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Saudi academic Ghadah Al-Harthi has been appointed ambassador of young patrons by the London-based Victoria and Albert Museum, one of the leading museums in the world.
Al-Harthi, who is based in the UK, is an associate professor at Central Saint Martins; a consultant at the London-based cultural consultancy Barker Langham; and an adviser at Chatham House, an international think tank.
Following her appointment, she said: “I am happy to be chosen as an ambassador by this prestigious museum that has a significant influence on the international cultural scene.”
She added: “My efforts will be focused on education and innovation to ensure the participation of the youth in cultural influence.
“My academic and consulting experience in innovation and culture with British universities and companies will allow me to support the museum’s senior management to develop global cultural communication methods and diversify cultural and art projects across the Middle East and Europe.”
The Young Patrons Group is an effective and important circle that supports the museum in achieving its goals. It includes leading patrons and donors supporting arts and culture at an international level.
The Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s largest museum of applied arts and decorative arts, was founded in 1852 as a public institution, and is sponsored by the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
It contains a collection of 4.5 million varied items, including 20,000 of the most important Islamic pieces in the Middle East. At least 2 million people visit the museum annually.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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She added: “My efforts will be focused on education and innovation to ensure the participation of the youth in cultural influence. (Supplied)
Masters of relaxation: The record-breaking freedivers of Egypt.
When the countdown began, Khaled Elgammal took one final, deep breath before descending without any breathing equipment into the ocean. One minute and 29 seconds later, still holding his breath, the Egyptian athlete had free-fallen to 102 metres (335 feet) – a national record.
But for it to count, he had to reach the surface again. He turned at the bottom of the line and began his ascent – focusing on deep relaxation and the feelings of the surrounding water. In all, he had held his breath for two minutes and 50 seconds.
Elgammal is Egypt’s deepest freediver, and his remarkable achievement set a new national record at the Sharm el-Sheikh competition in October 2023.
“When I came to the surface, it was bliss. It felt amazing,” Elgammal recalls.
Freedivers like Elgammal rely solely on the ability to hold their breath while diving underwater. Through training, these divers master relaxation to slow down their heart rate, allowing them to stay beneath the surface without breathing equipment for minutes at a time. Very deep dives like the one he did recently usually require divers to hold their breath for around three minutes at a time.
The practice of freediving can be traced back to traditional fishing in communities like Asia’s Bajau people, where coastal groups have used freediving to hunt underwater for 200 years. As a sport, freediving is now undergoing record growth, attracting people looking to connect with the ocean and better understand their body’s abilities.
As for Elgammal, he says he was captivated by the unique sensations of diving with a single breath.
“I always say that scuba diving is everything in slow motion; you’re moving slow, breathing slow, and the sound of the bubbles is hypnotising, so everything is in slow motion. Freediving is like you’ve paused… and are the only thing moving down there. So you give yourself the chance to sink within.”
The sport is now growing in popularity around the world. According to AIDA International rankings, 2,889 freedivers registered to compete in competitions in 2023, more than twice the number a decade earlier.
The freediving organisation told Al Jazeera that around 20,000 people have become certified freedivers in recent years. Scuba Schools International (SSI) has similarly seen a steady 10 percent annual rise in the number of people earning their first freediving certification.
Many of these certifications are awarded in Dahab, a bohemian enclave on Egypt’s Red Sea coastline which has become home to numerous freediving schools and elite instructors. Dahab featured a shoreline of palm trees and traditional Bedouin homes just a few decades ago. While still considered a small town today, it boasts a thriving beachfront of Egyptian and international restaurants and attracts a growing crowd from Cairo, Europe and Asia. A handful of luxury hotels have emerged but Dahab still maintains an authentic charm – with herds of goats freely roaming the streets.
It’s also one of the world’s best-known freediving hotspots due to its year-round water conditions and proximity to Egypt’s Blue Hole. Just 20 minutes away by car, the Blue Hole is a famous reef-lined sinkhole accessible from the shore.
Here, divers can descend to around 90 metres (295 feet) – almost the height of the Statue of Liberty.
A heightened state of self-awareness
But what has contributed to the rise of freediving?
The sport is linked to several mental and therapeutic benefits. A 2013 study by academics at Atilim University in Turkey, found that freedivers tend to exhibit lower stress and anxiety levels than non-freedivers.
