Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani is President & Founder of the Arab International Women’s Forum recognised in Arab and international government, private sector and NGO circles as a high-impact change agent focussed on women’s leadership and youth empowerment, working for progress, inclusion, peace and prosperity in the Arab region and internationally.

 

Haifa founded the Arab International Women’s Forum in London in 2001 as a development organisation committed to supporting women’s leadership in social and economic growth in the MENA region and internationally and creating equality of opportunity for all. Haifa served as the Chair of AIWF for 20 years and under her leadership, AIWF has become one of the world’s most respected development organisations for the economic empowerment of women and young people, working at the highest levels with a global network of corporate, institutional and global advocacy partners to advance momentum for women’s leadership in all sectors and spheres.

 

Haifa is a development economist, an alumna of the American University of Beirut and read for a Diploma in Economic Development at Oxford University. She brings a wide range of skills and experience to her personal mission of encouraging greater cultural understanding and sustainable economic growth and reform, supporting a strong role for women and young leaders at the heart of that process. Haifa became a Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative in 2017, spending a year in Cambridge MA to undertake the year-long intensive Fellowship to research and address global sustainability challenges.

 

Haifa holds senior roles in several cultural, educational, non-governmental UK, MENA and international organisations. She is a Board Member of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce in London, a Member of The Stimson East West Council on Track II Diplomacy, a Global Advisory Committee Member of QS, and a Member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard. Haifa was appointed as the only Commissioner from the Arab world to the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work in August 2017, and also served in 2012 on The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance chaired by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was also the first Honorary Member of the Euro Mediterranean Association for Cooperation and Development (2012).

 

She has received numerous regional and global awards for her exceptional efforts to enable and advance women and youth through education and economic engagement in the MENA region and beyond. She remains an eloquent and compelling champion for many good causes, ensuring that women’s voices are heard, their contributions are recognised, and their priorities are addressed.