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Category: Non-Resident / PAO (Persons of Arab Origin / Descent)
Somali-origin players Afif and Abdirisaq play pivotal roles in leading Qatar to victory in the AFC Asian Cup.
On Saturday, February 11, 2024, the football world turned its eyes towards a historic clash that would etch the names of Akram Hassan Afif and Yusuf Abdirisaq into the records of the AFC Asian Cup lore.
In a match that was anything but ordinary, Qatar’s national team, buoyed by the exceptional talent of its Somali-origin stars clinched their second successive victory in the tournament by overcoming Jordan with a decisive 3-1 win.
Qatar’s triumph was heralded by the remarkable performances of Akram Afif and Yusuf Abdirisaq, whose origins trace back to Somalia, showcasing the diverse and rich talent pool contributing to Qatar’s footballing success.
Akram Hassan Afif emerged as the tournament’s top scorer, remarkably netting three penalty goals in the final match.
His prowess on the field and his unique celebration, holding up a letter ‘S’ in honor of his Kuwaiti wife watching from the stands, captured the hearts of fans and ignited discussions across social media platforms.
Afif’s journey from the streets of Doha to becoming a footballing icon is a narrative of determination, skill, and the love for the game.
Yusuf Abdirisaq, on the other hand, fortified Qatar’s defense with his agility and keen sense of play.
Born in Hargeisa, Yusuf’s path to footballing stardom is a tale of resilience and adaptation. Representing Qatar on the international stage, Yusuf’s performance in the Asian Cup final was a clear demonstration of his defensive prowess and his significant role in the team’s success.
The match itself was a rollercoaster of emotions as three penalties were awarded, leading Qatar to victory.
Despite the debates, the focus remained on the skillful play and strategic acumen displayed by the Qatari team, particularly its Somali stars.
The Arab media and international press were lavish in their praise for Qatar’s achievement, with special emphasis on Afif’s scoring feat and Abdirisaq’s defensive mastery.
Their stories of personal and professional triumph resonated well beyond the football pitch, inspiring many young athletes around the world.
Off the field, both players have faced their share of challenges and controversies, such as Abdirisaq’s alleged racial abuse incident, which he and the Qatar Football Association strongly refuted.
Akram Afif, the son of a former Somali national team player, has football in his blood. His journey from Qatar’s youth leagues to becoming a key player for Al Sadd, and on loan from Villarreal, is a beacon of hope and inspiration for many aspiring footballers in the Arab world and beyond.
Yusuf Abdirisaq’s story is equally compelling, showcasing the potential for football to change lives and transcend borders. From his early days at Al Sadd SC to his loan at Al-Arabi SC and back, Yusuf’s career trajectory highlights the opportunities and challenges faced by players of diverse backgrounds in the world of professional football.
As Qatar celebrates its second consecutive AFC Asian Cup victory, the contributions of Akram Afif and Yusuf Abdirisaq will be remembered as pivotal to this historic achievement.
Their talent, perseverance, and dedication have not only led their team to glory but have also served as a powerful reminder of the unifying power of sport.
The ‘Limbo’ star will be acting alongside Pierce Brosnan as they follow the story of famed boxer Prince Naseem.
Egyptian actor Amir El Masry is set to star in a biopic of legendary British Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed, titled ‘Giant’. The movie will tell the story of Hamed’s humble beginnings in the English city of Sheffield, and his meteoric rise to becoming a world champion. Throughout his career, he is coached by former steel worker Brendan Ingle, who is played by Irish actor and ‘James Bond’ star Pierce Brosnan.
Also known as Prince Naseem or ‘Naz’, Hamed also became an icon of showmanship, with his inimitable southpaw boxing style and quick feet, his high rate of knock-out victories, and his elaborate ring entries, arriving on a ‘flying carpet’ suspended from the ceiling and often somersaulting over the ropes.
The casting of El Masry to play Hamed marks his first starring role in a major film production, though he has already landed several major parts in acclaimed series such as ‘The Night Manager’, BAFTA-nominated ‘The State’, and the fifth season of ‘The Crown’, in which he played a young Mohamed Al Fayed. He is also known for his award-winning role in ‘Limbo’, as well as his appearances in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ and Egyptian series ‘El-Brinseesa Beesa’.
