Reem Khouri is the Founder and CEO of Kaamen Inc. a social enterprise that designs and implements innovative high impact models. Kaamen focuses on renewing organizations’ economic and social contracts with societies to ensure long-term profitability, high impact and sustainability through design thinking and social innovation journeys and aligning stakeholders towards a collective impact. Since establishing Kaamen in 2014, Reem has designed the concept, impact model, business model, financial model and parts of the curricula for Alf Darb in addition to an impact measurement mechanism. Alf Darb is a social enterprise founded by HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud whose mission is to provide access to opportunities in order to drive greater contributions to Saudi society. Alf Darb is breaking even in 2017, one year earlier than expected. It has signed large clients such as Carrefour and the Louis Vuitton group in Saudi Arabia and the impact of the curricula that Kaamen co-designed resulted in managers responding with 100% rate regarding higher performance in the workplace, a positive reflection of values in the workplace and higher commitment. More importantly, in 2016, Kaamen has invested in training and coaching the team as well as mentoring the management team of Alf Darb who today are fully independent allowing Kaamen’s role to evolve to an advisory one. Reem has trained more than 150 social entrepreneurs in Riyadh, Khobar and Jeddah as part of the Saudi National Creative Initiative, in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with the Malaysian Government through the Malaysian Global Innovation Creativity Centre and in Amman, Jordan with the Digital Opportunity Trust and the MIT Arab Enterprise Forum. Furthermore, Reem is faculty at the Amani Institute where she conducts a post-graduate course on shared interests, impact design principles and impact mapping in Nairobi, Kenya and Sao Paolo, Brazil. Amani Institute aims to o develop next-generation talent to address social challenges by creating a higher education model that offers future leaders opportunities to get an intensive experience of cross-boundary work, develop practical skills to build their professional toolkit, and understand the personal journey this work requires in order to be effective and sustainable as an individual over time. Reem has also designed and implemented a social innovation journey for Jordan River Foundation that included stakeholders’ engagement, team building, impact design and mapping to streamline and build the capacity of both the Community Empowerment Program and Child Safety Program. The journeys aimed to design impactful, lean and scalable models as well as build the capacity of the team with access to methodologies and tools to design innovative models that are human-centric, efficient, strategic and impactful as well as tangible ways to derive impact indicators and metrics. Jordan River Foundation is a Jordanian non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1995 and Chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. In August 2016, the board and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah approved the new models and the planning for the first pilot is underway. She has also designed and implemented a social innovation design-thinking journey focusing on revisiting and re-designing the impact model of the Abdul Hamid Shoman Foundation and derived impact indicators for their efforts. Founded in 1978 by the Arab Bank, the foundation’s mission is to invest in cultural and social innovation to positively impact the communities they serve through thought leadership, arts, literature, and innovation. Reem is currently acting as an advisor to the General Sports Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, supporting in aligning the impact of four National Transformation Initiatives with Vision 2030 and designing a collective impact framework for a sports economy. Reem currently serves on the board of directors of Ruwwad for Development, a regional not for profit private sector-led community empowerment organization that operates in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt. She is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Ruwwad Micro Venture Fund, and served as a member of the board of the National Micro-finance Bank of Jordan from 2014 until 2016. She serves on the advisory boards of Nakhweh, the first Arab volunteer web-matching platform and the Demeter Network, an entrepreneurs support network in growth markets. She was listed in 2015 and 2016 as one of the 100 most influential Arabs under 40 by Arabian Business magazine. Reem worked for more than 6 years with Aramex, one of the leading global logistics and transportation solutions providers, and the first company from the Arab world to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange, serving on its sustainability council and working with the company's founder and CEO on sustainability, strategy, research and entrepreneurial initiatives. Reem’s responsibilities included managing the CEO's projects, carrying strategic due diligence for the CEO's public engagements and was responsible for projects and initiatives related to entrepreneurship, support to SMEs, education and human capital development, forging institutional partnerships with strategic stakeholders, sustainability and corporate social responsibility as well as deployment of new initiatives and providing support to various functions within Aramex and Ruwwad. She also managed Fadi Ghandour’s philanthropic and social investments and supported his investments in startups and social entrepreneurs. Prior to joining Aramex, Reem served as a financial and commercial coordinator and assistant to the financial manager at the Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC, the first independent power plant company in the Palestinian Occupied territories, a MORGANTI Group subsidiary). During her time at GPGC, her responsibilities included market research and project briefs for investments, working on the financial model for GPGC and its budget, support with negotiations with third parties concerning National Gas projects, support in negotiations regarding insurance with OPIC and negotiations with the bank for restructuring loan payments. Reem is fluent in Arabic, French and English.

