Women empowerment and leadership - replay available !

In the Spring of 2021, the Institute of the Arab World will celebrate women during a major cultural season. In springtime, the exhibition Arab divas will pay tribute to legendary icons who have embodied femininity and modernity in the Arab World: Oum Kalthoum, Leila Mourad, Samia Gamal, Fairuz, Warda and many others. All along the exhibition, a series of concerts, shows, conferences and film screenings will put women in the spotlight and ponder their status in contemporary Arab societies.  

In this context, a special edition of the Arab World Business and Economic Meetings, for the first time entirely digital, will bring together prominent women leaders from the Maghreb, Gulf and Levant to share their experiences, success stories, pieces of advice and their vision of women empowerment. 

Opening speech  

• Jack Lang, President of the Arab World Institute 
• Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry
• Jean-Michel Crovesi, Secretary General of the Arab World Institute

Panel discussion « Women empowerment and leadership: vision, challenges et opportunities  »

• Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicrafts and Social Economy (Morocco)  

• Chiara Corazza, Managing Director of the Women’s Forum (France)  

• SE Sheikha Intisar AlSabah, Founder of Intisar Foundation and Bareec Initiative (Kuwait)

• Salma AlRashid, Chief Advocacy Officer of AlNahda Society for Women and Women 20 delegate for Saudi Arabia (KSA)  

Moderator : Isabelle Mourgère, Chief Editor Les Terriennes - TV5 Monde

Panel Discussion « From education to human resources: how to accelerate women’s careers in STEM? »

• Amina Bouzguenda-Zeghal, Director of Paris Dauphine University in Tunis & 2019 Laureate for the French promotion of Francophonie (Tunisia) 

• Neila Benzina, Founding partner of Wimbee and President of French Tech Tunis (Tunisia)  

• Hend El Sherbini, Managing Director of Intergrated Diagnostics Holdings (Egypt)  

• Ana Giros, Senior Executive VP in charge of International and Industrial Key Accounts at SUEZ (France) 

Moderator : Quentin Velluet, Journalist - Jeune Afrique 

Keynote « Reaching high-level career into traditionally male-dominated fields »

• Manoelle Lepoutre, Senior Vice President Civil and Society Engagement at Total and Executive Officer of the Total Foundation (France)  

• Dunia Chalabi, Managing Director of Total EP Iraq (Iraq) 

Moderator : Salima Haddour, Expert in international relations & Africa (France)

Keynote « Inclusion and diversity, a transformation driver for OCP Group »

• Rim Bennani, Head of Financial Strategy & Investor Relations (Morocco) 

Moderator : Salima Haddour, Expert in international relations & Africa (France)

Panel discussion « Women and Sciences: Focus on L’Oréal Foundation “Women for science” project »

• Elyes Jouini, Distinguished Professor and Head of « Women and Sciences » chair at Paris Dauphine University (France) 

• Najat Saliba, Professor of Analytical Chemistry and the Director of the Centre for Nature Conservation at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) 

• Areej Abuhammad, Founder and principal investigator of the first protein crystallography laboratory in Jordan (Jordan) 

Moderator : Alexandra Palt, Executive Vice President of L’Oréal and Managing Director of the L’Oréal Foundation (France) 

Panel discussion « Turning ideas into actions: how to support and fund women entrepreneurs?  »

• Leila Akli, CEO of PI-Relations (Algeria)  

• Neveen Al Tahri, President and Founder of Delta Shield for Investment (Egypt)  

• Areije Al Shakar,  Director of Al Waha Venture Capital Fund (Bahrein) 

• Elissa Freiha, Managing Director of Womena (UAE) 

Modératrice : Sonia Weymuller, Founding Partner of VentureSouq (UAE)  

Panel discussion « Public funding, alternative business mode, social and solidarity economy »

• Stéphanie Roger, Vice-President of Groupe MGEN (France)  

• Essma Ben Hamida, Co-founder and Chairman of Enda Inter-arabe (Tunisia) 

• Racha Alkhawaja, CDO at Equitativa and Founder of the association Reach Mentoring (UAE)  

Moderator : Yann Mens, International Chief Editor - Alternatives économiques 

Keynote « Focus on an example of proactive corporate strategy »

• Brice Chasles, Managing Partner Deloitte Afrique Francophone (France) 

Moderator : Fatimata Wane, Journalist – France 24 

Closing speech 

• Delphine O, Ambassador & Secretary General of Forum Génération Egalité (France) 

Modératrice : Fatimata Wane, Journalist – France 24