The activities of the seventh session of the International Festival of Arabic Language and Culture were concluded in the Italian city of Milan, which was held under the auspices of the Sharjah Book Authority and organized by the College of Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures and the Arabic Language Research Center at the Catholic University, under the title “Language and Artificial Intelligence: A Limit to the Past or a Horizon for the Future.”
“In a step that reflects the spirit of the global cultural mission of the Emirate of Sharjah and confirms the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in highlighting the role of the Arabic language as a bridge for civilizational and cultural communication between peoples.
The events were attended by His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakad Al Ameri, CEO of the Sharjah Book Authority, Mario Cristina Gatti, Director of the Arabic Language Research Center at the University, His Excellency Muhammad Hassan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Radio and Television Authority, and Dr. Amhamed Safi Al Mosteghanemi, Secretary General of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, while participating in The festival sessions included 35 researchers from 18 countries, including 9 Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Yemen and Palestine, in addition to Turkey’s presence for the first time. The festival also hosted 12 academics and university professors from the Catholic University in Italy.
The seventh session of the festival sought to explore the intersections of artificial intelligence with Arabic language and culture, highlighting key topics that include “ethics and legislation of artificial intelligence” and its role as a translator who crosses linguistic borders, as a poet who organizes poems, and as a novelist who weaves stories.
The festival also focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on language teaching and its applications in the language of social communication. It discussed “the role of artificial intelligence in the scientific research and philosophy sector” and its potential in “restructuring the Arab heritage” with a focus on “its impact on language and the arts” in a way that enhances the status of Arabic as a living language. Interact with modern technologies.
His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri had stressed in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the festival that pride in one’s own language is pride in all languages, as the diversity of languages is a necessity for the diversity of cultures, and it is not possible to imagine the world in one language because this means that cultures lose much of the beauty and incentives for learning and discovery, highlighting Shedding light on the major project led by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, which is the historical dictionary of the Arabic language, of which 67 volumes have been published to date covering 15 of the 28 letters of the Arabic language.
For his part, Dr. Wael Farouk, director of the festival, said: “The participants in this year’s session presented ideas on the topic of ‘Language and artificial intelligence: a limitation of the past or a horizon for the future.’
The opening session presented by Mario Cristina Gatti, director of the Arabic Language Research Center at the university, also witnessed the launch of The first Italian translation of the poetry of Al-Mu’allaqat, which is considered one of the most famous classical texts in the history of Arabic poetry. It is a translation presented by Jolanda Guardi, and it presents a poetic reading by the Iraqi poet and translator Kazem Jihad on the occasion of the publication of his collection of poems in the Italian language.
The festival devoted sessions on the digitization of the Arabic language, artificial intelligence, imagination, artificial intelligence, and translation, with the participation of Dr. Emhamed Safi Mosteghanemi, Secretary General of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, who reviewed the emirate’s experience in collecting and publishing the largest historical dictionary of the Arabic language as a successful example of digitization.
The translators, Muhammad Haqqi Sushin, Samir Greiss, and Naglaa Wali, raised questions about the capabilities of artificial intelligence as a translator of literary texts, the role of literary translators in the era of artificial intelligence, and the ways in which literary translation can benefit from artificial intelligence.
Drydocks World celebrated the official launch of work on the Norfolk Vanguard East and West Wind Energy platforms in the United Kingdom, where the Drydocks World arena in Dubai witnessed the project’s inauguration ceremony.
The project, according to a statement issued today by the company, includes two eastern and western switching platforms that will be implemented over the next five years, including offshore construction and sailing installations. In the first part of the project, the western Norfolk Vanguard platform will be used to efficiently transfer electrical energy from offshore wind turbines. to the mainland, and major manufacturing operations will also take place year-round at Drydocks World.
The West and East Norfolk Vanguard platform projects are located in the southern North Sea, between 50-80 kilometers from the coast of Norfolk in eastern England. The planned capacity of each of the two platforms reaches 1.4 gigawatts, and these two projects will contribute greatly to enhancing the production of renewable energy. in the UK.