Abdallah Absi is a college dropout and a social tech entrepreneur on a mission to redefine global philanthropy using technology. Abdallah is the co-founder and CEO of GivingLoop, a sustainable fundraising platform that helps non-profits focus less on fundraising and more on changing the world by leveraging recurring donations. Previously, Abdallah founded Zoomaal, the leading crowdfunding platform in the Middle East, which involved top VC firms in MENA and was covered on CNN, WSJ, Forbes, and others. Under Zoomaal, he was listed in 100 Most Influential People in MENA under 40 in 2016. Abdallah serves as an Ashoka fellow, a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum, and a former Startup Weekend organizer by the Kauffman foundation. Abdallah has received over 15 honors and awards in entrepreneurship and leadership.

Ihab Hallab is 22 years old Lebanese entrepreneur and innovator, recently established his high-tech startup company UPTECH that provide innovative technologies to the market. he is recently appointed to initiate the first research and technological development center and design factory in the region by chamber of commerce, industry & agriculture in north Lebanon to make technological incubation environment in the region and to support the knowledge economy and increase the innovation index in the Arab world in cooperation with local and international organization. Ihab has 3 registered patents and currently partner with University of Balamand to bring his innovations and researches to life in cooperation with faculty doctors, engineers and students with a mission of increasing the local researches and innovation and encourage other Arabs entrepreneur to innovate in their countries. According to many magazines and articles, Ihab is mentioned between top young Arab geniuses and top 10 young innovators in the world. Ihab is mentioned between top young Arab geniuses and top 10 young innovators in the world "" that in addition to 7 honors and awards "" His main mission in life is to challenge the status quo by making the Arab world a destination for innovation and development, and take the challenges to make evolutionary revolution as well as awakening the inner giant within every young man and having inspirational message and solid experiment to his generation to show them that the world is worth the effort, and everyone is born to take this effort and make change in his circle. on the other hand Ihab is still hardly working to achieve his mission and vision to life.

CEO and Co-Founder of Booklava www.booklava.com Industries: Digital Publishing, Media and Entertainment • Born: July 29th, 1984 • Nationality: Lebanese/Canadian • Residency: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tarek is a Dubai-based Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur with a passion for the written and spoken word. For many years our modern busy lifestyle did not allow Tarek to read as much as he would like. In order not to miss out on the plethora of great content, he started listening to audiobooks and podcasts instead and found it a great way to consume informative, educational and entertaining content while on-the-go. However, the lack of top quality and digital Arabic audio content is what led Tarek to start Booklava in 2016, with the mission of creating an audio platform for the Arab World by providing busy people a holistic platform to listen to top quality and best-selling audio content from their mobile phone on-the-go. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Tarek worked for 10 years with world leading multinational corporations with several international deployments, leading projects in Marketing, Sales, Commercial Operations, and Strategy across 30+ international markets. Tarek has a BA from the American University of Beirut and completed an Executive Business Program from Harvard Business School.

Michelle Atallah received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Yale and is currently a PhD candidate in the Cancer Biology program at Stanford University. In her thesis work she is studying the dynamics of the immune system, with a specific focus on modeling the immune response to cancer immunotherapies. Michelle is also a strong supporter of rare disease advocacy. She has served on the board of directors of the International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation, and has previously published and presented original research on Familial Mediterranean Fever disease mechanisms. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and was named to the 2017 Forbes 30 under 30 list in Science.

