDI ARABIA: Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud Reappointed UN-Habitat Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States

Her Royal Highness (HRH), Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud, the Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, was reappointed as the UN-Habitat Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab region for a second term during a meeting held at the UN-Habitat premises in Riyadh.

As the first ever UN-Habitat Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab region appointed in 2020, HRH shed the light on key urban issues through her engagement with UN-Habitat activities and events, including the tenth session of the World Urban Forum 2020 and World Habitat Day Global Observance 2020.

HRH further advocated for topics, including Cities free from Violence against Women and Girls and COIVID-19 response in urban areas, as well as supported resource mobilization for a number of projects, targeting housing for the most vulnerable groups, COVID-19 response and climate action, spanning Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, Yemen, and Tunisia.

“I am greatly honoured to have been appointed for the second time as the UN-Habitat Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab world. Our partnership with UN-Habitat will support our efforts to address issues around urbanization and its implications on societies, economies and environments. We promise to continue building bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant and accepting future along with our key partners.”

HRH signed her appointment letter in the presence of Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director, Erfan Ali, UN-Habitat Regional Representative for the Arab States and Ayman El-Hefnawi, UN-Habitat Head of Office in Saudi Arabia.

“In the past three years during UN-Habitat’s cooperation with HRH Princess Lamia bint Majid Al Saud as UN-Habitat’s regional Goodwill Ambassador, HRH has shown the utmost commitment to the advocacy for the UN-Habitat mandate to realise more sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities,” Sharif commented.

UN-Habitat is keen on continuing the cooperation with HRH for the years 2022, 2023 and beyond in all relevant areas, including climate action, urban crisis response, housing and advocating the realization of better cities for all. 

source/content: see.news (headline edited)

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SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA: ‘Mawhiba’ Nurtures 606 Gifted Students under its ‘Gifted Arabs’ Initiative in 16 Arab countries

  • Mawhiba representatives told the 13th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education in Rabat that its ‘Gifted Arabs’ initiative had identified and was supporting people in 16 Arab countries
  • Secretary-General Dr. Amal bint Abdullah Al-Hazaa said that the program allows Saudi leadership to share their expertise and discover, nurture, and empower talent around the Arab world

More than 600 ‘gifted’ students have been granted support to realize their academic talents under an initiative launched by a Saudi foundation, an education conference has been told.

Leaders from Mawhiba, or the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, Mawhiba, told the 13th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education in Rabat, Morocco, that its ‘Gifted Arabs’ initiative had identified and was supporting people in 16 Arab countries.

Secretary-General Dr. Amal bint Abdullah Al-Hazaa said that the program allows Saudi leadership to share their expertise and discover, nurture, and empower talent around the Arab world.

Dr. Khaled Al-Sharif, director general of Mawhiba’s Center of Excellence, said that 606 students were identified in the first and second rounds of the ‘Gifted Arabs’ initiative’s recruitment.

The initiative has provided the talented students with qualitative enrichment and academic programs to develop their knowledge and capabilities, he added.

Mawhiba said that its efforts were part of its vision to empower talent and creativity to further prosperity.

The conference, “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era,” was held on May 29 and 30.

source/contents: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Mawhiba has grant aided 606 students under its ‘Gifted Arabs’ initiative. (SPA)

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SAUDI ARABIA / ARAB WORLD

SYRIAN GERMAN: Ryyan Alshebl, the Syrian Refugee who became Mayor of Ostelsheim, a German Village near Althengstett

Ryyan Alshebl fled war-torn Syria in 2015, arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos after a harrowing four-hour journey on a rubber boat.

Eight years on, he is the mayor of a German village.

“It was dark and cold and there was not a single light to be seen on Lesbos,” he recalls.

“A few hours ago we had been in a normal Mediterranean town in Turkey. The environment had transformed with the cold and dark, and of course the feelings of fear that go with such a journey.”