Carlos Diezel, the manager of Dahab Freedivers, a school that trains divers, explained that much of this is down to “breathwork”.
“The fact that we have to pay attention to our breath, our mind and relaxation when we go down teaches us awareness,” he says. “I believe that part of the problem, statistically speaking, for mental health issues is related to the lifestyle in modern society, that’s leading people to forget or block any kind of self-awareness.”
This heightened state of self-awareness is something that dedicated freedivers like Elgammal strive for. “I’m always aware now of what I’m feeling, what I’m sensing,” he says. “Freediving helped me to connect with myself.”
Freediving’s connection with nature and immersion in water may also contribute to its mental health benefits. Diezel says the most common reasons people sign up for freediving courses are a fascination with the ocean and learning more about themselves.
“They grasp this connection with themselves when you hold your breath and go deep,” he said, adding that students consider it “a ‘deep’ experience – sorry for the pun”.
Social media equally plays a role in bringing freediving to the forefront. Many freediving pictures allude to a sense of freedom, featuring divers among marine life and colourful reefs. The hashtag #freediving has amassed more than 3.5 million mentions on Instagram so far. “It’s getting a lot of attention as it’s quite photographic. Some videos are just mesmerising,” Diezel adds.
Diving safely
Within the existing freediving community, the sport’s surge in popularity brings added responsibility. Considered an “extreme sport”, freediving can be risky if safety protocols aren’t followed, or divers push themselves beyond their physical limits. They can experience oxygen deficiency symptoms like hypoxia and blackouts, as well as pressure-related risks like a ruptured eardrum, an example of a barotrauma.
Contrary to portrayals such as Netflix’s The Deepest Breath, divers losing consciousness – known as blackouts – are relatively uncommon, particularly in recreational diving at shallower depths.
Freedivers are also trained to rescue a fellow diver safely as part of their earliest training, learning to monitor each dive, spot signs of distress and how to react. Under the buddy system, which helps to ensure freedivers remain safe, divers never dive alone.
Tamsyn Signe is a professional freediver who champions safety whenever she enters the water. She has worked as a safety freediver in multiple competitions, and it’s her role to ensure the competing divers make it to the surface safely. Last year, she saved a diver’s life 30 metres (98 feet) underwater in a rare example of a deep rescue.
“As he got in front of me, the lights went out,” Signe recalls, describing the moment the ascending freediver just stopped moving after losing consciousness. At 30 metres below the surface, Signe was also holding her breath. However, she wasn’t thinking about the carbon dioxide building in her body – she had a job to do.
“Everything really slowed down,” she says. “I knew I was his best shot at being ok.” As she’s trained to do, Signe closed his airways with her hands and started finning (swimming up with flippers) with him toward the surface – a tricky job with the added weight of another diver. The competitor regained consciousness after reaching the surface, partly thanks to Signe’s quick thinking and supportive team. He would later reach out and thank her for saving his life.
Signe says the rescue changed her life too, making her more observant and prepared for unexpected risks, but it’s part of the job. Most freedivers believe that practising safety in freediving, such as never diving alone and being trained for rescue, is crucial to the sport’s survival.
But this is not just a tick-box exercise; safety also forges close bonds within the community. “When you go through an experience with people where you could potentially die, there’s some sort of connection that happens that is way deeper and intimate than normal. And those friendships do last a lifetime,” Signe adds.
Responsibilities beyond the breath-hold
Alongside valuing safety, Zahraa El-Husseiny, a freediving instructor and Egyptian national record holder, believes that protecting our oceans is also an important responsibility which comes with freediving. Many freedivers collect plastic they find floating in the water; others, like Diezel, stopped eating seafood after learning about the human impact of overfishing.
As Earth’s oceans face increasing pressures from pollution and global warming, those who rely on the sea will play a vital role in future conservation. First drawn to freediving because she was fascinated with marine life, El-Husseiny tries to teach others about respecting the ocean through her sport.
“We are very connected to the ocean, and we owe it to this to protect it. We know how essential it is to move freely underwater, so… we need to protect it,” she says.
For many, freediving offers a path for self-discovery and a deeper connection to the natural world. As a sport, it’s poised for continued growth in the future.