Dr. Captain Rado Antolović, CEO of Drydocks World, said: “Thanks to our cooperation with Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy on these two projects, we will be able to benefit from our combined expertise in renewable energy projects, especially Drydocks World’s expertise in DC platforms.” High voltage and high voltage alternating current, which is an important new step that confirms our commitment to supporting the transition towards renewable energy.”
Drydocks International had concluded a pre-commitment agreement with Aker Solutions in November 2023, to deliver the eastern and western Norfolk Vanguard platforms in the United Kingdom, and during the months of February and March of this year, the two final agreements for the project were signed.
The scope of this strategic cooperation focused on engineering, procurement, construction and installation works for a marine substation for high-voltage direct current electricity. This cooperation also aims to raise the standards of solutions provided in the field of sustainable energy.
It is noteworthy that Drydocks World has successfully delivered two high-voltage direct current platforms and two high-voltage alternating current platforms in the North Sea, including the famous “Dolwyn 2”, “Burwen 3” and “Holland Kast Zuid Alpha and Beta” platform projects.
For the Palestinian-born Arab International Women’s Forum founder, the laws of economics mean each woman must be heard.
Haifa Al Kaylani moves through the Carlton Tower Jumeriah looking as effortlessly elegant as the recently renovated decor of the landmark hotel in the heart of Knightsbridge, London.
Her hair is coiffed, make-up flawless, and a string of pearls and turquoise brooch accessorise a classic cropped bouclé jacket from a Swiss fashion house.
But she walks straight past the diners socialising over salads or the afternoon tea being served all day in the lounge, and gets down to business at a table in a nearby meeting room.
“I’ve never been one of those ladies who lunch,” the development economist and president of the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) tells The National.
As Al Kaylani talks about her remarkable career, in which she has hosted Queen Rania of Jordan and been honoured herself at a reception by Sarah Brown, wife of former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, at No 10 Downing Street, it’s hard to believe there has ever been time for a midday meal.
On the global stage, she is known as a “high-impact change agent” in every area, from leadership, youth empowerment and diversity to education, sustainability and the environment.
The AIWF was founded in 2001 on two key principles dear to her heart: that no economic, political or social development is possible anywhere without optimising the 50 per cent of the population who are female; and that women from the richly diverse 22 Arab countries need to establish bridges between each other and their counterparts everywhere.
“We broke ground wherever we went,” she says. “We were the first women’s organisation to be hosted by the League of Arab States, the first hosted at the European Parliament, the first invited by the World Bank, the first conference in Madrid between Arab, Spanish and Latin American women, [the then French Minister of the Economy] Madame Lagarde chaired the forum’s annual conference in 2009 in Paris, we were the first to host a conference for business women at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
“And we had key, succinct issues on the table. It was not just about the gatherings, though they were important. Breaking the stereotypes, building knowledge and understanding were very important but we also wanted to ensure we could empower and effect change on the ground … so we walk the walk.’’
In person, Al Kaylani is reserved but warm, overcoming a natural modesty to highlight various successes in the hope of giving them renewed impetus. A story of doing good, she insists, must be told.
Her own is certainly that – a peripatetic life, first as a Lebanese of Palestinian origin and then as the wife of a Jordanian diplomat, fuelled her desire to empower women as “engines of economic growth” to foster development and prosperity in Arab countries.
Both her father, Badr Said Fahoum, the district governor of Acre in Mandatory Palestine whom she credits for her business mind, and mother, Alia Zubi, came from prominent families in Nazareth.
Nakba toddler
They moved, as did hundreds of thousands of others, to Beirut in 1948 during the Nakba when Haifa was a toddler, initially intending to stay only until it was safe to return.
“Nobody knew that they were going to spend the rest of their lives there. They left everything behind.’’
Relatives and friends continued to trickle out of Palestine, some bringing objects from the Fahoum house while those who remained sent letters and news of the events unfolding.
The family was given Lebanese citizenship at the time. An estimated 210,000 Palestinians remain stateless in the country even today, yet Al Kaylani points to how much Beirut owes to these exiled families.
“They made it their home and contributed to the economy, society, culture,” she says.
