Qatar 2022 becomes First FIFA World Cup to Achieve International Sustainability Certification

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) – the operational arm of FIFA and the Host Country for the delivery of the tournament – has achieved ISO 20121 certification, the international standard that sets requirements for developing and implementing an effective management system to deliver a sustainable event.

The certification was granted after an extensive audit process that was initiated during the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 – which was held exactly a year before the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world.

Nasser Al Khater, CEO, Q22, said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Qatar 2022 from the start, and the independent recognition of the delivery of best practices reflects our enduring commitment to it.

José Retana, Sustainability Senior Manager, Q22, said: “We are proud to become the first FIFA World Cup in history to obtain the ISO 20121 certification. This demonstrates that according to the evaluation by a third-party accredited entity, world-class management practices are being implemented to deliver an inclusive, green and legacy-oriented event.”

SGS carried out the extensive audit process. It is a world-leading testing, inspection and certification company that has a wealth of experience in certifying mega-sport event organisers against ISO 20121 requirements, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the French Open tennis tournament.

Sustainability management mechanisms assessed during the FIFA Arab Cup™ audit included:

Accessibility infrastructure and services for disabled fans, including seating, mobility assistance and innovative features such as audio descriptive commentary

Waste minimisation and recycling, including staff training, segregation and awareness-raising activities carried out with the support of sustainability volunteers

Sustainable procurement of items required for the delivery of the tournament, including uniforms made from recycled plastics and the use of compostable food packaging

Social and environmental audits to ensure supplier compliance with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code

Incident reporting and resolution during tournament time, including governance arrangements and gathering of lessons learned

Chris Meakin, General Manager of SGS Qatar, said: “The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has effectively applied and demonstrated best practices under the framework of the Event Sustainability Management System (ISO 20121) to manage the event successfully. They have met the set benchmarks for global sustainability development and to control the event’s social, economic and environmental impact.”

source/content: thepeninsulaqatar.com (edited)

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QATAR

Tunisian Start-Up ‘Kumulus Water’ Innovates, Creating a Drinking Water-Technology from Air. Collaborates with the NGO ‘WallahWeCan’ to Provide 570 School Students with Drinking Water from Thin Air

Tunisian start-up “Kumulus Water” has provided assistance to a school deprived of drinking water in Makhtar in the region of Siliana (north-west of Tunisia) through a technical solution “Kumulus 1”, designed to generate water from the ambient air.

It came to support its expertise in water technology, the efforts of the Tunisian NGO “WallahWeCan”, which campaigns for the improvement of living conditions of students in schools and educational environments in Tunisia, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Thanks to atmospheric water generators, each producing 20 to 30 litres of healthy drinking water per day, 570 students of the chosen school will now be able to benefit from a regular supply of drinking water.

Technically, the atmospheric water generator is a device designed to produce water from the ambient air. It sucks in the air and dusts it, then dehumidifies it by lowering its temperature to the dew point to create condensation. The condensed water in the machine then passes through four filters to remove impurities.

The smart machine can fit into a 1m3 cube and can be equipped with a solar pack, making it fully autonomous and independent, the startup says. “It offers mobile control options via a dashboard and an app designed by the six-person team at startup Kumulus Water. It also offers features that ensure water is delivered sustainably and economically,” its creators explain.

According to Kumulus Water, co-founded and led by Iheb Triki, there is 6 times more water in the air than in rivers. This water can be extracted by cooling the air below its dew point and exposing it to moisture absorbers or pressurizing it to make the water drinkable.

Kumulus was also installed at the Bayadha school (Delegation of Ghar Dimaou in the governorate of Jendouba).

According to Regional Commissioner of Education Rim Maaroufi, this is a project developed by a young Tunisian engineer and funded by the Orange Foundation in cooperation with the association “a child, smiles”.

In a statement to TAP, Maaroufi said that Bayadha School, where the Kumulus was installed, suffers from a lack of drinking water due to a lack of connection with the distribution network. Water tanks were installed in advance to provide drinking water to the students and teachers. The machine produces about 20 to 30 litres of drinking water per day.

In Tunisia as in many other countries in the world, access to drinking water is one of the most imminent threats facing humanity. According to the WHO, out of 7 billion people, 2.1 billion do not have satisfactory access to drinking water. The demand for water will increase further with the population growth and the increase in living standards.