Freediving isn’t reserved for a select few either, and freediving communities are expanding in many coastal locations. “Everyone can learn how to hold their breath,” El-Husseiny adds.
“Everyone can learn how to enjoy the ocean and the peacefulness of diving. I would like people to know that this is something they can do, learn and progress in”, she says.
Passing on the love of this sport is something many freedivers take seriously. When Elgammal isn’t training for record-breaking dives, he’s working as an instructor and coach. He similarly urges those interested in the sport to “be curious”.
“Relax, enjoy, trust. Think about what you like and try to visualise that feeling.”
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.
This January, Sara Chraibi, founder of Maison Sara Chraibi presented for the first time at Paris Haute Couture Week. The Moroccan designer greatly impressed critics with her collection which combines traditional Moroccan craftsmanship with modern elements and materials for a unique style that celebrates her heritage but also appeals to the contemporary woman.
After living in Paris and working as an architect for several years, Chraibi returned to her home country to establish her fashion brand. It was a major shift in cultures but she wanted to be in her homeland in order to find ways to embrace the traditional craftsmanship techniques and find new ways to express this as a form of contemporary luxury. Her designs are deeply rooted in traditions but also appeal to the wider world. This season Chraibi presented her Spring/Summer 2023 collection at Paris Fashion Week after being invited by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to showcase her designs to the world. Here we find out more about the experience and what we can expect to see from her brand moving forward.
Tell us a little about how your brand came to life.
I grew up in an environment of art and culture. As a child, I was introduced to sewing and embroidery by my mother. After my architectural studies in Rabat, I moved to Paris where I wrote a diploma (DEA) in “Philosophy and Theory of Architecture”. In Paris, my passion for fashion and couture is nourished by the vitality and creativity of the city. Alongside my job as an architect, I then began to draw, sew and embroider a multitude of couture pieces.
In 2012, I presented my first collection “Anatomic Architecture” during the final of a Competition organized by “Ateliers de Paris”. In the same year, I participated in Festimode Casablanca Fashion Week where the models paraded in front of the Casablanca cathedral. Greeted unanimously by the public and the press, these first appearances were the beginning of my professional retraining.
Congratulations on the Spring/Summer 2023 collection – tell us about this collection and how it came to life.
When I started working on this collection, I wanted to share several elements of my personal story, my influences and my sensitivity to the world. I had this idea of weaving a collection where each thread would represent part of the story: beginning with the architecture, the relationship to the structure of the garment, then there is the know-how, coming from a Moroccan textile tradition and the memory of the elegance of Moroccan women, there is this double culture that makes the originality of my point of view on fashion. I wanted to weave all this together and make it into a framework to tell a new reality.
This was your first time showing at such a level tell us about your experience being a guest member of the FMHC.
For me, Haute couture is a dream, a celebration of uniqueness and being part of it as a guest member is a milestone for my brand.
Can you tell us about some of the traditional techniques that you used in your designs and how you have evolved the techniques and craftsmanship to give them a modern twist?
With my work, I take patterns, shapes and ancient techniques from Morocco but I add a certain twist or reinvent them in a new way. For example, I used the “sfifa” weaving technique to create a fabric rather than using it as an ornament, as is done traditionally. I mixed raw materials from Morocco, and I used golden thread and silk fringe to build garments as a link between two cultures and realities. I see traditional craftsmanship both as an inspiration and a call to innovation.
How do your heritage and upbringing influence your work today?
My brand is built around the Moroccan art of living, my architectural background and my interest in couture know-how inspire it. My brand aesthetic evolves around the idea of subdued femininity. With a timeless approach to eveningwear, I merge the East and West through one-of-a-kind couture garments.
Tell us about your first memory of fashion.
I remember times before my mother had an important party, we would stroll from stall to stall in the markets in search of fabric and she would make dresses from scratch. I would sit next to her and watch her assemble the pieces of fabric one by one and sculpt the garment. At that time I started to collect fabric scraps to in turn sew something for my barbie doll. There was something magical about those moments. As I grew up, I remember my impatience to get dressed for these events; to put on a beautiful dress, to finally be part of the adult world, with all those sophisticated ladies, perfumed, richly adorned in silk and lace, with an appearance that made everyone’s heads turn. The women of Morocco are beautiful and sensual and wearing a caftan is an ancestral tradition, a ritual that is passed down from mother to daughter.
