Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) today unveiled a list of prominent regional and international speakers who will participate at the 4th Arab Women Leadership Forum to be held in Dubai under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on 5-6 November 2014.

Lead by Her Highness Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the forum will explore new avenues to raise the level of competitiveness in the region through the support and development of women leaders across various developmental sectors.
Mona Al Marri, Chairperson of the Board, DWE said that preparations that took months of hard work are about to unfold into a new round of constructive dialogue, underlining the role of the forum as an effective platform for positive discussions and a driving force for greater enhancement of women empowerment in this part of the world.

We are very glad to have two of the regions most outstanding leadership figures with us this year as the forums key speakers. H.E. Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation & President of Zayed University in the UAE will enrich the event with their insights and views towards greater participation of women as leaders in their respective domains with the ultimate goal of boosting the Arab worlds competitiveness, Al Marri added.

With a distinguished group of prominent speakers and a program agenda geared towards driving workplace inclusivity and enhancing womens participation in nation-building, the 4th Arab Women Leadership Forum promises to provide a platform for meaningful and insightful dialogue that equips participants with innovative ideas, resources and strategies to thrive in a leadership role, she explained.

The first-day panel discussions will focus on several topics including: Women in Economy Participating Impact on Nations Competitiveness, Beyond Numbers: Womens Political Contribution in GCC, Gender Perspectives in Legislations. On the second day, panellists will discuss: Competiveness and Inclusion of Womens Participation in the Private Sector, Workplaces That Work: Conducive Policies on Female Retention, and Entrepreneurship: An Impact on Competitive Edge.

Prominent figures from the region and beyond to speak on the first day of the forum include Dr. Farrukh Iqbal Country Director, GCC Countries, MENA, World Bank, USA; Yoko Ishikura Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University, Japan; Dr. Hischam El-Agamy Founder and CEO, Tharawat Family Business Forum and Executive Director, Institute for Management Development (IMD); H.E. Tariq Hilal Lootah Under-Secretary of Ministry of State for FNC Affairs, UAE; H.E. Dr. Sheikha Al Arai Member, FNC, UAE; Jamal Mohamed Fakhro Member of the Shura Council, Bahrain; Hanan Al-Ahmadi Member of the Shura Council, KSA; Dr. Nada Al Mutawa Head of Department of Strategic Studies, Kuwait University; Fatima Alzahra AlDaoui Senior Business- News Anchor & Executive Producer of the CEO Show, Al Arabiya News Channel; Dr. Maryam Ficociello Senior Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers Risk Assurance Services, KSA; Ahmed Al Mukhaini Consultant, Oman Centre for Governance and Sustainability, Oman and Dr. Fadia Kiwan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute of Political Science, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon, Lubna Qasem, Vice President, Group Company Secretary and General Counsel, Emirates NBD, UAE.

The line-up of panellists on the second day of the forum include: Jumana Salti Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, UAE; Abdulmuttalib Al Hashimi Founder and Managing Director of Next Level Consultancy, UAE; Dr. Mohammed A. Al Waqfi Associate Professor of the MBA program, in business administration at UAE University, UAE; Executive Manager, Human Resources and Social Responsibility, Nesma Holding, Jeddah, KSA; Assilah Z. Al Harthy Founder and CEO, Group 6 LLC, Oman; Wesley Schwalje COO, Tahseen Consulting, UAE; Deborah Gillis President and CEO, Catalyst, USA; Khawla Al Mehairi Vice President, Marketing Corporate Communication and Chairperson of Womens Committee at DEWA, UAE; Khaled Alkhudair Founder and CEO, Glowork, KSA; Huda Buhumaid Senior Vice President, Group Marketing and Communications, Dubai Holding, UAE; Laura Hwang Cheng Lin President of the Singapore Council of Womens Organisations (SCWO), Singapore; Joshua Steimle CEO and Founder of MWI, Hong Kong and Mohammed Alshagawi, Dean of School of Business, King Faisal University, KSA.

The event is sponsored by Strategic Partner, Emirates Competitiveness Council, as well as Gold sponsors Nakheel & DEWA, the communications partner du, main media partner Dubai Media Inc. (DMI), the official carrier Emirates and Arabian Radio Network (ARN) as the official broadcast partner.

It also supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cartier Womens Initiative and Al Nabooda Automobiles (Audi).