In 2021, the co-founder of the Tunisian start-up Iheb Triki was selected by the prestigious Choiseul Institute as one of the 100 Young African Leaders.

Also, the start-up has been selected as the second-best impact investment opportunity in the prestigious competition (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) “Turner MIINT 2022”.

The young Tunisian company managed to snatch second place among 40 start-ups from the best American business schools, having participated in the global competition Turner MIINT.

TunisianMonitorOnline.com (NejiMed) (edited)

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TUNISIA

Winners of the ’10th King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation’ Announced

The translators of books about culture, physics and data mining are among the latest recipients of the prestigious King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation.

This year’s event, covering works published in 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the awards. There were six categories and the winners, chosen by the event’s board of trustees, were announced on Monday.

Izz ddeen Khattabi Riffi’s translation from the original French of “Beyond Nature and Culture” by Philippe Descola took the award for works in the humanities category translated into Arabic. It was shared by Abdelnour Kharraki for his translation of “Data Mining for the Social Sciences: An Introduction” by Paul Attewell, David Monaghan and Darren Kwong, originally published in English.

The award for institutions went to the publishing and translation department of Obeikan Company, and to Al-Arabi Publishing & Distribution.

There were also two winners in category for works in the natural sciences translated into Arabic, both for books originally published in English: Dr. Sausan Hassan Al-Sawwaf and Dr. Laila Saleh Babsil for their translation of “Physics in Biology and Medicine” by Paul Davidovits; and Yahya Khlaif and Abdullatif Al-Shuhail for their translation of “Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration” by Berend Smit, Jeffrey A Reimer and Curtis M. Oldenburg.

Three awards were presented in the category of Individual Efforts in Translation, to Hamza Qablan Al-Mozainy from Saudi Arabia, Murtazo Saydumarov from Uzbekistan, and Samir Mina Masoud Greeis, who is of Egyptian-German nationality.

The judges decided to withhold the awards in the two remaining categories, for books about the humanities and natural sciences translated from Arabic into other languages.

source/contents: arabnews.com (edited)

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EGYPTIAN / GERMAN / SAUDI ARABIA

Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, Dawood Abdel-Sayed and Iraqi Qais Azzawi win Egypt’s Top Cultural Awards and Honour

Egypt’s highest state awards in art, literature, and social sciences for 2022 were announced on 7 June, with writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, director Dawood Abdel-Sayed, and late Iraq thinker Qais Azzawi winning the top honour, the Nile Award.

In a meeting chaired by Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem, members of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) voted on the top awards.

The members voted on 53 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections:

Here is the full list of winners:

The Nile Award

The Nile Award is granted to three people in the fields of literature, arts, and social sciences. Each winner receives EGP 500,000 and a gold medal. A new award for the most creative Arab personality was added for the first time in 2018.

The Nile Award in Literature was given to writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied.

The Nile Award in Arts was handed to director Dawood Abdel-Sayed.

The Nile Award in Social Sciences went to the late lawyer and head of the lawyers syndicate Ragi Attia.

The Nile Award for the Most Creative Arab personality was awarded to late Iraqi thinker Qais Al-Azzawi, who died in 2022.

The Nile Award for a creative Arab personality was launched in 2018 in a bid to strengthen ties between Egypt and Arab creative minds.

Appreciation Awards

The award carries a prize of EGP 200,000 and a gold medal.

The Appreciation Award in Arts went to actor Rashwan Tawfik, architect Suhair Hawass and Ahmed Nabil Suleiman.

The Appreciation Award in Literature was awarded to writers Mohamed Abulfadl Badran, Youssef Hassan Nofal and Kamal Ruhayem.

The Appreciation Awards in Social Sciences were awarded to Said Ismail, Abdel-Salam Abu-Qahf and Moataz Sayed Abdallah.

Excellency Awards

The Excellency Award in Literature was granted to writer Reem Bassiouny and Amr Fouad Dawara.

The Excellency Award in Arts was handed to Gamal Yaqoot and Ahmed Abdel-Kareem.

The Excellency Award in Social Sciences was handed to late judge Tahany El-Gebaly, Iman Amer, and Ahmed Hassanien.

In addition to the previous awards, the SCC granted 32 encouragement awards, each one of them worth EGP 50,000.

Factbox

There are 52 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections.

Of the seven Excellency Awards, two are for the arts, two for literature, and three for social sciences. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan and economic expert Ahmed El-Naggar were among the winners of the prize last year.

