Hub Highlights October 2010

Inside this Issue:

BWF Signs MOU with Bethlehem

Chamber of Commerce and In-

dustry (pg. 2)

President of AME Attends Busi-

ness Meeting with US Delegation

(pg. 2)

The BPWA Annual General As-

sembly Meeting (pg. 2)

BWF Hosts Businesswomen

from Bethlehem (pg. 3)

BPWA Members’ Social Activities

(pg. 3)

BWF Members Attend Rawabi

City Picnic (pg. 3)

AME Holds the 6th Lunch, Chat

and BtoB (pg. 3)

Bahraini Women and the 2010

Elections , continued (p. 4)

For more details, please visit

the Events section of the

MENA Businesswomen’s

Network Web Portal:

www.menabwn.org

Bahraini Women and the 2010 Elections for House of

Representative and Municipal Councils

Qatari Businesswomen Forum (QBWF) hosted its second annual networking dinner on Octo-

ber 10th, under the kind auspices of Her High-ness Sheikha Anood Bint Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairwoman of QBWF.

QBWF members and a large group of Qatari business and community women attended and participated

in the event. This year’s event was sponsored by

ExxonMobil Qatar Inc., Alfardan Group Holding, together with the Qatariat magazine, and Qatar Skills

Academy. The ceremony started with a key-

note address by Mrs. Aisha Alfar-dan, Vice Chairwoman of the QBWF, who welcomed the guests and

thanked them for taking the time to

attend the event. She stated: "I am very proud that I am right between such a group of

business and society men and women, those who have contributed to achievements I find

personally extraordinary in all aspects, and we are here today to first celebrate these

important achievements as well as to an-nounce more projects, initiatives and activi-

ties for the coming year and the years

after." Alfardan mentioned the activities un-

dertaken by the QBWF during the last year, including the First Qatar Interna-tional Businesswomen Forum, the

Qatar Businesswomen Award, and the Corporate Ambassadors Programme which addressed the SME’s in its first

version. Under Alfardan’s leadership, QBWF has

launched a number of events and new initiatives, including the highly antici-pated Second Qatar International

Continued on page 2 QBWF members celebrate their achievements.

The Second Annual Networking Dinner for the Qatari

Businesswomen Forum

Bahrain Businesswomen’s Soci-ety organized events for female

candidates for Bahrain’s 2010 upcoming elections for Parlia-ment and Municipality Councils.

The event was held on the 29th of September 2010 at Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society head-

quarters. The event - part of the Speaker’s

Bureau program of the MENA Businesswomen’s Network sup-ported by MEPI, the Middle East

Partnership Initiative, in coopera-tion with Vital Voices - was spon-

sored by Al Ayam and Daily Trib-une newspapers and was organ-ized by Bahrain Horizons.

Mrs. Afnan Al Zayani gave the opening speech and introduced

the female candidates, who went on to speak about their cam-paigns and challenges they face.

The candidates included Dr. Muneera Fakhro, Mrs. Enas Mo-hammed Shabib, Mrs. Rajaa

Jaffar Al Kelaiti, Mrs. Zahra Issa Haram , Mrs. Layla Rajab, Dr.

Huda Issa Al Muthawa for Parlia-ments and Mrs. Sabah Al Dos-sary, Mrs. Fatima Salman, Mrs.

Muhra Ghareeb for Municipality Council.

The event aimed to empower Bahraini Women by ensuring their active role in participation

in decision making at high levels. The organization of this forum stems from BBS’s strong com-

mitment to keeping Bahraini women aware of their impor-tance and responsibility as vot-

ers, as well as shedding light on the candidates to learn more about them and their electoral

campaigns. The event served as an opportu-

nity for voters to gain an under-standing of the positions and priorities of the female candi-

dates running for Parliament and Municipality leadership posi-tions. Voters

also voiced Participants share their thoughts, concerns and hopes. Continued on page 4

Page 2

BWF Signs MOU with Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Industry

In Bethlehem, BWF signed an MOU with Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Industry during a Ramadan Iftar hosted by BWF at the

Shepherd Hotel on September 1st. Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Mr. Samir Hazboun, the Governor of Bethlehem, Mr. Abd Al Fattah Hamayel, and a number of businesswomen and general directors of

different institutions and companies attended the gathering.

BFW Chairwoman and Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman

QBWF Networking Dinner Continued

Businesswomen Forum to be held May 10-11, 2011. The forum is expected to be widely attended with greater participation this coming

year after a highly successful introduction of the great economic po-tential of Qatari women last year.

Alfardan also announced the re-launch of the second Qatar Busi-

nesswomen award, which will be held under the kind auspices of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, Consort of the Emir of Qatar.

Among the QBWF’s activities for next year, Alfardan announced a training programme for SME’s (The Ten Skills), which aims at training women entrepreneurs in Qatar to understand the nature of business,

develop business plans and to identify market risks. She also an-nounced a Partnership with Qatar Skills Academy which aims to pro-vide business women with up-to-date skills through vocational train-

ing. Alfardan concluded her speech by announcing the new name of

the QBWF—the Qatari Business Women Association— and revealed

the new logo. She closed with a call for businesswomen in Qatar to participate in, contribute to, and join the activities of the QBWA.

The President of AME, Khedidja Belhadi, attended a

business meeting with an US delegation at the Hilton Hotel on the 26th of September

2010. The meeting was organ-ized by the Algerian-US trade board. Following the meeting,

a reception was held on the 28th of September 2010 at the US Embassy at Algiers and

included a closing ceremony attended by the minister of finance and the media.

President of AME Attends Business Meeting

with US Delegation

President of AME Khedidja Belhadi

engages her audience

Business and Professional Women - Amman hosted The Annual General Assembly meeting for The National Federa-

tion of Business & Professional Women/ Jordan. Attendees discussed the managerial and financial achievements of the past year and elected the new board members for the fed-

eration.