How do you think your background in architecture has influenced your designs and the way you put looks together?
I quickly realised that fashion and architecture could share the same vision. As an architect, I liked the modern period. In my clothing designs, I am influenced by modern architecture. All my attention goes to the purity of the lines, to the elegance and the lightness of the structure, it is a sort of quest for the essential.
What is the vision for your brand moving forward?
For me, succeeding in the world of fashion comprises several essential elements: commercial success, of course, but also and above all, success together as a team to share values and wealth, to ensure that each person in the company grows through their work. There is also a cultural success, where in addition to offering products, a brand manages to permanently establish its universe in the collective imagination. That’s all I want to achieve for my brand.
Who are some of the designers or brands that you admire?
Madeleine Vionnet, Jeanne Lanvin, and Elsa Schiaparelli, all made contemporary fashion history with a feminine point of view. I also admired Lee McQueen’s vision and Azzedine Alaia’s sharpness.
There are few brands from the Arab region that have managed to reach success on a global level – what is your opinion on this and what advice would you give to aspiring designers in the Middle East?
I wish that there are more and more brands with an Arab or oriental DNA on the international scene. Fashion is a great tool of soft power. Each new designer who launches in the region is responsible for spreading our culture to the rest of the world.
In this issue we are celebrating the month of Ramadan, what does this time mean to you and how will you be spending it this year?
Ramadan is one of my favourite times of the year. It’s time to reconnect with our faith. I like to spend it with my family and friends, to celebrate with pride and joy and I also like to share iftar with my non-Muslim friends.
What is next for you this year and for the rest of the year?
I’m working on the Maison Sara Chraibi Fall/Winter 2023 couture collection. I will also launch an e-commerce site later in the year.
What can you tell us about your brand in the Middle East and can we expect to see you here soon?
I plan to do some trunk shows in the Middle East over the coming months. The Middle East is an important market for my brand and It’s very important to establish long-term commercial partnerships there.
Handed-down skills won the medic crown of Great British Sewing Bee champion.
Head bent in concentration, tape measure slung around her neck, young Asmaa Al-Allak often knelt on the floor amid piles of colourful fabric even as rockets whistled above the family home in southern Iraq.
The seven-year-old would take in every detail of her mother and grandmother flicking through pages of their favourite fashion magazine and discussing the sewing patterns for each outfit featured in that month’s issue.
While the two women traced templates on to bolts of material, Asmaa mimicked them in miniature on remnants for arguably the best-dressed Sindy doll in war-torn Basra.
Four decades later, childhood memories like these compelled Al-Allak to become a contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee 2023, a reality TV show she won in an achievement that, for her, topped even attaining a medical degree.
“Creativity is in the genes,” she tells The National, laughing over a zoom call from Wales, where the consultant breast surgeon, now 47, lives with her engineer husband and children, Sophia, 20, and Jacob, eight.
“My grandmother taught me the basics of sewing, my mother built on those and the rest is self-taught.
“The first thing I remember making for myself was a green cotton pinny dress with a floral design. Terrible! My gran was the only one who was positive, saying: ‘My God, that’s so amazing.’ But that’s grandmothers for you.”
Mariam Al-Ethan didn’t live to see her granddaughter’s greatest triumph but photographs of her were pinned to a vision board for inspiration throughout the competition, and Al-Allak proudly wore a necklace inscribed with the word “Allah” that her grandmother bought for her in a gold souq.
Married at the age of 12, Mariam had long sewed clothes for her extended family before becoming a professional seamstress out of necessity during the prolonged armed conflict between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s.
“It was a really difficult time. Even though my grandad worked, he didn’t have enough to support the family,” says Al-Allak.
In spite, or perhaps because, of being illiterate, Mariam made determined efforts to send her seven children, including Asmaa’s mother Fatima, to university.
Fatima studied at the University of Basrah before undertaking a doctorate in physics at Cardiff University with her husband, Haider, soon after baby Asmaa arrived in 1976.
Initially, Asmaa and her brother Ammar, born two years later, were raised by their maternal grandmother but joined their parents for a few years when Fatima sent for them shortly before hostilities broke out. No longer able to stay in the UK after finishing her PhD, however, Fatima returned with the children to Iraq.