Novelists Khairy Shalaby and Gamal El-Ghitani, poet Mohammed Afifi Mattar, and critic Gaber Asfour are among the past winners.

The Nile Award was originally named the Mubarak Award, but was changed in the aftermath of the 25 January 2011 Revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power.

Poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, writers Bahaa Taher, Ibrahim Aslan, and Waheed Hamed, and cinema director Youssef Chahine are the most prominent figures to date who have won the Nile Award.

The State Awards were launched in 1958 and have only been cancelled once, in 1967, during the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (edited)

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Dawood Abdel-Sayed, Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, and Iraqi Qais Azzawi

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EGYPT / IRAQ

Saudi Student Itizaz Alnefaie breaks World Record. She is honoured by Tabuk Governor Prince Fahad bin Sultan for Top Two Finish in Worldwide Mental Arithmetic Competition, Egypt

Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honored Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools who won second place in this year’s Worldwide Mental Arithmetic Competition, recently held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.

Alnefaie broke the world record by solving 100 maths problems, testing herself against the clock.


He congratulated Alnefaie for this achievement, wishing her more success, noting the Saudi leadership’s support for outstanding students in all scientific fields.


“I’m pleased to meet you and everyone is proud of your achievement,” Prince Fahd said, praising the efforts made by Alnefaie’s parents and teachers, who created the environment for her to reach excellence, and who supported her talent. He also wished her and all of Tabuk’s students future success.

The prince then offered Alnefaie his personal pen as a gift. The head of Tabuk International Schools, Maram Al-Atwi, praised Prince Fahd for the achievement, which comes as a result of his great support for the education sector in Tabuk, noting that this success is an extension of the local and international achievements made by public school students from all Saudi regions.


Hundreds of talented pupils representing more than 25 countries, including Saudi Arabia, participated in this year’s competition.


Solving a math problem might take most people a few minutes. However, Alnefaie takes just a second or two.

source/content: arabnews.com (edited)

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Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honors Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools. (SPA)

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SAUDI ARABIA

Remembering Hoda Sultan: The ‘Bella Donna’ of Egyptian Cinema / 05 June

Sunday marks 16th death anniversary of Egyptian film star Hoda Sultan (15 August 1925 – 5 June 2006).

One of the brightest stars of the 20th century, Sultan made a mark in Egyptian cinema history as an actress and singer in many musical films. 

Born Gamalat Bahiga Abdel-Aal Al-Haww in Kafr Abu-Gendy in Gharbiya governorate on 15 August 1925 to a mother of Turkish descent and a father who married several times and had many children.

Sultan married at a young age and divorced after the birth of her first daughter.

She embarked on the cinematic career inspired by her brother, renowned singer Mohamed Fawzi, taking steps into Egyptian radio with her first song in 1949.

As Ashraf Gharib writes for Ahram Online: “She auditioned for a role that was announced by Nahas Studio, who was searching for a new face capable of singing to participate in Bella Donna (1950), directed by Niazi Mostafa, and landed it. Despite the fact that it was a small part, she emerged closer to the world of fame.”

She then began receiving numerous roles starting with El-Usta Hassan (Foreman Hassan, 1952), directed by Salah Abu-Seif, and Hokm El-‘Awy (The Rule of the Powerful, 1951) and Tager El-Fadayeh (The Scandalmonger, 1953), both directed by Hassan El-Imam.

She landed starring roles in many musical films such as Habib Albi (The Love of My Heart, 1952) by Helmy Rafla and Taxi El-Gharam (Love Taxi, 1954) by Niazi Mostafa.

In addition, Sultan also appeared in Hamido (1953) by Niazi Mostafa, Ga’alouni Mograman (They Made Me a Criminal, 1954) by Atef Salem, El-Mouhtal (The Swindler, 1954) by Helmy Rafla, Sawaq Nos El-Leil (Midnight Driver, 1958) by Niazi Mostafa, Abeed El-Gasad (Slaves of the Flesh, 1962) by Kamal Attiya, and two of her more important films with Hassan El-Imam: Zawga Min El-Sharea (A Wife From the Street) and Sai’dat El-Regal (Men’s Huntress) both in 1960.

“However, Hoda Sultan’s artistic and feminine climax represented itself best in Ezzeddine Zulfikar’s masterpiece Emra’ah Fi El-Tariq (A Woman on the Road, 1958) where she played the she-devil crossing your path and stinging you with her carnal desires,” writes Gharib.