Alshebl, then barely 21, was among a huge wave of refugees who arrived in Europe that year.

After landing in Greece, he made his way through Macedonia, Serbia, and Croatia by public transport and on foot, taking 12 days in total to reach Germany.

He eventually ended up at a refugee center at Althengstett, a rural region near the Black Forest.

“In the shared accommodation, where you cannot expect more than a bed, a roof, and some food, for which you are still thankful, you can only do one thing: get back on your feet quickly and invest rapidly in your own future,” he said.

Alshebl soon learned to speak German fluently — “if you are in the countryside you have no other choice” — and landed a traineeship as an administrative assistant at Althengstett town hall.

He earned German citizenship in 2022, a prerequisite for anyone who wants to stand in local elections in Germany.

‘Taking responsibility’

Now 29, he will take up his post as mayor of Ostelsheim, a village near Althengstett, in June.

He is believed to be the first Syrian from the wave of refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015-16 to be elected to a political post.

Alshebl was joined by four friends on his journey to Europe. But he left behind his parents and one brother, though a second brother had already moved to Germany on a student visa.

He said his experience of fleeing Syria and having “to take responsibility not only for (myself) but also for the environment” had given him the drive to go into politics.

“To take on this responsibility at such an age, you learn a lot. Of course, it creates a new person, a new personality,” he said.

Alshebl ran as an independent candidate in the election, winning 55.41 percent of the vote.

But he is also a member of the Greens, “because climate protection is very important” to him.

His victory is all the more striking given that Ostelsheim, a village of 2,700 people, is a traditionally conservative community.

Situated among a cluster of hills, the village is surrounded by rolling fields lined with dry stone walls and hedges.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party harnessed anger over the influx of asylum seekers in 2015-16 to win votes and ultimately enter parliament for the first time.

Openness

But Alshebl said he has not seen right-wing extremism personally.

Alshebl believes he was elected because he listened to the people’s concerns — from childcare to digitalization issues.

He admits to not really “feeling anything” on hearing he had won the election in March as he was “overwhelmed”.

But as congratulations poured in from around the world, it became clear that his story was “bigger than a mayoral election in a small community”.

Alshebl believes the fact he triumphed against two other local candidates who grew up in the area says a lot about the mentality of the voters.

“It is a sign that people did not count the origin, but the qualifications. It is a sign of openness to the world,” he said.

Alshebl’s parents, a schoolteacher and an agricultural engineer, belong to Syria’s Druze minority, but he describes himself as not religious.

He has “mixed feelings” about Syria, which he has not been able to visit since living in Germany.

“It is the country where you were born and raised… You long for the people you grew up with,” he said.

“But I am happy that I got this chance to live here at all” when others have not, he said.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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Ryyan Alshebl, mayor of the community of Ostelsheim in Baden-Wuerttemberg, southwestern Germany, addresses a press talk with the Association of the Foreign Press in Germany (VAP) in Berlin, Germany on May 30, 2023. AFP

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GERMAN / SYRIAN

IRAQ Showcases $17-billion Development Road Project that will Link Asia to Europe

Baghdad hosted the transport ministers of GCC states, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan to discuss the initiative.

Iraq unveiled on Saturday an ambitious transport project that will connect Asia to Europe, and enhance regional co-operation and economic opportunities.

The one-day conference in Baghdad brought together transport ministers and officials from the GCC, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan to discuss the establishment of the Development Road initiative.

The huge infrastructure project will link southern Iraq to the border with Turkey, from where it will connect to rail and road networks in Europe.

Addressing the conference, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani said the project would provide an “economic artery and a promising opportunity to bring interests, history and cultures together to make our region a destination for anyone seeking successful investment”.

“Your presence today in stable and secure Baghdad, loaded with opportunities and aspirations, is part of the process of finding solutions,” Mr Al Sudani said.