Haider feared his name might be included on the Baathist regime’s list of traitors and objectors and a longed-for reunion would not occur for another eight years.
The Al-Allak siblings were plunged into a war zone, frequently changing schools as they moved between Basra and their father’s relatives near Baghdad, whichever was deemed safest as Iranian troops fired mortars across the border.
When classes were disrupted for up to three months at a time, Asmaa sat transfixed for hours watching broadcasts of the devastation.
“I’ve seen [images of] dead bodies lying in the road,” she says in a flat voice. “If the Iraqi army had a good advancement or had won a battle, they would show pictures from the front on television.
“Even though they were supposed to be the enemy, for me, they were people who had died. My decision to study medicine came because of what I’d seen in Iraq.”
She became an expert in gauging the threat from rocket fire. If a whistle could be heard overhead, Al-Allak knew it was probably going to travel farther.
The ones that didn’t whistle were the more dangerous “because you didn’t know where they would land”.
Backbone of the family
While her mother worked as an assistant professor at the University of Basrah, Al-Allak inevitably grew close to her grandmother, ever the backbone of the family.
The detached house was surrounded on three sides by other homes, and Mariam declared the small kitchen, tucked away at the rear, to be the safest of all the rooms. There, the extended family retreated during the worst bombing campaigns, lying “like sardines” on two mattresses squeezed between the oven and fridge.
For Al-Allak, the rules and rhythms of sewing became a comforting reliability in a world of chaos and confusion: if she followed a pattern, cut fabric on the bias, respected the grain line and measured correctly, a satisfying outcome was guaranteed.
“The only thing that’s kept me going and balanced in life – especially in the past few years – has been sewing.
“It’s my escape, my way to forget about all the troubles in the world and at work. I don’t think I will ever stop.”
An opportunity arose for Al-Allak to rejoin her father after the Gulf War ended in 1991 when Haider was a British citizen working as a physics researcher at Durham University.
Fatima and the children had already endured one failed attempt to leave after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait the year before, packing their bags and waiting in Baghdad for two days before realising all flights had been cancelled.
This time, at Mariam’s behest, she wasn’t taking any chances. “We left everything behind and walked away. There was still food in the fridge and toys on the floor.”
Ripped from her roots
If Al-Allak was devastated at being ripped from her roots, worse came on hearing of the impact the sudden separation had on her grandmother, who sat weeping surrounded by their abandoned possessions.
“It broke her heart,” she says.
After a gruelling 24-hour bus journey to Jordan, the family waited a month for visas to Britain, arriving in the north-east of England in August.
Young Asmaa had forgotten most of the words picked up during her three-year stay as a toddler, and the other pupils at Framwellgate School showed no mercy, mocking her poor grasp of the language, using racist taunts, and pulling her hijab off.
She was pushed to breaking point, and it is clear that the recollections are still painful.
“I couldn’t wait to leave. I used to go home and cry. I said to my Mum: ‘I’m not going back to school. I just can’t do it any more.’”
But Al-Allak, one in a line of strong women, developed a methodical and meticulous means of getting by. “My five-year goals keep me going through life,” she says.
“For me to become a doctor, I knew I had to get good grades. I had to cope with the surrounding environment and not let it affect me.
“My mother was a rock. She told me to rise above it and sat with me with a dictionary trying to help but English wasn’t her first language either.”
Sheer determination earned Al-Allak a place at Cardiff University to study medicine, where for the first time in her teenage years she felt a sense of belonging.
Though she had seemingly left sewing behind in the ancestral home together with her beloved Sindy doll, her mother carried on, making surgical scrubs and other outfits for her on a Singer sewing machine bought at a car boot sale.
That old Singer has since been usurped by a newer model but still sits in Al-Allak’s office near the desk where lace and fancy packaging for the bespoke mastectomy bras she creates for her patients can be glimpsed. There, too, is the Sewing Bee award, and, on a mannequin, the dress described by the show’s judges as “spellbinding”, and “a feat of genius” and “clever engineering”.
Modelled in the final by her close friend and fellow doctor Pritti Aggarwal, it unfurled in a mesmerising transition from electric blue shift dress into shimmering emerald gown.
Al-Allak’s skill at overcoming obstacles such as this last of the 10 weeks of tough sewing challenges will, she hopes, increasingly be put to use to help breast-cancer patients recover physically and mentally, unencumbered by uncomfortable bras or incorrectly positioned inserts for prosthetics.