Haifa’s mother, Alia, was highly educated but took on the responsibility of raising her five daughters. She fostered an appreciation of the siblings’ heritage through stories of their ancestral home before the partition of borders but was keen, too, to ensure that they made the most of life, friends and schooling in Beirut.
Mother’s learning
Apart from her love and devotion as a homemaker, Al Kaylani recalls Alia creating a cultural cocoon full of classical music and literature such as the Abbasid-era poetry of Al-Mutanabbi that she recited by heart.
“She was an avid reader. We would go to the mountains every summer, and before we packed our clothes, we used to pack boxes of books because the vacations were supposed to be spent reading and learning, and on sports and outdoor life.’’
After being a pupil at the British Lebanese Evangelical School for Girls in Beirut, fifteen-year-old Al Kaylani was sent to board at Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset to pursue her English education.
“I loved it,’’ she says, and quotes from her end-of-term reports as testament. “They would say: ‘Haifa’s settled in as if she’s one of us.’ I think this is one of my good traits. I’m adaptable and I’m flexible.’’
The timing of her arrival made it easier not to pine for home despite the pupils having to go out for runs in snow up to their waists. As she explains, the 1962-63 academic year was one “like no other’’, and the pupils eagerly kept up with events on the BBC’s weekly news programme Panorama.
“It was number one, the year of the Big Freeze, the Beatles [with their first hit single Love Me Do], James Bond [Dr No in Sean Connery’s MI6 cinematic debut], the Profumo Affair, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vatican Council. I learnt a lot and enjoyed it all,’’ she says.
Al Kaylani chose to study economics at her father’s alma mater, the American University of Beirut, which she calls “that beautiful campus by the sea”, before regrouping with Sherborne friends at Oxford to read the new diploma in development economics.
Next was 12 months as a junior economist at the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Beirut, which enabled her to meet the second of two non-negotiable conditions set for the girls by Badr and Alia.
“We weren’t to get married or focus on a family until first having at least a Bachelor of Arts, if not a Master’s, and we had to work for one year. When you think about it, they are golden rules. So I’m very glad.
“If we had been five boys, our parents would not have done more in terms of empowerment and providing opportunities. Tashji’ [encouragement] non-stop.’’
She set up home in Amman after marrying Wajih Al Kaylani, who used to regale her with vivid tales of walking all over Palestine’s mountains, down hills and into valleys as a boy scout. “This is how you see the place, and get an affinity with the people in the villages,’’ Al Kaylani says.
While giving birth in hospital to her son, Sirri, she heard an announcement on the radio that Wajih had been appointed ambassador to Tunisia by King Hussein of Jordan, “which was a great honour but we asked permission to stay a few more months to allow the baby to grow”.
They immersed themselves in their roles in Tunis and then Delhi where her husband was ambassador to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. “I found myself on another planet. Especially in the evenings, the sounds, the smells were different,” she says, recalling the aroma of firewood burning outside their diplomatic residence.
The couple visited every state in India at the invitation of the governors, and the deep insights gained from travelling as an Arab ambassador’s wife compelled her to take up an MPhil part-time at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
‘I wanted to read more, and Indian economists were the best in economic development at the time.’’
Al Kaylani left the country “with tears in my eyes’’ when Wajih retired from the diplomatic service in a return to the private sector, and London became their base.
After Sirri set off to board at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, she turned to playing tennis, learning Spanish and Italian, enrolled at London Business School, and began volunteering for Arab and British women’s charitable organisations.
Help was needed for Palestinian refugees, and for Lebanon, which had entered a 15-year civil war. In the 1990s, she was part of a committee raising funds for Iraqi children and recalled the complexities of delivering aid in spite of the UN-led embargo after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. “It was very hard and serious work,” she says.
Among her biggest achievements was raising £250,000 ($318,050) for the Queen Alia Fund for Social Development, with Princess Basma as key speaker at an event in 1994.
Al Kaylani recalls a magical evening that transformed The Dorchester’s ballroom into a showcase of Jordanian culture through a fashion parade of “out of this world” Arab costumes, handicrafts and local produce on the tables, and floral arrangements of emblematic black irises and native herbs.
“It was something that London had not seen – neither before nor after,” she says.
“I’m a good fund-raiser. Why? Because I only commit my time and myself if I really believe in the cause, and believe that I can help the cause.