“The Development Road is an ambitious and well-studied plan towards a strong and successful economy. We see it as a cornerstone for a sustainable non-oil economy, serving Iraq’s neighbours and the region and contributing to efforts for economic integration,” he said.

“It will take all the peoples of the region to an unprecedented stage of communication and integration and that means more stability and capability to face challenges.”

The project involves the construction of about 1,200km of two-way rail networks and a new motorway for passengers and goods originating from Al Faw port, which is being built along the Arabian Gulf in Basra province.

The Iraqi government envisions high-speed trains moving goods and passengers at up to 300 kilometres per hour. Logistic centres and industrial cities are also planned along the network and it could include oil and gas pipelines.

It estimates that the project will cost up to $17 billion, generate $4 billion annually and create at least 100,000 jobs.

“As Iraq [has] recovered and retrieved its pivotal political role in the region, becoming a political convergence point, the time has come for [it] to retrieve its economic role,” Transport Minister Razzaq Al Saadawi told a local TV station on Thursday.

He said the project would transform the economy.

Saturday’s conference “will be a consultative meeting to explain the Development Road project and Al Faw Port, and to listen to the points of view of the participating delegations”, Mr Al Saadawi said.

The participants will discuss a number of proposals with regards to finance – from government funds to investment to the creation of a sovereign fund, with the money coming from the government, investors and loans, he said.

The co-operation between the countries involved in the project is expected to boost the “security and stability of the region and preserve its economy, therefore we are determined to carry out this project”, Mr Al Saadawi said.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Al Saadawi said joint legal, technical, financial and management committees would be formed to discuss financing and implementation.

The project offers an alternative to traditional sea routes, with reduced transport costs and shorter transit times. It will benefit not only the participating countries but also the broader global trade network.

Iraq is keen to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative – a global development strategy involving infrastructure development and investments in about 70 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe – through the Development Road and Al Faw port.

Despite its oil wealth, with about 145 billion barrels of proven reserves, Iraq lags behind neighbouring economies due to decades of war since the 1980s, UN economic sanctions imposed in the ’90s and political and security instability that followed the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The World Bank’s country representative, Richard Abdulnour, said building infrastructure was a must for “unleashing the geographical potential of Iraq” and expressed the bank’s readiness to support the Development Road project.

Iraq needs to invest more than $21 billion in the coming five years on transportation alone, Mr Abdulnour told the conference.

He said the transportation sector contributed 9 per cent to Iraq’s gross domestic product, and that its annual growth has been 7.4 per cent over the past 10 years.

Iraq has a chequered history of rail transport, reflecting the country’s ups and downs.

A modest form of railway was introduced during the reign of the Ottoman governor to Baghdad Midhat Pasha between 1869 and 1872.

With financial support from wealthy Baghdadi merchants, Midhat Pasha established a horse-drawn tram linking central Baghdad to its northern district of Kadhimiyah.

Decades later, Britain and Germany raced to build railway lines in Iraq to not only transport troops and military equipment but also to establish a connection point linking their colonies.

A railway line linking Iraq to Berlin through Turkey was proposed in 1903 but opened only in 1940. Known as the BBBor the “Three Bs” — for Baghdad, Byzantium (now Istanbul) and Berlin — the line served travellers and was also used to transport commodities, mainly cereals and oil products.

Local rail networks also flourished thanks to oil revenue, with the number of daily train services rising to more than 50.

The BBB line was closed in the late 1970s, shortly before Iraq’s gruelling war with Iran that lasted from 1980 to 1988 and also affected rail operations inside Iraq.

In late 1990s, amid the UN-imposed economic sanctions on Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq reactivated the BBB line after restoring relations with Syria and Turkey. Demand was high from both travellers, mainly pilgrims from and to Syria, and also from merchants transporting goods.

But the revival was short-lived — Turkey asked Iraq to stop services only days before the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The poor security situation in much of northern Iraq after the invasion hindered plans to reactivate the line. Then came the 2014 ISIS onslaught in large areas in the north and west, and the military operations to drive the militants out. The war left railway stations and other infrastructure heavily damaged, with plans for repairs hindered by a lack of funds.