“When Egyptian cinema turned towards duos, Hoda Sultan formed one with Farid Shawqi, her husband at the time. Between the pair, the remarkable duo made 19 films together, starting with Bella Donna and The Rule of the Powerful.”

Her artistic maturity became obvious in El-Sirk (The Circus, 1968) by Atef Salem, DalalEl-Masriya (Dalal the Egyptian, 1970) by Hassan El-Imam, El-Ikhtiyar (The Choice, 1971) by Youssef Chahine, and Shai’ Fi Qalbi (Something In My Heart, 1971) by Kamal El-Sheikh.

She then became the first-choice actress for the film and television roles which needed a maternal character. This landed her the role of Amina in Naguib Mahfouz’s famous trilogy adapted to TV and that of Tafida in Something in my Heart, adapted from Ihsan Abdel-Quddous’ novel.

Her important TV appearances included Layali El-Helmiya (El-Helmiya Nights, 1987), Arabesque (1994), El-Wattad (The Tent Pole, 1996), and Zizinia (1997).

Sultan passed away on 5 June 2006 in Cairo.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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EGYPT

Morocco Produces Half of All Canned Sardines Worldwide

Morocco exports 90% of its sardines to 100 countries.

With a 3,500-kilometer-long coastline, Morocco produces half of all canned sardines available in supermarkets worldwide. 

Mehdi Dhaloomal, Executive Manager of Moroccan canned sardine producer MIDAV, recently reported that the North African country annually produces 1.4 million tonnes of seafood, with sardines making up 850,000 of the collected seafood. 

The Moroccan businessman stressed that Morocco has “exclusive” access to the sardina pilchardus walbaum which is a type of sardine that is only available in Bretagne, France, and southern Morocco. 

Morocco notably fishes 60% of the sardina pilchardus walbaum that is primarily directed to exports – 90% of local sardines are exported. 

Earlier this year, the Moroccan Ministry of Fisheries stated that canned sardines represented 53% of total seafood exports in 2021. 

Besides sardines, frozen octopus and squid, as well as fishmeal, represent most of the 778,000 tonnes of Moroccan exported seafood, valued at MAD 24.2 billion ($2.46 billion). 

Yet canned sardines remain a major food export of Morocco and Dhaloomal considers the country to be a “leader in the valorization” of sardines. 

He further noted that the canned food sector in Morocco consists of roughly 50 Moroccan and international companies that are based along the country’s coastline.

Currently, the industrial zone of Sali delivers 30% of Moroccan production of sardines that is primarily exported to 100 countries. Export destinations include European countries such as the United Kingdom market, where 60% of consumed canned sardines come from Morocco. 

Dhaloomal shared the prior statements at the first edition of the Safi Investor Day. The May 25 event gathered Moroccan and foreign investors operating or interested in the Marrakech-Safi region with the objective of celebrating the region and its assets, as well as attracting additional Moroccan and foreign capital. 

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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Morocco Produces Half of All Canned Sardines Worldwide

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MOROCCO

Amira Osman Hamed, Sudan’s Women’s Activist -Engineer Wins the International ‘2022 Human Rights Defenders at Risk Prize’

Sudanese women’s activist Amira Osman Hamed has won a Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, the organization announced.


The activist and engineer, now in her forties, has been advocating for Sudanese women for two decades, and was detained this year in a crackdown following the country’s latest coup.


She was among defenders from Afghanistan, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Mexico who also received the 2022 award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.


Osman “never deterred from her mission,” Dublin-based Front Line Defenders said in its awards announcement, “consistently (advocating) for democracy, human rights, and women’s rights.”


After first being charged for wearing trousers in 2002, she drew international support in 2013 when she was detained and threatened with flogging for refusing to wear a headscarf.


In 2009, she established “No to Women Oppression,” an initiative to advocate against the much-derided Public Order Law. It was finally repealed in 2019 after Bashir’s ouster following a mass uprising.


The award has honored human rights defenders annually since 2005.

source/content: arabnews.com (edited)

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Amira Osman Hamed. (AFP file photo)

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SUDAN

Swedish-Egyptian Tarik Saleh Wins 2022 Cannes’ Best Screenplay Award

Tarik Saleh — an experienced Swedish-Egyptian filmmaker — clinched the Best Screenplay Award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday for his latest feature film, ‘Boy from Heaven’ (‘Walad Min El-Janna’).

