Dubai Women Establishment Hosts Visiting Delegates of the “Women's Forum for Economy and Society” to Discuss Agenda for Women's Forum Dubai 2016

• MENA Region to Host Prestigious Global Event for First Time
• Forum to Spotlight Empowered and Accomplished Arab Women on Global Stage

Dubai-UAE: 20 January, 2015 – Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, wife of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and President of Dubai Women Establishment, has noted the strategic value in hosting the International Women’s Forum next year in Dubai to mark International Women’s Day.

Commenting on the forum, Sheikha Manal said: “Arab women are incredibly talented, creative, intelligent and driven towards economic and societal goals but unfortunately they are often misrepresented in the media. We feel it is our responsibility to bring these shining stars of our community to the global spotlight, and the celebrated International Women’s Forum provides us with the ideal platform to help us fulfill our objective.”

As part of Dubai’s preparations to host the International Women’s Forum in 2016, Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Chairperson of the Board of Dubai Women Establishment, met with Jacqueline Franjou, CEO of Women’s Forum, in the Dubai Women Establishment’s headquarters.

During the meeting, the organizing committee discussed all details pertaining to the forum’s events, including key themes, speakers, and preparations to host participants at the global event.

The preliminary meeting comes after the UAE won the bid for hosting the International Women’s Forum last October. It also serves as an initial outcome of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Dubai Women Establishment and the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society in Deauville, France.

The debut edition in the Middle East is anticipated to attract more than 2,000 international and regional decision-makers representing economic, intellectual and academic institutions, in addition to the private and public sectors and the most influential and accomplished women change-makers.

Her Excellency Mona Al Marri said: "We are honored to co-organize an event such as the Women’s Forum that is internationally recognized for its commitment to building the future with women’s vision. At DWE, we share this vision. This strengthens our resolve to host a successful debut edition in the Middle East through drawing upon Dubai’s leadership, innovation and experience in hosting and organizing global events. An event of this stature is a perfect opportunity to highlight the exceptional role of woman in the United Arab Emirates and the wider region, and pay homage to her contribution to social and economic development.”

Jacqueline Franjou, CEO of the Women’s Forum, said: "The preliminary meeting of the organizing committee in Dubai is proving fruitful and we are looking forward to an exciting Women’s Forum Dubai in 2016. We are pleased to bring our concept to the Middle East and North Africa region for the first time and work with some of the most talented and dynamic women in Dubai.”

The visiting delegation also paid a visit to the ninth edition of the Sheikha Manal's Young Artist Award’s exhibition held at the CITYWALK in Dubai. The delegation saw first-hand the works of the 50 shortlisted emerging artists and discussed the award’s role in giving young artists the opportunity to be creative and competitive, especially that the award reflects the value of cultural events in contributing towards Dubai’s development.

Dubai was an obvious location choice for the Women’s Forum in 2016, with the UAE having ranked first out of 132 countries for ‘Women Treated with Respect’ in the Social Progress Index 2014. The country also earned top spot in the Arab region in the Global Gender Gap Report 2013.