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   Biography
 
Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder and Chairman of the Arab International Women’s Forum, is well known in international government, business and nongovernmental organization circles as a high-impact change agent focusing on women’s leadership, youth empowerment and working for progress, inclusion, peace and security in the Arab region and always within an international framework. A development economist and an alumna of the American University of Beirut, Haifa Al Kaylani read for a Diploma in Economic Development at Oxford University, and is a Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, 2017. In August 2017, she was appointed to serve as a Commissioner of the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work. 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 Al Kaylani founded the Arab International Women’s Forum in London, in 2001, as a development organization committed to supporting women’s leadership in social and economic growth in the MENA region, and internationally and creating equality of opportunity for all. In addition to her leadership of AIWF, Mrs Al Kaylani holds senior roles in several cultural, educational, nongovernmental UK, MENA and international organizations. She is a Board Member of the Arab–British Chamber of Commerce in London; Director of the East-West Institute in New York; and Board Member at the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard. She is an Advisory Board Member for the London Middle East Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and an Advisory Board Member of the Global Thinkers Forum. She is also a former Advisory Board Member of the Imperial College Business School. Mrs Al Kaylani was appointed as the only Commissioner from the Arab world to serve on the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work in August 2017; and served on The Commission on Global Security, Justice and 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 became a Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative in 2017, spending one year in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to undertake the year-long intensive fellowship to research and address global sustainability challenges. Haifa Al Kaylani has received international recognition and numerous regional and global awards. Most recently, in July 2019, she was named in Cranfield University’s Women to Watch 2019 supplement launched alongside the Female FTSE Board Report, an annual analysis of women on boards produced annually by Cranfield University’s School of Management. In November 2018, Haifa Al Kaylani was the honored recipient of the Outstanding Golden Shield Award presented by the Arab Women Council in Cairo for her exceptional efforts to enable and advance women and youth through education and economic opportunities in the MENA region and beyond. Haifa Al Kaylani has also been featured in Forbes Middle East’s LeaderBoard: Standing Out list of High Achievers (July 2017), recognized for her leadership of AIWF and her commitment to encouraging cultural exchange and understanding between communities and promoting gender equality around the world.
 
 
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