The Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) collaborated with the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance and the Mudara Institute of Directors (IOD) recently to present its first regional seminar on Corporate Governance at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
Entitled Directorship, Development and Diversity: Challenges for Women in Governance, the seminar featured a distinguished group of speakers from local partners, the Mudara Institute of Directors, the Women’s Strategy Group, Egypt’s International Economic Forum, DLA Piper Middle East, the Commercial International Bank and the IFC among many others.
In an opening statement presented at Egypt’s International Economic Forum, AIWF Chairman, Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani said, “AIWF firmly believes that the relevance and significance of effective Corporate Governance practices must not be underestimated in the region’s current environment of fast-track economic and social growth. Through this seminar, AIWF hopes to reiterate the need for a paradigm change in the attitude and mindset of business houses of the Arab World towards good governance.”
Mr. Khalid M Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of the Mudara Institute of Directors said: “We are proud to be supporting an opportunity for women leaders to workshop ideas and share information about the challenges they face in relation to effective corporate governance. We are certain that the seminar will be a highly useful, interactive experience for all attendees”
This seminar was the first of many joint initiatives on Corporate Governance planned for the future as part of the AIWF and Hawkamah partnership, which began in December 2007 with the aim of advocating corporate sector reform and strengthening corporate governance for women entrepreneurs with businesses and investments in the MENA region.
Al Kaylani added that, “The AIWF is committed to working together with its distinguished partners to put Corporate Governance squarely onto the Arab business agenda, as an essential part of economic development and an invaluable tool for women entrepreneurs across the region looking to integrate their businesses into the global marketplace.”
The Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF), set up in 2001 in London, is a unique network connecting Arab and international women in key positions in business and professions and in community leadership, public and political life. AIWF provides a voice for Arab women, promoting cultural diversity and creating greater public awareness of the challenges of bringing more women into the economic life of the region but also to the huge advantages of making it happen.