She plans to continue campaigning for greater consistency in patient provision, while developing the mastectomy lingerie into a viable venture.
“It’s one of the things I’m really passionate about,” she says. “On the NHS, you get a prosthetic to fit in your bra for free. Sometimes the company will also offer a free bra but not always, and the pocket might be on the wrong side.
“You’ll have darker-skinned women receiving a light-coloured prosthetic because there is no other option. Patients are offered different things in different parts of Wales.”
Al-Allak talks of how she employs the same knots during suturing in surgical procedures as those used in sewing but isn’t sure whether the medical skills inform her craft or vice versa; she is inclined to think probably both.
Certainly, her love of fashion dictates the choice of “work” shoes that add several inches to her 5ft 2in frame – red-soled patent leather stilettos only swapped for pink Crocs covered in butterflies in the operating theatre.
“Because I make all my clothes, my one guilty pleasure is Louboutins ,” she admits. “I bought my first pair when I became a consultant and I only buy one pair a year.”
That taste for the finer things in life earned Al-Allak the title of “Queen Asmaa” on The Great British Sewing Bee.
Alas, Sophia, heir-apparent, has yet to take up needle and thread in any way that her mother might describe, in her strong Welsh lilt, as “proper serious” but has found an outlet for her imagination as a fine arts student.
“I think it will happen at some point,” Al-Allak says, hopefully.
Young Jacob, however, expressed an interest in sewing at seven years old, the same age his mother started, and he helps with cutting, pinning and basic stitching.
“Look what he made!” Al-Allak says, gleefully waving a pattern weight stuffed with rice.
And so the rich seam of familial creativity runs on.
Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, has appointed Saudi Professor Manahel Thabet as her special envoy for science and technology. This decision highlights Thabet’s notable expertise and her significant contributions to the scientific and technological realms.
The Commonwealth, comprising 56 countries and representing over 2.5 billion people globally, focuses on fostering sustainable development, advanced technologies, coexistence, and peace, marking its status as a prominent entity in both political and scientific spheres.
Professor Thabet’s role will be pivotal in connecting member states to achieve sustainable development goals. Her responsibilities include facilitating communication, exchanging knowledge and expertise, directing scientific and technical research efforts, adopting best practices, and utilizing technology to tackle environmental issues.
Additionally, she will play a key role in enhancing economic cooperation, developing policies, formulating legal frameworks to foster innovation, and capacity building of scientists and professionals within the member states.
Professor Thabet’s illustrious career includes several high-profile roles. She serves as an advisor to the president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), president of the Economic Forum for Sustainable Development, and founder president of Consortium Consultants. She is also the deputy director of the Institute for Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at Imperial College, vice president of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), and vice-chancellor of the UK Gifted Academy.
Zineb, a remarkable 34-year-old Moroccan woman with a passion for football and an extraordinary career journey, has made history as the first Arab woman in the UAE to obtain a FIFA Football Agent licence. This achievement marks the pinnacle of a multifaceted career that spans two decades of professional football, executive leadership roles in global corporations.
Born with a profound love for the beautiful game, Zineb embarked on her professional football journey at the tender age of 14. For an impressive 20 years, she showcased her exceptional skills on the pitch, earning acclaim and respect both locally and internationally. Her unwavering dedication and talent opened doors that would eventually lead her to a groundbreaking role as a FIFA agent.
Parallel to her football career, Zineb pursued her academic dreams, earning a Trilingual Finance Degree from HEC Montreal and further honing her skills at ICADE Business School. Armed with a strong educational foundation, she ventured into the corporate world, joining prestigious global corporations such as GE. Zineb seamlessly balanced her roles on and off the football field, demonstrating exceptional leadership and managerial prowess.
One of Zineb’s most impressive accomplishments is her cultural and linguistic versatility. Having lived in 13 countries, she possesses a deep understanding of international cultures, fostering an open-mindedness and adaptability that have been instrumental in her career success. Fluent in four languages – Arabic, English, French & Spanish – she transcends cultural and geographical boundaries with ease. Her ability to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds has played a pivotal role in her professional success and global experiences. Her journey through these diverse landscapes has imbued her with a unique perspective that she now brings to her role as a FIFA agent.