“I learnt a good lesson early in fund-raising, from an English friend. She told me: ‘You must be able to convince me why I should part with my funds for this cause rather than that one.’ So you need to prepare well.’’
Rebuilding the Balkans
She sat on the committee of a charity supporting Bosnian women during the war that was chaired by former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of whom she was a great admirer. “She revitalised the British economy and put it on track. She brought prosperity back.”
A few years later, Al Kaylani founded the AIWF with the aim of connecting Arab women from all walks of life as “part and parcel’’ of the international community politically, socially and economically.
As the forum has evolved from initially helping with the set-up of businesses to becoming much broader in scope, her intention has been to approach each project not as a feminist but as an economist first and foremost.
London Climate Week
In January 2017, Al Kaylani was chosen as one of 46 global leaders to become a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. The key outcome of her fellowship has been an agriculture project being piloted in Jordan for which she secured World Bank funding.
“Following my pivotal year at Harvard, we have been pursuing a sustainability agenda,” she says.
Recently, the AIWF teamed up with Masdar’s global initiative Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy, known as WiSER, to produce a report for Cop28 in Dubai, and will host the forum’s second conference on the same themes in June at London Climate Week.
Asked how she has maintained such motivation for so many decades, Al Kaylani says: “First, I enjoy what I do – otherwise I would not be doing it. This is the key because then it is from your heart, coming from inside, you’re committed. Most of my work is pro bonoand totally voluntary.
“Second, the energy … you need to read, to keep educating yourself. I’m a great believer in lifelong learning. That’s why I went to Harvard. I enjoy my own time like everybody but I love meeting people, and working, learning and connecting with others.”
Arguably the pinnacle of the numerous accolades garnered so far is being appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in King Charles’s New Year’s 2024 Honours List in recognition of services to women, young people and cultural relations between the UK and the countries of the Middle East.
She is thrilled and humbled by the thought of next month’s investiture but says none of it would have been possible without her parents – “I have to pay tribute to them” – and husband Wajih, whose face would beam every time he saw her achieve another milestone.
“My late husband was the best partner in life I could ever have had. Encouraging, loving, empowering. Without him, I promise, I could neither have started nor given so much time to the AIWF to attain what it has and continues to attain now. He was with me every step of the way.”
Al Kaylani goes on to speak of the friends and members from the wider AIWF family, who have all provided invaluable contributions, but soon returns to the source of her own personal impetus.
“Your roots sustain and empower you, those who see you when you are up and down. You know,’’ she says with a small shrug, “all of us are human after all.”
Haifa Al Kaylani OBE, pictured at the Carlton Jumeirah London, is known as a change-maker in areas from leadership and youth empowerment to sustainability and the environment. Photo: Mark Chilvers
Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), São Cristóvão (SE), Brazil, 22-24 August 2023
The Arab diaspora living in Latin America and the Caribbean currently has more than 20 million people.
Most are descendants of immigrants who travelled from the Middle East to the region in the 19th century. Considering its contribution to the multicultural character of the area, UNESCO created the 2022 Arab Latinos! meeting. This year, it is the 1st International Conference. The event will be held at the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) from 22 to 24 August 2023. It has been organized in partnership with the Centro Internacional de Estudos Árabes e Islâmicos (CEAI) in São Cristóvão (SE). It is the location of São Francisco Square, a World Cultural Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List in 2010.
The conference will address migration and displacement; memory, territory, and cultural rights; literary and artistic exchanges; and youth. The event will also feature the launch of the Arab-Latin Youth Network! (Arab Latinos! Youth Network) which will bring together young people from Arab countries and Latin America to build new opportunities for cross-regional collaboration. Among the participants are Brazilian singer Martinho da Vila, Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari and writer Ana Maria Gonçalves.
Arab culture has made important contributions to Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, Arab culture’s presence is felt in music, science, cooking, and many other areas. The recently launched program ‘Arab Latinos!’, by UNESCO, aims to map these connections between our cultures, and we hope that the meeting in Sergipe will be an important step further to deepen this view from a scientific and academic perspective.