The filmmaker — who started his career as a journalist — also received the Prix François Chalais Award for his film’s  “dedication to the values of life-affirmation.”

Boy from Heaven reportedly caused controversy amid Cannes’ Egyptian attendees after the premier, as its plot — which takes place in Al-Azhar University in Cairo — tackles the relationship between the country’s authorities and the Islamic organisation.

The film is produced by Atmo, Kristina Rikberg, and Fredrik Zander.

Previously, Saleh’s ‘Metropia’ (2009) won the Future Film Festival Digital Award of the Venice Film Festival, and his ‘Nile Hilton Incident’ (2017) — which was also set in Egypt — brought home the Grand Jury Prize from the 2017 edition of the Sundance Film Festival.

The winners of the 75th Cannes Film Festival are as follows:

– Palme d’Or: Ruben Ostlund for ‘Triangle of Sadness’ (Sweden, Germany, France, the UK)

– Grand Prix: Shared by Lukas Dhont for ‘Close’ (Belgium, the Netherlands, France) and Claire Denis for ‘Stars at Noon’ (France)

– Best director: Park Chan-wook for ‘Decision to Leave’ (South Korea)

– Best actress: Zar Amir Ebrahimi for ‘Holy Spider’ (Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France)

– Best actor: Song Kang-ho for ‘Broker’ (South Korea)

– Best screenplay: Tarik Saleh for ‘Boy from Heaven’ (Sweden, France, Finland, Denmark)

– Jury prize: Shared by Jerzy Skolimowski for ‘EO’ (Poland) and Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen for ‘The Eight Mountains’ (Italy, Belgium, France, Britain)

– Camera d’Or for best first film: Riley Keough and Gina Gammell for ‘War Pony’ (The US)

– Best short film: Jianying Chen for ‘The Water Murmurs’ (China)

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh poses during a photocall after he equally won the Best Screenplay prize for the film Boy From Heaven (Walad Min Al Janna) during the closing ceremony of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes (Photo: AFP)

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SWEDEN / EGYPT / SWEDISH EGYPTIAN

Souad El Markhous: A Moroccan Success Story in Dutch Construction Sector

Born in Larache in 1969, a young and driven Souad El Markhous found herself in a position where she had to lead a double life in Amsterdam for three years. Her struggle to grow from a young ambitious Moroccan girl to an owner of a Dutch construction company is a story that captures the listener’s heart. 

Determination and perseverance were key in El Markhous’ uncanny journey, and her story reflects the resilience of Moroccan women in the face of social expectations either at home or/and beyond. Still, she conveys an overwhelming sense of gratitude. For her, her story would not have been possible without Allah (God) and rdat walidin (parental blessings).

She left Larache in 1990 to settle down with her cousin in Amsterdam without telling her father. Unfamiliar with the Dutch language and culture, she soon had to look for a job to sustain herself. 

Her neighbor secured a job for her as a cleaner at the construction company De Combi, on the condition of keeping a low profile since the company was only hiring men cleaners.

Boss: from a ‘monster’ to a father-figure

Although she was afraid of getting caught, El Markhous had to clean the director’s office on Wednesday when he had a day off to spend quality time with his family.   

Despite the risk of being exposed, she used to sit in the director’s office and run her fingers through the keyboard, pretending to be working there. 

“I wanted to dream. I wanted to be like them, work,” she told Morocco World News.   

One day her fear came true. The director, Appelman, came to the office on his day off since his children and wife went on a vacation. He entered the office and found her there. They were stunned to see each other. 

From the stories she heard about him, she imagined a well-built and ruthless man who looked more like a “monster.” He met her expectations at first glance, physically at least. Yet he turned out to have a good heart and he became a father figure for her in a foreign country where she barely knew anyone.  

Bucket list check

“What are you doing here?” Appelman asked Souad on that fateful day in his office. Surprised and disoriented, she tried to communicate with him in broken English and French. He quickly ordered his secretary to look for a school for her. She was aged 19 at the time. “You have to learn,” he had said. 

For the following years, she secretly learned the Dutch language at Joke Smit College in Amsterdam (1990-1992) before pursuing an MBA in modern business administration at Schoevers in the University of Amsterdam between 1993 and 1996. 

El Markhous pretended to work overtime to attend school, while Appelman supported her cover story. 

