AIWF President & Founder Haifa Al Kaylani appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in King Charles’ New Year 2024 Honours List

03.01.2024 - 08:56 / traveldailynews.com / Charles Iii III (Iii) / Vicky Karantzavelou

Haifa is honoured and humbled to receive this esteemed recognition of His Majesty King Charles III and the FCDO, and she remains a resolute and compelling champion for women’s voices and inclusion in the UK and the Arab world ensuring that their economic contributions are recognised and their social equality prioritised in the leadup to the 2030 watershed for the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UAE, DUBAI – The Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) announce that AIWF’s President & Founder Haifa Al Kaylani has been appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in King Charles’ New Year 2024 Honours List. This honour is in recognition of her services to Women, Young People and to Cultural Relations between the UK and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Haifa founded AIWF in London in 2001 and under her leadership, it has become a leading non-profit development organisation devoted to bringing women and young people from the UK and the MENA region together to support economic inclusion for women and young people. Haifa has always worked at the highest levels and in collaboration with global networks of governmental, corporate, and institutional advocacy partners to advance momentum for women’s leadership in all sectors and spheres. As the Chair of AIWF for 20 years, Haifa has led tirelessly and from the front on salient economic and societal issues as well as structural and sustainability challenges that have greatly impacted women and youth in the Arab world and internationally. Her global advocacy both on behalf of AIWF and in her personal, independent capacity is held in the highest possible regard in the international business, development, and policy circles.

In recent years, Haifa has become an influential voice promoting the achievements and influence of women and youth in sustainability in the UK and the Arab world, with special focus on climate action, sustainable agriculture, food security and water resilience in the MENA region and beyond. She has worked in close co-operation at the highest levels of the UK government, with the City of London Corporation and successive Lord Mayors of London, the Diplomatic Corps, and with the FCDO since 2001 to champion the economic inclusion of women and young people. In 2010, she was welcomed at 10 Downing Street for a special reception recognising the work and achievements of AIWF in bringing British and Arab women entrepreneurs together for experience exchange and cross-cultural collaboration in business, development, sustainability, and education.

In the Arab world and internationally, she has worked closely with the League of Arab States, the International Labour Organization