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 The
Arab International Women’s Forum stands unique as the first and only
non-profit organisation set up in London to link Arab business and
professional women with each other and with their
counterparts in the international community. To date AIWF has attracted
members from 22 Arab countries and as many as 15 countries world wide -- including those in
Europe, North and South America, Australia, Japan, and South Africa.
Managed by a volunteer
Board of Trustees, this unique network gives
members
and their business activities greater international exposure and success
in the global market place.
Through AIWF, members have the opportunity to facilitate key contacts and
friendships, foster co-operation and work closely to create peace and
understanding, and to further progress and prosperity in our societies.
AIWF was established in the strong belief that women should play their rightful
role in the economy and society.
 Working
at the highest levels, AIWF’s growing role is acknowledged in very many
leading international organisations – among them, the United Nations, the
Europe Commission, Commonwealth Business Council, UNESCO, The British
Council, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia,
UNIFEM, National Women’s Commission in the UK, the National Council of
Women in Egypt. AIWF has been represented at meetings and conferences of
the Arab Labour Organisation, the World Economic Forum, the Gorbachev
Foundation, the Arab US Economic Forum, the Council of Europe, the
Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture, the First and Second Arab
Women’s Summit sponsored by the First Ladies of the Arab World, and Women
for Peace Initiative led by HE Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. Many of our members
are involved locally in their respective business and women’s
associations, Chambers of Commerce and NGOs.
2002 was a great year! 2003 was equally successful. We have provided a
list of
activities
held – past and future – that illustrates the valuable work that AIWF is
doing in building bridges and the substantive opportunities AIWF makes
available to members through building business.
The Arab International Women’s Forum held two very successful conferences
in London in 2002 and 2003. The first conference held in 2002
Women in the New Economic World Order: The Increasing Role of Arab Women
in Business and Society attracted over 140
leading women from as many as 15 countries including those in the Arab
world, North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and South
America. The second annual conference in 2003,
Women
in the Arab World: Windows of
Opportunity Opening Wider in Business & Public Life,
featured Guests of Honour HE Mrs Suzanne
Mubarak, First Lady of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and
HH Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibraham Al Khalifa,
Wife of HM the King of Bahrain. Close to 200 participants and guests came
from over 30 countries.
As
our organisation goes from strength to strength, we have again delivered
crucial messages that Arab women are playing an important role in business and
public life. We have ably demonstrated
that AIWF, a non-profit organisation, is the voice of Arab women showcasing
their development, breaking stereotypical images and creating greater public
awareness of their success and prospects within an international context.
These conferences did, indeed, make our founding principle,
Building
Bridges
, Building Business come alive.
The 2004 AIWF conference
was another landmark occasion!
Working in close co-operation with The
League of Arab States, AIWF held the Third Annual
Conference – the first in the Arab world –
Women in the Arab World: Partners in the
Community and on the World Stage, in Cairo, 6-9 June 2004,
at the headquarters of The League of Arab States.
Partners in the Community and on the World
Stage combined a series of informative and stimulating
sessions and panel discussions as well as offered participants and sponsors
the crucial opportunity to network.
 The Arab International Women’s Forum is pleased to be hosting
two-linked conferences as part of the 2005 AIWF programme, Women as
Engines of Economic Growth in the Arab World. Starting with the first conference,
Ten Years After the
Barcelona Process: Empowering Women as Catalysts for Economic Development,
held 7-8 April 2005 at the European Parliament in
Brussels with the valued co-operation of the European Parliament, the
European Commission, the League of Arab States, the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office and the World Bank marking the anniversary
of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
For more information about the 2004 Annual Conference, please link to the
Activities
Section for a full report and to the
Publications page for
Speakers' Addresses.
On the
publications
side, we continue to provide members and prospective members news from the
Arab region and international networks.
Contacting us is simple! We would be delighted to hear from you
… by post or by email.
To
Join AIWF, please download the application form and forward
directly to our attention with your membership fee. The
benefits
are many and the prospects even better!
 AIWF has achieved sound status in a very short period of time. AIWF is
recognised for its ability as an organisation operating successfully at
various levels: member-to-member where excellent business contacts between
members can be established; as a vehicle bringing communities closer
together; and while actively engaged in the Arab region AIWF has launched
initiatives at the international level.
It is through increased awareness, wider networks and exposure to
different business opportunities that our communities can prosper and that
our friendships grow. Women in the Western world are successful in
business and public life; the importance of increased participation by
Arab women in the economy and in society is crucial. Building Bridges,
Building Business is our contribution to public discourse and a global
economy involving increasing number of women worldwide.
Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani
Chairman
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