From left: Nisreen Shocair, Beatrice Cornacchia, Yusra Mardini
The WILL Summit will return this year in a new digital format, with the ever-present goal of channeling the voices of female changemakers and celebrating the achievements of Arab women. Launched in 2019, the WILL Initiative was established by our publisher Nervora with the support of UN Women and the General Women’s Union, and was hosted in November 2019 in Abu Dhabi. The second edition of the empowering event, held in collaboration with Mastercard, will bring together entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, educators, and politicians from the region for four distinct panel discussions.
Taking place virtually on May 19 at 2pm GST, the WILL Summit can be tuned into via Zoom, Facebook, and Twitter. To register, visit Willinitiative.org, and read on to find out what you can expect from the panels.
She Inspires — Women in Diplomacy
Editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut and Hend Al Otaiba, UAE’s first female ambassador to France, will sit down for an inspiring discussion on women in politics.
She Impacts — Women and the Environment
This segment will highlight environmental action for the benefit of society at large, featuring speakers Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, UN Women regional director for the Arab states, Beatrice Cornacchia, senior vice president, marketing and communications, EEMEA at Mastercard, and Dina Storey, head of sustainability operations at Expo Dubai 2020.
She Works — Women in Business
The Women in Business segment of the summit will analyze the potential and professional growth of women, diving into the significant role they play in business. This informative discussion will be moderated by CEO and founder of Mama Rita, Jessica Kahawaty, and feature Amnah Ajmal, executive vice president, market development, EEMEA at Mastercard, Ioanna Angelidaki, co-founder and CMO, InstaShop, and Nisreen Shocair, CEO Middle East of Yoox Net-a-Porter Group.
She Plays — Women in Sports
Female athletes will be the focus of the Women in Sports segment, which will champion the Arab women who are pushing boundaries and breaking records. Moderated by presenter Diala Makki, the panel will feature Iqra Ismail, the first-ever captain of the Somali Women’s National team, and Yusra Mardini, Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer. The panel will spark conversations on the challenges women face in athletics, towards a vision of increased numbers of women taking on sports.
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