Marlova Jovchelovitch NoletoDirector and Representative of UNESCO in Brazil
The international meeting seeks to present and discuss how migratory movements within and between Arab States, Latin America, and the Caribbean have created and continue to create different solidarity strategies, promoting mutual understanding and advancing human rights and dignity.
The scientific coordinator of the “Arab Latinos!” initiative, Professor Geraldo Campos, highlights the importance of holding this 1st International Conference in Sergipe.
The theme of the conference, migrations, and solidarity is a vital contemporary issue and highlights the potential of the Initiative’s dialogues with the different sectors of Brazilian society.
Professor Geraldo CamposScientific Coordinator of the “Arab Latinos!” initiative
The Arab Latinos initiative! It was launched in Brazil in August 2022, resulting from a meeting between 15 specialists from five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico), selected by UNESCO, who developed a 5-year Action Plan (2023-2027), available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic. The “Scope Review” of the project was also launched on the occasion, a document that presents an overview of the contemporary flows of scientific and cultural collaborations between the regions.
In May of this year, during the 216th Session of the Executive Council, UNESCO Member States adopted a decision to support and contribute to “Arab Latinos!”. The decision, co-sponsored by more than 30 Member States, recognizes this initiative’s importance in promoting South-South cooperation and strengthening cultural diversity and solidarity practices.
The 1st Arab Latinos! International Conference, sponsored by the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, Câmara de Comércio Árabe-Brasileira, the Federação das Associações Muçulmanas do Brasil (FAMBRAS), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and the Federal University of Sergipe, will count on the participation of high-level representatives of Arab countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, representatives of the United Nations, as well as internationally renowned intellectuals, writers, civil society, artists, researchers and young scholars.
The Event’s Agenda
AUGUST 22, 2023
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm:
Meeting: UNESCO in the Territory (Exchange with local actors, government/civil society)
19:00 – 20:00:
Official opening of the Conference (Federal University of Sergipe)
20:00 – 21:00:
Arab-Nordeste Concert
AUGUST 23, 2023
9:30 – 11:30:
Panel 1: Arab-Latinos!: migrations and displacements
(Didactic Auditorium 7 – Federal University of Sergipe)
2:30 pm – 4:15 pm:
Arab-Latin Workshops!
Workshop 1: The Arab presence in Brazilian music
Workshop 2: Arab-Latin Cinema
Workshop 3: Arabic-Latin Literature
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm:
Intercultural Memories: Dialogue with Martinho da Vila
19:15-19:30
Cultural activity: The Bacamarteiros of Aguada
19:30 – 20:30:
Ceremony awarding the title of Doctor Honoris Causa to Martinho da Vila
(Didactic Auditorium 7)
20:30 – 21:00:
Cultural Activities
AUGUST 24, 2023
2:30 pm – 4:30 pm:
Panel 3: Memory, Territory and Cultural Rights
(Didactic Auditorium 7)
17:00 – 19:00:
Arab Latinos! closing panel with Ana Maria Gonçalves
19:30 – 20:00:
Closing of the Conference – Outcomes and Next Steps
The 2024 summit focuses on promoting development and prosperity, empowering Arab youth.
Arab ministers and governmental delegations are expected to play a significant role in the 11th edition of the World Governments Summit (WGS) which will take place in Dubai, between 12-14 February 2024.
The World Governments Summit 2024 will witness the participation of more than 100 ministers from Arab countries, including the ministers of finance, the ministers of youth and sports, the ministers of industries and advanced technology, and the ministers of communications and information technology, as well as the ministers of government development. The increasing participation from Arab States, Governments, organisations and companies underscores their growing interest in this significant global event, which has evolved into one of the foremost international platforms for shaping the future.
The ministerial meetings include the Arab finance ministers meeting, a meeting of energy ministers, a meeting for justice ministers, a meeting for government development ministers during the Arab Government Administration Forum as well as a meeting for Arab youth and sports ministers.
Since its launch, the World Governments Summit has fostered remarkably positive change in the region, reshaping both the Government’s operations and service delivery and bolstering its readiness for the future. It represents a key platform for participating governments and ministers to exchange knowledge and expertise, enabling them to better serve their developmental objectives.