Now, only a few passengers trickle through the once bustling Baghdad Railway Central Station, which was built by the British and inaugurated in 1952 to expand the old station from which the BBB line started. Only two passenger services operate each day, taking commuters between Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, with stops in the cities of Hillah, Diwaniyah, Samawah and Nasiriyah.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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An aerial of the Grand Port of Al Faw, Iraq, with the first phase of the project currently underway. (Daewoo E&C)

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IRAQ

EGYPTIAN-BRITISH Mohamed Mansour gives Tories their Largest Donation in two decades

Egyptian businessman said Rishi Sunak had shown himself to be ‘very capable’.

The Conservative party has received its largest donation in more than two decades from an Egyptian-born, British-based billionaire.

Mohamed Mansour has given the party £5 million ($6.2 million) and thrown his backing behind Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying he understands “how growth is generated in the modern economy”.

Writing in The Telegraph on Monday, Mr Mansour, who previously spoke to The National for an Arab Showcase feature, said Mr Sunak had shown himself “to be very capable”.

He wrote: “He gets the importance of technology and innovation. He can make the modern economy work for all UK citizens.”

The £5 million donation is the second largest individual gift on record to a political party, after Lord Sainsbury of Turville gave £8 million to the Liberal Democrats in 2019.

And it matches the £5 million donation to the Conservative Party by Sir Paul Getty in 2001. Mr Mansour’s gift has contributed to one of the party’s most successful first quarters of donations in recent years.

“I believe that this country has a very capable Prime Minister,” he wrote.

“My confidence in the Prime Minister is why I was proud to become a senior treasurer of the Conservative Party last December. I want to give him the best chance of having a full five-year term and so have donated £5 million to the party’s election fighting fund. I look at what he has achieved in his first months in office and think what he could do in five years.”

‘I had to do something in my life’

Mr Mansour has overseen the expansion of his family’s company, which has grown from its early beginnings as a cotton exporter to the global conglomerate it is today, with revenue of more than $7.5 billion.

He told The National in 2021 about how a period of convalescence aged 10 gave him the impetus he needed to go on to succeed in life.

Week after week he lay in plaster recuperating from horrific injuries after a car hit him as he was crossing the street.

The doctors had wanted to amputate his leg, but the headstrong boy refused, vowing to stick it out as long as necessary. It took three years.

Mr Mansour looks back on the episode as a part of his life when his father taught him how to be a good entrepreneur and an honourable man.

“That’s when I developed in me that I had to do something in my life,” he told The National.

The billionaire learnt as a boy the importance of a strong work focus, determination, vision and priorities, but also trust, understanding, empathy and loyalty that goes both ways.

“People who love and respect you will do anything for you, I find, and vice versa,” Mr Mansour said.

They are the qualities he credits for his successful leadership at the helm of the Mansour Group, which has a presence in 100 countries and 60,000 employees.

The Egyptian cotton trading company was founded in 1952 and run by his father, Loutfy Mansour.

“My father always told me: ‘Mohamed, you’re a very special young man because of the strength you showed when everybody was saying that we have to amputate the leg. You’re telling the doctors, ‘No.’

“I said, ‘No’,” Mr Mansour recalls, with an edge to his voice, “and I meant it.”

Family’s home seized

The fortune that his father amassed as a textiles trader was lost in 1963 when the business was nationalised by the Egyptian government.

Mr Mansour’s childhood home, with its 40 rooms and 30 staff was confiscated, and his father went from feted capitalist to persona non grata on a state income of $75 a month.

He explains how his life changed overnight, with his family unable to support him while at university in the US, forcing him to trade in his car and work as a waiter.

Back in Egypt, his father was left trying to support the family on a meagre salary, which left Mr Mansour with a lifelong belief in the importance of political stability, property rights and the rule of law.