Abbas Kazmi MA FRSA is an accomplished serial entrepreneur & investor who set up his first company (of many) at 16 & several successful ventures later still has a burning passion for supporting entrepreneurs & getting involved with projects from a wide range of areas. Abbas is particularly passionate about technology innovation, co-founding, advising & investing in some of the leading current & future technology superstars. He has been chosen as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Standout & has been selected as a fronting face in their global magazine edition, European edition, Finance list, Youngest list & Middle Eastern edition in 2017, named as one of the ‘top 5 inspirational UK entrepreneurs to look out for in 2017’ by Tech City News, one of the top 10 young founders of 2017 by Founders Forum & is an ambassador & judge for MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35. He has been named as a ‘Young Gun' & one of the top entrepreneurs under 35 by Startups.co.uk & as one of the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Startup Awards 2017. An academic scholar both at Westminster School & Oxford University, he gained extensive work experience, including at the financial powerhouses such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch & many others across finance, consulting, commodities, private equity & venture capital. He has worked alongside nearly all the leading private equity & sovereign-wealth funds in EMEA. A true Stakhanovite, some of his latest ventures that he has founded & runs include Collegiate Capital, AFFINITY, When, Oxford Accelerator & BARE. Chairman & refounder of the illustrious Oxford Guild, which he has built into the largest university society in the world, CEO & founder of the Oxford Accelerator & a former UK Undergraduate of the Year award winner, Abbas has been named as one of the Entrepreneurs of the Year by NACUE & as a ‘One to Watch’ by Freshminds. Abbas is also the President & founder of the Collegium Global Network & of I on the Future at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He has been named as a Gateway 'Rising Star' & is a runner up in the national AMMT Fellowship award. He has featured in the BBC, Financial Times, Forbes, TIME, the Telegraph, the Independent & many other media outlets around the world in four continents thus far. He has won several awards & holds various fellowships (including at the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce) & several board advisory positions. He has been the driving force behind some notable events such as Kanye West’s guest lecture at Oxford & the Upstart Word Summit & competition. Abbas enjoys mentoring budding young businesspeople, building connections between Asia, Europe & the US & public speaking at events & conferences such as the Milken Institute Summit, Brexit & Global Expansion Summit, Forbes Asia Summit, GO Youth Conference, London Fintech Conference & especially at Universities – he is keen to further develop entrepreneurial ecosystems on campuses & empower future generations of young people, particularly in the Middle East.

US  President  Barack  Obama  recognized  Ziad  Sankari,  Founder  of  CardioDiagnostics, as “pioneering”, “life-­‐saving” and representing “the face of change in this world”.  After  he  lost  his  father  to  a  heart  attack  when  he  was  seventeen,  Ziad  decided to pursue his studies in understanding the electrical activity of the heart and how monitoring and analyzing that activity can save lives. Ziad Completed a BE in Computer Engineering at Lebanese American University, worked as a telecom  engineer, and later received a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue double Masters in Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the Ohio State University. He worked with several hospitals in different research and operational capacity across the US and the Middle East. In 2009, Ziad helped the founding team start a high-­‐tech biomedical venture based in the United States. Ziad and his team won several competitions and awards for the venture. The venture was later acquired by an industry giant. In 2010, Ziad returned to Lebanon to work on yet another startup, CardioDiagnostics. CardioDiagnostics is  based  on  a  core  life-­‐saving  technology  that  he  developed  during  his  research  time.  The  project  is  award-­‐winner on Stars of Science, a popular reality TV which promotes innovation in the Arab world. The project is also the winner of the global GIST Tech-­‐I competition. Currently, CardioDiagnostics’ technology is transforming cardiac care in USA and other global markets, with patients benefiting from the technology across all 50 states. Ziad conducted research with top US and Middle East hospitals. He has been a guest speaker at the White House discussing technology innovation in developing countries. He is actively promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in his community through university teaching and coaching of young startups. Ziad has a number of quality research articles published in international peer-­‐reviewed journals.

Hello, I am Nabil a Mechanical Engineering student at the American University of Beirut. I’ve always had the passion towards improving the situation in my country and helping the people around me with their troubles. I aspire to be able to extend my influence as a helper to include not only the people around me but everyone in the country and even beyond through charitable work. I have a vision of a more prosperous and connected Arab world.

Yousef Al Kamali, is a young Omani graduate in psychology, he currently works as a psychologist and a director in education. In addition of being a certified psychologist, he established the Ambassadors of Happiness Club in 2014 and is an accomplished poet who has won first place awards in the Sultanate of Oman.

Maryam Khalifa Al Aamri: a young, ambitious and social entrepreneur. I seek to achieve my mission in life which is to "empower youth to be leaders so they can build themselves and their countries." Through my career and social life, I believes I can make a difference in the lives of young people in the Sultanate of Oman. I am constantly learning to achieve my mission and vision to become a youth representative on the Arab world. I am the founder and CEO of Youth Vision, a social enterprise company from 2010. I have skills in managing social projects, events management, leads many teams, consultant on youth issues and speaker in events and talks.

Omar Al-Harthy, a young Omani entrepreneur. The Co-Founder of AlRud'ha startup, and the Corporate Communication Manager. Started my work career during univiristy enrollment, worked in the startup world for four years, providing Co-Working spaces, work environments, communities, specialized events and programs. Launched and managed an Omani E-Learning platform that aims to enhance and empower Arabic youth in different fields by providing online courses.