In a life defined by extraordinary achievements, Zineb’s latest feat as the first Arab female FIFA agent in the UAE is nothing short of groundbreaking. She successfully passed the rigorous FIFA Football Agent exam, solidifying her position as a trailblazer in the world of sports and representation. Her new role will enable her to empower athletes, foster talent, and advocate for gender equality in the world of football.
Zineb serves as an inspiration to aspiring athletes, young professionals, and women worldwide, proving that determination, passion, and a commitment to excellence can break down barriers and open doors to limitless possibilities.
With this historic achievement, Zineb continues to write her own remarkable story, leaving an indelible mark on the world of sports, corporate leadership, and international relations. Her journey stands as a testament to the power of ambition and the potential of the human spirit.
The vegan leather-making machine Qitmeer works by grinding the dates, mixing them with additives, then pouring them into molds to start the first half of the drying process before preparing them for the finishing and coloring processes.
Curiosity was her guide, creatively unveiling the hidden wonders in the ordinary, and product designer Lamees Alfadhel designed Qitmeer, a machine that produces vegan leather sheets using damaged and wasted dates.
Qitmeer was the young designer’s graduation project. Fascinated by science, creativity, and the ability to shape human interaction with the world, Alfadhel explored several academic paths before discovering her passion and purpose in product design.
“While I may not have realized it immediately after high school, I soon discovered that product design brings together a captivating mix of different disciplines, allowing me to combine my interests and create innovative solutions,” said Alfadhel, a first-class honors product design graduate from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
Alfadhel’s interest in culture, sustainability, and building a greener future through design sparked the young designer to base her graduation research in the natural leather industry in the Kingdom.
“I find inspiration in cultural designs that incorporate elements of my country, such as the iconic date palm trees,” she said.
She found two main challenges facing the natural leather industry in the Kingdom: the chemical damage resulting from the leather processes and the massive amount of wasted dates.
I’m looking forward to producing the most unique leather sheets in the industry. Sustainabilityisacore value guiding my work, dedicated to building a greener future through design.
Lamees Alfadhel, Product designer
“These challenges inspired me to design a machine that combines a solution for both issues,” said Alfadhel.
The vegan leather-making machine Qitmeer works by grinding the dates, mixing them with additives, then pouring them into molds to start the first half of the drying process before preparing them for the finishing and coloring processes.
The vegan leather sheets then become ready for the manufacturing and production operation, which includes the making of leather clothing and accessories.
Fibers are an essential part of the vegan synthetic leather-making process, and dates are the optimal choice for this industry, considering that they have a high fiber content.
“I’m looking forward to producing the most unique leather sheets in the industry. Sustainability is a core value guiding my work, dedicated to building a greener future through design,” said Alfadhel.
Qitmeer has been positively received by people. It encourages others to use elements and sources available in the Kingdom, explained Alfadhel.
Today, young creatives, including Alfadhel, have the opportunity to make their mark on the national and global art and design scene, with the Kingdom’s cultural renaissance supporting and inspiring a new generation, a key part of Saudi Arabia’s visionary economic and social plan to build a creative economy.
“The design community in the Kingdom has witnessed significant growth and recognition in recent years,” said Alfadhel.
“There are numerous initiatives, organizations, and government-backed programs that actively promote and support designers across various disciplines.”
Alfadhel has worked on several projects and her first was an interactive game with topic-based cards, designed to encourage teamwork.
She added: “Among the projects I’ve worked on, I take great pride in highlighting Qitmeer as my most significant achievement so far.”
Qitmeer was selected and featured in Tanween’s “Graduation Exhibition” at Ithra last November. The exhibition highlights the most outstanding work by graduates of design and architecture colleges and universities in the Arab world.
Alfadhel mostly uses Adobe Creative Cloud, Illustrator, and Photoshop for her designs. When sketching the initial idea, and 3D modeling, she uses the Fusion 360 platform.
“Fusion 360 is a fundamental part of my creative process, allowing me to bring ideas to life and refine them with attention to detail,” she said.
“Lately I’ve realized that the most used color in my designs is green, but that relies on the purpose of the product I design. Searching to understand the meaning of colors is an important step of my design process.”
The world has witnessed influential product designers who have set new standards in place, leaving a mark behind, and Alfadhel’s passion for design and unwavering commitment and determination to contribute to the design industry mark her out as a possible addition to the growing list.