The engagement of Arab ministers spans across the ministerial meetings and forums convened within the summit’s agenda which include 23 ministerial meetings and roundtables, alongside 15 forums and workshops.
The 2024 summit focuses on promoting development and prosperity, empowering Arab youth and paving the way for future opportunities. The participation of Arab officials and delegations in this year’s summit spans discussions on governmental policy developments, Economy and trade, urban growth and environment, as well as the technology and AI and the challenges confronting both the region and the world.
Prominent ministers
Arab ministers participating in the Summit’s main sessions include: Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy; Dr Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) of the Arabic Republic of Egypt; Ahmad Al Hanandeh, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco; Engineer Ahmed Samir Saleh, Egypt’s Minister of Industry and Trade; Dr. Jalila bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Minister of Health of the Kingdom of Bahrain; Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance; Nadia Fattah Al Alawi, Minister of Economy and Finance of Morocco; Taif Sami Mohammed, the Finance Minister of Iraq; Bihi Iman Egeh, Minister of Finance for the Federal Government of Somalia; Dr Mohamed Mahmoud Al-Asas, Minister of Finance of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Fahad Abdulaziz AlJarallah, the State of Kuwait’s Minister of Finance; Dr. Mohamed Maait, the Egyptian Minister of Finance; Ali Al Kuwari, Qatar’s Minister of Finance; Ould Mohamed M’Badi, Mauritania’s Minister of Finance; Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League; and Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Rahman was one of the first women to be paid to play football in Europe – and set a host of records!
Deena Rahman owns five Guinness World Records
She was one of the players who got contracts when Fulham became professional in 2000
Rahman represented Bahrain in 40 matches, and scored 23 goals
In 2000, almost a decade before the English Football Association awarded the first central contracts to women, Fulham Ladies, at the insistence of club chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed, turned fully professional. It was a watershed moment in the history of women’s football. One of the 16 players paid to play professional football, a first in Europe, was Deena Rahman.
Deena Rahman’s career has since become one of football’s enduring legacies. She has played for the England women’s age group teams, then Bahrain national team. A midfielder during her playing days, the 39-year-old now works to promote gender equality in football while also creating a host of world records. The former Fulham midfielder currently holds five Guinness World Records!
Born to an Egyptian father, Deena Rahman rose through Fulham’s youth ranks, then joined the Arsenal Academy. But she returned to Fulham, and became a member of the team which completed a treble of Premier League National Division, FA Cup and League Cup in 2003. The club became semi-professional soon enough, after three years.
At 15, Rahman made her England U-18 debut. She also represented the country of her birth in two UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championships. However, she retired as a Bahraini player, having scored 23 goals in 40 matches after making her debut in 2011. She is regarded as one of the greatest to have played for the Reds, the nickname for the team from the small Western Asian kingdom.
In her journey – from Fulham to Manama with a brief stoppage in Cairo – Deena Rahman has witnessed a whole gamut of human experience. As a prodigious talent in England, she was a regular at the all-conquering Fulham. But injury and the disbandment of the Cottagers in 2006 forced her to move to Egypt, where she played for Wadi Degla for a brief spell. Another injury sidelined her, and she was back in England.
Then Bahrain came calling, thanks to her association with Arsenal. In 2010, Rahman arrived in the Gulf to work as a coach at Arsenal Soccer School at Soccer City in Janabiya. After five years there, she and her husband Paul Shipwright established their own academy, Tekkers Academy.
Meanwhile, Rahman was also busy creating her own legacy. In 2017, she, along with 32 women from 20 countries, set the Guinness World Record for the highest game of football ever played. And the setting was 18,760 feet above sea level, atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania – the highest mountain in Africa.
The following year, Deena Rahman played her part in setting another Guinness World Record, this time for a game of football at the lowest point in the world, the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley, at 1,412 ft below sea level.
In 2019, Rahman clocked two more Guinness World Records by taking part in a match featuring 822 players during the biggest five-a-side game at Olympic Lyonnaise Training Academy in Meyzieu, Lyon. Then in an exhibition match on the sidelines of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, she got her fourth Guinness World Record as a part of the match with the most nationalities – 114 participants, representing 53 nationalities. In 2020, Rahman secured her fifth record by hammering 7,876 penalties in 24 hours at the Kick Off Academy in Saar.