Her father’s words after hearing about her departure and her work as a cleaner were engraved in her heart. Disappointed and sad, her father asked her if he ever mistreated her or starved her to the point that she would clean toilets for Dutch people. 

These words would stay with Souad for much of her formative years in the Dutch capital, motivating her, in a sense, to do her best to make her parents proud. 

Hit by reality and new beginnings

She accepted to have an arranged marriage with the hope of continuing her studies. Her future husband, also of Moroccan-descent, agreed to support her studies. 

Before her departure, Appelman handed her a letter in Dutch addressed to her father. In Larache, she opened and read the letter to her father. The letter, which essentially said that Appelman was her second father in the Netherlands, reassured El Markhous’ father. 

As she returned to the Netherlands, she continued her studies and gradually built up her career with the support of her husband. Now married for 20 years, they have raised two daughters together and established a happy family. 

Over the years, El Markhous rose through the ranks at De Combi, moving from cleaner to telephone operator to the head of administration at the Dutch construction company. She then became a member of the workers’ council, representing her fellow colleagues who all helped her through her journey of settling and integrating into her adoptive country. 

Turning point

In 2014, De Combi was on the edge of bankruptcy. At the time, the construction firm had hundreds of employees and 11 branches across the Netherlands. Four branches closed down and others were sold like in Tilburg and Amsterdam. The buyers made it clear that they would cut jobs.

Feeling responsible for protecting the familial nest she had made for herself at Combi, El Markhous was determined to find a solution to prevent the company from sinking.  And buying a branch was one of the few options available. 

So she decided to buy the Amsterdam branch without hesitation. But then again, not having enough money, she was faced with the impossible feat of making the acquisition within a 24-hour deadline. 

Along with her husband, she started to call friends and acquaintances to collect the money. The workers also contributed with their savings. At the end of the day, she made it and saved the lives of her team members. At the time, De combi workers were unpaid for three months and had to fill in for government support.  

In the following meeting of the workers’ council, she announced her ownership over the Amsterdam branch in front of 600 workers. This made her the first woman to own a construction company in the Netherlands. For the next five years, she managed the company along with the business director Willie van Dijk before establishing Markhous Beheer BV in 2019

Incomplete joy

After she bought De Cambi’s Amsterdam branch, El Markhous’ story gained tremendous public and media interest. Proud of her achievement, she collected all newspaper articles and documents that commended her work and returned home to share her joy with her parents. 

“I hadn’t seen my parents for three years,” she said. Excited to reunite with her family, she entered her home to learn that her father was diagnosed with Al Alzheimer’s. “He couldn’t recognize me,” she told us with teary eyes and a shaking voice. 

Souad’s father passed away in 2016, two years after that visit. Until his last moment, he was unable to recognize his daughter or learn about her success story.

In 2018, El Markhous would be awarded the Ethnic Business Woman among 45 candidates. Months later, she received the Diwan award for her inspiring story and accomplishments.

A year later, she obtained a gift of appreciation and gratitude from the Moroccan embassy in the Netherlands. 

She also featured in the Dutch series “Vrouwen die Bouwen” or “women who build.” Her story was further documented by Cor de Graag in a book titled “Ondernemers zijn net mensen,” which translates into English as “Entrepreneurs are just people.” The book is based on 50 interviews with inspiring entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. 

Committed to helping others

With her growing success, El Markhous has committed to helping other women to achieve their dreams. Despite her busy schedule, she has accepted numerous invitations from NGOs, schools, and other organizations to share her stories but also inspire young women to be brave and pursue their dreams. 

In 2015, she received a call from a young Ethiopian woman living in the Netherlands who wanted to become an engineer. The young woman asked her over the phone to convince her father. 

Later on, the father and daughter visited El Markhous’ office. The father was surprised to see her in the office of a director, particularly that of a construction company.

Souad managed to convince the girl’s father. Three years later, she received a call from the same girl who told her that she now had a job in an engineering company.

The story touched the Moroccan-Dutch entrepreneur, prompting her to commit further to supporting other women as they struggle to establish themselves in male-dominated professions in the construction or STEM sectors. 

Following in the footsteps of Appelman, El Markhous is becoming the guardian angel of numerous girls and women in Morocco and Europe. 

Souad El Markhous’s legacy in the Netherlands and Morocco is in the making as she aspires to invest in her home country. Her dedication, determination, and resilience can be a source of inspiration for every girl and woman around the world. 

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (edited)

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NETHERLANDS / MOROCCAN