Mr Mansour joined the company in 1973 and took it in a new direction, forming a strategic partnership first with the automotive multinational General Motors and then with the construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. Other leading brands, such as Philip Morris, Peugeot, MG and McDonald’s would follow.

Mr Mansour and his two brothers continued to steer the company to success after their father’s death in 1976.

In 2005 Mr Mansour stepped back from his business to serve in the Egyptian government, spending almost four years trying to modernise the country’s transport infrastructure.

In the article on Monday he says: “But when I had finished that period of service, I knew there was one country where I wanted to base my business. A place where the rule of law is paramount, property rights are respected and with an enviable record of political stability. This country: the United Kingdom.”

He says he loves and respects the country, which has welcomed himself and his family so warmly.

“It has a proud history and noble traditions. I believe that it has great days ahead of it. I want to do what I can to help this country – the place where I am watching my grandchildren grow up – achieve its great potential,” he adds.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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Mohamed Mansour. Wikimedia Commons

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BRITISH / EGYPTIAN

SAUDI ARABIA to Host ‘4th Arab Competition Forum’ Organised by UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, in Riyadh May 23-24

The authority said the forum is an opportunity to learn from regional and global experiences and to share best practices in safeguarding competition and combating monopolistic practices.

Saudi Arabia will host the fourth Arab Competition Forum, organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The General Authority for Competition said that Saudi Arabia’s hosting of this forum emanates from its pioneering role in organizing events and forums aimed at upgrading the level of cooperation with other Arab countries to enhance fair competition in the markets, raising the level of consumer welfare in Arab countries, and stimulating enterprises to develop and innovate.

The event will take place from May 23–24 with the involvement of other competition agencies from fellow Arab countries and more than 15 experts and representatives from international agencies and organizations involved in the competition.

The authority said the forum is an opportunity to learn from regional and global experiences and to share best practices in safeguarding competition and combating monopolistic practices.

It focuses on discussing mergers and acquisitions, as well as enhancing the effectiveness of competition authorities in developing countries.

It also examines best practices for planning and conducting market studies as well as concerns arising from abuse of dominance in digital markets.

The forum was first launched in 2020 and aimed at establishing a continual knowledge-sharing platform on competition policy and enforcement for Arab stakeholders.

It advances advocacy and knowledge, builds capacity on best practices in competition across the Arab region, and facilitates coordination and collaboration at the national, regional and international levels.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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SAUDI ARABIA

EGYPTIAN / FRANCE: ‘Kalam Aflam’: Fostering a Community for Emerging Arab Artists in Paris

Founded by Egyptian filmmaker Hayat Aljowaily, ‘Kalam Aflam’ is spotlighting emerging Arab artists in Paris.

As Egyptian and Arab artists continue to explore new mediums and voices around the world, experimenting with themes rooted in their respective local identities, one Egyptian filmmaker in France found herself yearning for a community, and so she became a host for one. With a belief in the power of the collective, Hayat Aljowaily founded ‘Kalam Aflam’, a space for emerging Arab artists in Paris and beyond.

‘Kalam Aflam’ launched its first event this May at Point Ephemere, Paris, under the theme ‘Coming of Age’, which hosted a series of art installations, short films and musical performances centring around the same theme. “This is a project that I was dying to make happen for three years, and so the theme ‘Coming of Age’ felt very fitting for our first event,” Hayat Aljowaily tells CairoScene. “It – or we – are something that is ‘becoming’.”

Like many Arabs in the diaspora, Aljowaily can sometimes feel like her experience isn’t Western enough or Arab enough. Within the folds of ‘Kalam Aflam’, however, she looks to surround herself with artists who share in her experiences.

“As an Arab artist living abroad, one always feels like they’re in between. But when you’re part of a community of people who look like you or have similar experiences, it changes everything,” Aljowaily says. “It was so refreshing to be in a space where I’m not the only Arab woman, my friends had to look around within a sea of familiar faces to spot me.”