Congratulations to the new board members:

Ms. Subheih Maani (The President) Ms. Maisa Batayneh

Ms. Ayda Maayaa Ms. Hala Ayoubi Ms. Nashwa Suboh

Ms. Haifa Najjar - BPW- Amman Ms. Layali Nashashibi/ BPW – Aqaba Ms. Sameeha Ejelat / BPW – Madaba

Ms. Reem Habayeb Ms. Nisreen Barakat Ms. Inam Mufti (Consultant to the board)

The BPWA Annual General Assembly

Meeting

Mrs. Aisha Alfardan encourages women across Qatar to join the efforts of the QBWF

Page 3

In Ramallah, BWF hosted a delegation of 11 businesswomen from the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce on the 28th of Septem-

ber. At the meeting, BWF’s board and management shared their ex-periences with the Bethlehem businesswomen. Notably, Mrs. Amal Moghrabi highlighted the importance of increasing members in order

to raise the voice of businesswomen as policy makers, while stress-ing the role of coalitions, networking and lobbying to achieve the tar-get. Additionally, BWF accompanied the Bethlehem delegation to

visit the Massar Company where the CEO presented their national project ―Rawabi City‖.

Overall, participants exchanged experiences, discussed future cooperation between the two groups, the potential of a BWF member-ship base in Bethlehem, and how to register for Business Develop-

ment Center (a one stop shop for business development )services. BWF plans to increase activities in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas in the future.

BWF Hosts Businesswomen from Bethlehem

BWF members and Bethlehem business women at BWF

BWF Members and Bethlehem Businesswomen during the Massar Company visit

On September 30th, BWF invited its members to a women-only picnic at the Rawabi City site near Ramallah. At the picnic,

members were updated about BWF activities and plans as well as introduced to Rawabi City. The governor and Deputy of Ministry of Interior were among the notable guests to attend.

BWF Members Attend Rawabi City Picnic

The Governor and Deputy of Ministry of Interior Ms. Fadwa Al Shaaer, BWF Executive Director Doa Wadi, and the Governor of

Ramallah Dr. Laila Ghanam

In an effort to strengthen and harness

BPWA member relations, twenty six BPW-A members enjoyed the closing ceremony of the Jordan Festival, hosted by fellow mem-

ber Ms. Suha Bawab. They spent a lovely

evening with world-renowned Turkish world music artist, Mercan Dede, who is rightly recognized as one of the most creative,

unique yet modest artists in the world music

scene today. The explosive energy of the musical performance was accompanied by spectacular whirling dervish dancing.

BPWA Members’ Social Activities

BWF Publishes Palestine Business Focus

for Palestinians

AME Holds the 6th Lunch, Chat and BtoB

On September 3rd, AME held the 6th LCB (Lunch, Chat and BtoB) at the headquarters of the Association AME www.ame-dz.org.

During the evening, members exchanged ideas and products, and enjoyed a handcraft exhibit by a local businesswoman.

AME Members Brainstorm alongside Entrepreneurship Experts

Members of AME attended a brainstorming meeting at the head-quarters of HQ of AME on September 13th. Several project leaders

with different backgrounds and two experts in the field of entrepre-neurship joined the members at the meeting.

Through BWF promotion plans, Palestine Business Focus, a popular international magazine, was published for Palestinians for

the first time following the Palestine investment conference. The magazine included a four-page article and introduction about BWF. Until now, the publication was only available in the United States,

Europe and the Gulf.

Page 4

Bahraini Women and the 2010 Elections Continued

their concerns and the priorities they have for their communities. Afnan took the opportunity to congratulate successful candi-

dates and specially H.E. Latifa Al Qoud for representing the Sixth Constituency in the Southern Governorate for two consecutive ses-sions and for active participation in the Economic Committee at the

House of Representatives. Afnan also took the opportunity to appeal to Bahrain women to

actively participate in 2010 elections stating, ―To take part in mak-

ing decisions that touches each citizen and contributes to the pre-sent and future well being of the country. The responsibility of learn-ing as much as possible about each candidate in our constituency

falls on the shoulder of each of us in order to make a sound deci-sion and give his vote to the most competent regardless of gender, sect, financial background, etc.‖

Seventy participants attended the event, including BBS mem-bers, featured women candidates, concerned citizens, press and media.

Panelists listen intently at the BBS event

October 2010

The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the Author(s) This pro-

ject is funded through the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of the Middle East Part-

nership Initiative (MEPI) under Cooperative Agreement Number S-NEAPI-07-CA-250. The opinions, findings and

conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those

of the Department of State. MEPI supports efforts to expand political participation, strengthen civil society and the

rule of law, empower women and youth, create educational opportunities, and foster economic reform throughout

the Middle East and North Africa. In support of these goals, MEPI works with non-governmental organizations, the

private sector, and academic institutions, as well as governments. More information about MEPI can be found at:

www.mepi.state.gov.

We’re on the Web!

www.menabwn.org

If you would like more information on any of

the events or programs described here or

would like to be involved, please contact Vital

Voices at:

1625 Massachusetts Ave, NW Suite 850

Washington, DC 20036 USA

Phone: 001-202-861-2625

Fax: 001-202-296-4052

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Businesswomen's Network is a partnership be-

tween local businesswomen's organizations

across the Middle East and North Africa, Vital

Voices Global Partnership and the Middle East

Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. De-

partment of State. The goal of the partnership

is to build a network of businesswomen in

MENA in order to expand the number of

women in business, to increase the value of

their businesses, to advance the role of women

in society, and to promote a regional culture of

women's entrepreneurship.