She is currently working as a graphic designer and a marketing specialist in Riyadh and aspires to collaborate with local talents to foster the growth and development of young Saudi creatives in the Kingdom.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Lamees Alfadhel designed Qitmeer, a machine that produces vegan leather sheets using damaged and wasted dates.
Plant virologist Dr Safaa Kumari discovered seeds that could safeguard food security in the region – and risked her life to rescue them from Aleppo.
The call came as she sat in her hotel room. “They gave us 10 minutes to pack up and leave,” Dr Safaa Kumari was told down a crackling phone line. Armed fighters had just seized her house in Aleppo and her family were on the run.
Kumari was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, preparing to present a conference. She immediately began organising a sprint back to Syria. Hidden in her sister’s house was a small but very valuable bundle that she was prepared to risk her life to recover.
Kumari is a plant virologist. Her work focuses on a quiet yet devastating development crisis. Climate-fuelled virus epidemics affecting fava beans, lentils and chickpeas are spreading from Syria to Ethiopia, gradually destroying the livelihoods of low-income populations. Known as “poor man’s meat”, these pulses are vital for both income generation and food security in many parts of the world.
Finding a cure was urgent, Kumari explains. Hopeless farmers were seeing increasing levels of infected crops turning yellow and black. The cause? “Climate change provides aphids with the right temperatures to breed exponentially and spread the epidemics,” she says.
For 10 years, Kumari worked to find a solution. Finally, she discovered a bean variety naturally resistant to one of the viruses: the fava bean necrotic yellow virus (FBNYV). “When I found those resistant seeds, I felt there was something important in them,” says Kumari from her lab in Lebanon where she now works. Only the fighting in Syria had moved. “I had left them at my sister’s in central Aleppo to protect them from the fighting,” she says.
Determined not to let a war get in the way of her work “for the world’s poor”, Kumari felt it her duty to rescue the seeds in Aleppo. “I was thinking: how am I going to get those seeds out of Syria?
“I had to go through Damascus, and then drive all the way to Aleppo. There was fighting and bombings everywhere.” After two days’ driving along dangerous roads, seeds in hand, Kumari made it to Lebanon, where she now works as a researcher at Icarda (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) in the Bekaa valley, close to the Syrian border. Hassan Machlab, Icarda’s country manager says: “Many of the Syrian scientists we welcomed here have suffered. It is tough.”
But bringing the seeds to safety was only the beginning. Kumari needed to turn them into a sustainable solution.
As crop production collapsed in the region, producers started to rely heavily on insecticides. “Most farmers go to the field and spray it without safety material – masks and appropriate jacket,” she says. “Some are dying, others are getting sick or developing pregnancy issues.”
At first, the sample failed. “So we crossed them with another variety that had a better yield and obtained something that is both resistant and productive,” says Kumari. “When we release it, it will be environment-friendly and provide farmers with a good yield, more cheaply and without insecticide.”
Kumari now plans to distribute her super-seeds free to farmers. She has already turned down an offer from a large company for the virus detection technology.
“They wanted to buy our product and then sell it to the farmers, but we refused,” says Kumari. “Ours is free. It’s our responsibility to provide our solutions to people everywhere,” she says.
But, as for many Syrian refugees, the war is never far from her thoughts, “Something she won’t tell you is that it wasn’t easy for her,” says Machlab. “She was working on all this and she didn’t have a clear mind as her family were in Aleppo and her house was destroyed.”
Kumari adds: “Last week I saw my family in Turkey. I have five sisters and three brothers, scattered in Germany, Turkey, Syria. The last time we met was in Aleppo in 2012. When I came back someone told me ‘Safaa, you’re looking great today!’ Of course, I had just spent time with my family again!” she says, laughing.
But she adds: “It’s not easy for me, it’s not easy for a woman to work on agriculture (research). It’s not easy, but it’s OK.
“When I’m working, I’m not thinking I am a Syrian or a woman though. But I do feel I sometimes receive funding [from westerners] because I’m a woman,” she says. “Perhaps!”
Dr Safaa Kumari’s seeds are resistant to the climate-fuelled viruses that have destroyed crops of pulses in Syria. Photograph: Courtesy of Arab Society for Plant Protection