Through an upcoming series of public arts and cultural events, ‘Kalam Aflam’ offers up a space for self-expression and a blossoming creative narrative for those on the lookout for a home. Aljowaily and her partners, Palestinian communications specialist Abood Al Bakri and Lebanese art director Katja Kanaan, continue to open doors for emerging voices, carving out a space for themselves while spotlighting stories waiting to be told.

source/content: cairoscene.com (headline edited)

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FRANCE / EGYPT

SHARJAH, U.AE: Bodour Al Qasimi Wins Prestigious Regional Award ‘Most Creative People in Business 2023’ for creative, problem-solving approach to global issues

 Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the President of the American University of Sharjah (AUS), has been honoured as one of Fast Company Middle East’s Most Creative People in Business 2023, specifically recognised in the “Bringing Good Things to More People” category.

Expressing her gratitude upon receiving the award, Sheikha Bodour humbly acknowledged the recognition, expressing surprise and appreciation. She described creativity as the act of transforming something from nothing and finding innovative solutions to problems. Sheikha Bodour expressed her delight if her creative endeavors have contributed to addressing challenges. Reflecting on the words of Steve Jobs, she emphasised that those who dare to believe they can change the world are the ones who actually do. Sheikha Bodour emphasised the importance of thinking differently to make a meaningful impact, highlighting the shared trait among all the nominees for the award.

In addition to this prestigious accolade, Sheikha Bodour has been recognised for her innovative thinking and leadership in various initiatives for the greater good, with a particular focus on literacy, reading, and culture.

One of her notable accomplishments was the establishment of the Emirates Publishing Association in 2009, a non-profit trade association dedicated to developing and professionalising the UAE’s publishing industry. Sheikha Bodour’s international perspective led the EPA to obtain membership in the International Publishers Association (IPA) in Geneva, a historically Western-led organisation. She also played a pivotal role in piloting IPA committees and initiatives before being elected as its vice-president from 2019 to 2020.

Sheikha Bodour’s commitment to making a difference in the literary world extended beyond the UAE. In 2019, she formed a partnership between the IPA and Dubai Cares, resulting in the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund (APIF). The fund invested $800,000 in 18 projects from 2020 to 2022, promoting indigenous languages, literacy, education, library access, and accessible book publishing for visually impaired readers. The APIF continues to positively impact thousands of people across 20 countries.

During her presidency of the IPA from 2021 to 2022, Sheikha Bodour faced the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted the book industry. However, she successfully unified the global publishing community by redefining it as a balanced ecosystem comprising interconnected stakeholders.

Advocacy for women’s representation was a core aspect of Sheikha Bodour’s tenure as IPA president. She actively promoted female inclusion in committees, discussion panels, and meetings. Her efforts resulted in her successors as president and vice-president both being women. In 2025, when the vice-president assumes the top role, she will become the third consecutive woman to lead the organisation.

In 2019, Sheikha Bodour established “PublisHer” in response to the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions within the publishing industry. PublisHer serves as an interactive platform that amplifies the voices of women in the industry and provides practical support to help them advance their careers.

Sheikha Bodour’s long-standing determination led to Sharjah earning the esteemed status of World Book Capital City in 2019. Her innovative year-long program prioritised inclusivity, and as a lasting legacy, she conceptualised the remarkable House of Wisdom, a cultural hub and library that focuses on fostering human interaction and enlightenment.

Furthermore, in 2016, Sheikha Bodour launched the Kalimat Foundation, which aims to provide access to books for Middle Eastern children affected by conflict or visual impairment. The foundation empowers vulnerable young individuals by equipping them with knowledge and ideas by giving them books in accessible formats. So far, it has touched the lives of 162,000 disadvantaged children in 31 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

source/contents: wam.ae (headline edited)

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SHARJAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)