A total of 79 scientists from Cairo University are among a list of 160,000 scientists whose practical opinions are cited in various specializations with a (2 percent).
President of Cairo University Dr. Mohamed Othman Elkhosht received a report on Stanford University’s announcement of a list of scientists whose practical opinions are cited in various specializations with a (2 percent), featuring about 160,000 scientists from 149 countries, based on the Scopus database, in 22 scientific specializations, and 176 sub-specialization for distinguished researchers.
Dr. Elkhosht announced that the Stanford list included a large number of Cairo University scientists, with a total of 79 scientists on the two lists, whether the total from 2011 to 2022, or the latest version 2023, as this year’s list included scientists from 11 colleges (an increase of 8% over the previous year).
Number of scholars featured from Cairo University in the report’s 2022 edition was 73 scholars, representing 9 of the university’s faculties, and compared to the number of 74 and 55 scholars during the previous years (2021 and 2020, respectively), Cairo University thus leads all Egyptian universities and research centers in all years from 2020 until now.
Dr. ElKhosht explained that the annual Stanford University report is an objective, external indicator of the progress of scientific research at Cairo University.
It is also a quantitative indicator for the university to identify the number of distinguished faculty members in research and a reflection of the university’s methodology, plan, applied practices, and the support that the university provides to its employees from the various colleges and institutes affiliated with it.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Saeed, Vice President of the University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, pointed out that the report reflects the strengthening of the confidence of the international scientific and research community in our scientists in all fields and specializations, and that the results of the classification this year included two lists, the first of which is specific to the list of the total practical years 2011 – 2022 (with a total of 417 scientists), While the second included the list of last year, 2022, with a total of 817 scientists, adding that this year’s list (2023 edition) contained 926 Egyptian scientists, while last year’s list (2022 edition) included 680 Egyptian scientists from various universities and research centers, compared to 605 and 396 during the years 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Stanford University used the Scopus database of the international publisher Elsevier to extract various indicators in this list, including global scientific publishing, the number of citations, the H index, and co-authorship, all the way to the composite citation index.
“The Return” is a meditation on human condition, an exploration of the bonds of family.
In his poignant and deeply affecting memoir, “The Return,” Hisham Matar invites readers on a journey into the heart of his native Libya, a journey marked by love, loss, and the relentless pursuit of truth.
As the acclaimed author of “In the Country of Men,” Matar brings his exquisite storytelling prowess to bear on the exploration of his own family’s harrowing ordeal amid the turbulent political landscape of their homeland.
The narrative begins with a pivotal moment in Matar’s life, when at the tender age of nineteen, his world was shattered by the abduction of his father, a courageous man. The elder Matar’s disappearance cast a long shadow over the family, leaving them grappling with uncertainty and anguish.
Yet, amid the darkness, Matar clung to a flicker of hope, a stubborn belief that his father may yet be found. It is this unwavering hope that propels him forward, driving him to embark on a decades-long quest for answers.
Against the backdrop of upheaval and societal transformation, Matar chronicles his return to Libya, a homeland he once fled as a child. With his mother and wife by his side, he confronts the ghosts of his past and navigates the complexities of a country in flux.
Through evocative prose and piercing insight, Matar captures the essence of a nation on the cusp of profound change, grappling with the weight of its history and the promise of its future.
“The Return” transcends the confines of a mere memoir; it is a meditation on the human condition, an exploration of the enduring bonds of family and the resilience of the human spirit.
Nature of love and loss
Matar’s storytelling takes the readers to the heart of Libya, immersing them in its sights, sounds, and emotions. With each turn of the page, we are drawn deeper into the labyrinth of Matar’s inner world, as he grapples with questions of identity, belonging, and the nature of love and loss.
At its core, “The Return” is a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the darkest corners of our collective experience, offering solace, catharsis, and ultimately, redemption.
Matar paints a poignant portrait of the human spirit’s capacity to endure and find solace in the face of uncertainty. Beyond mere memoir, “The Return” stands as a testament to the strength of hope, offering inspiration to all who confront life’s tribulations.
source/content: gulfnews.com /ahmad nazir (headline edited)
