Dubai Women's Establishment finalises plans for inaugural Arab Women's Leadership Forum in January

Scheduled to be held from 13 - 14 January, 2009, the first edition of the Arab Women's Leadership Forum will be organised in collaboration with the Dubai School of Government.

Her Highness Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women's Establishment and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister for Presidential Affairs, will lead the event that will focus on 'Women and Leadership: Global Trends and Local Innovations'.

Hala Badri, Head of the Organising Committee, said: "This is a landmark event bringing together an elite group of women leaders from across the Arab world, and therefore requires meticulous planning. Inspired by Her Highness Sheikha Manal's zeal and attention to detail, all of us in the organising committee have worked against the clock to finalise the preparations in record time. Every aspect of the event will reflect high standards as demanded by an event of this magnitude and stature."

The team behind organising the Arab Women's Leadership Forum has drawn up a distinguished quorum of speakers and guests, carefully selected for the valuable perspectives they will bring to the table.

Hala Badri added:

"There is much anticipation built around the forum that will seek to leverage the knowledge, experience and presence of several women achievers from the region to identify ways for further enhancing women's contribution to the economic and cultural landscape. Apart from highlighting case studies of notable success stories, the event will also aim to set a roadmap charting the scope of women's role in our societies."

The two-day event will include focused sessions on 'Women and Leadership Research - The State of the Art'; 'Leadership Development - Universal Models and Culturally Specific Applications'; 'Leadership and Organizational Change: Fostering Women's Leadership in Organizations', and 'Approaches to Closing Leadership Gender Gaps'.

The forum will conclude with interactive workshops elaborating on the participatory role women can play in policy making and governance through demonstrating effective leadership skills.

The inaugural Arab Women's Leadership Forum comes as part of the strategic goals of Dubai Women's Establishment to build the capacity of Arab women. Since its launch in 2006, the organisation has initiated several programmes for the benefit of women with the active participation of private and public sector entities. Among its multi-pronged objectives, DWE particularly aims to ensure that Emirati women pursue an aggressive growth agenda for better contributing to the holistic growth of the UAE economy and the overall Gulf region.