One of the active and inspiring youth in Oman. A member of the Youth Vision, and a member of the National Youth Committee, interested in youth and social research and studies. I have skills and experience in planning and organizing events, workshops and youth programs. I seek to help omani youth to improve themselves and their skills. I have represented my country in many international and regional forums. I work as Head of International Cultural Relations at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture.

Lamia Bazir is a change maker and an advocate for women and youth. Right after completing her education at Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University in New York. Lamia returned to her home country Morocco where she worked for the Head of Government Office for more than 3 years on Education and Youth Employability. In parallel, she founded ""Empowering Women in the Atlas"" and launched several initiatives to break the isolation and poverty of rural women and girls and promote their leadership in the Atlas Mountains. Her latest actions include a program that enabled 100 rural women from the Middle Atlas to access the university for the first time and get training, coaching, equipment, and seed-funds for their micro-enterprises. She also launched a school program for 200 children and an exchange program that enabled youth from the Middle Atlas Mountains to get a passport and leave their region for the first time, for a training on solar energy, in Norway! Lamia also cumulated a rich international experience while she was a student. She was a representative at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York, and conducted political analysis for the Arab League, consultancy with Transparency International, and field research in Niger. Her advocacy and achievements got her respect and recognition in Morocco and beyond. In 2015, she won the United Nations and MBC Award for Volunteering. In 2016, she is the youngest to be selected among of the 60 women leaders of the kingdom of Morocco, by the National Magazine Challenge

Through her education, professional experience and social work, Maha wants to learn how knowledge and learning can lead to the economic and social inclusion for marginalised populations. She is the co-founder of Teach4Morocco, working on solving the most pressing education challenges of villages of the High Atlas of Morocco. She has worked on literacy and adult learning at the UNESCO HQ and served as an International Associate for the Middle East and Africa at the Clinton Global Initiative. She was a UNESCO scholar at the University of Pennsylvania where she received a M.S is Education. Maha holds a B.A in International Studies from Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. She was nominated by Mckinsey and Company as a Next Generation Women Leader and by Arabian Business as one of the “ 100 most Influential Arab Women” in 2014. She currently resides in New York City where she has been active with a number of local education non-profit organisations including Citizen Schools and Reach The World.

Blogger, Autobr Moroccan and founder of the «Code of Professional» known in the field of technology, also famous technical lessonsoffered on his channel on YouTube that Which is a great success achieved to attract a million viewers where the channel is the first technology Arab channel to be proactive to get the Golden Shield from YouTube, in addition to the live broadcast of the famous daily being done in order to help the Arab youth to solve technical problems and answer their questions in several areas of interest technology. Also he won several local awards and international was honored by the ruler of Dubai , Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , on the efforts carried out in order to Arabic content development in the field of technology. As has been selected among the list of most Arab influential for the year 2017 according to a study conducted by the Gottlieb Foundation Doatler Research (GDI), which is the oldest independent research center in Switzerland , in collaboration with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of technology in the United States of America (MIT).

Chaker Khazaal is a Palestinian-Canadian reporter, speaker, Huffington Post contributor, and author of Tale of Tala (2017) and the Confessions of a War Child trilogy (2013-2015). Chaker is an advocate for refugees and aspiring young writers. A savvy communicator, he has spoken at a number of platforms including United Nations Headquarters (New York), HuffPost Live, Google (San Francisco), msnbc’s Road Map show, International Youth Conference (Bahrain), Thomson Reuters Foundation (London), the launch of the 8th Arab Youth Survey (Dubai), Harvard Arab World Conference 2017 (Jordan), MarComms Conference, Facebook (Dubai), and at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations conference in Cairo (2017). Chaker founded a for-profit program that offers refugees and migrants contractual remote employment in e-marketing, graphics, social media management and web development. Inc. (magazine) listed him 49th in their list of “50 Powerful Arab Businessmen You Should Know”. In 2015, Esquire Middle East named him Man of the Year; and in 2016, Chaker was ranked first by Arabian Business Magazine in the 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40. In the same year, he was presented with the Mentor Arabia Award by Queen Silvia of Sweden and Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. In December 2016, Chaker was awarded the Global Trailblazer together with Arianna Huffington by New York based NGO Bridges of Understanding.

Awni Farhat, 28years old from Gaza Strip, Palestine. I have recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Human rights and conflict studies from the International Institute of Social Studies-The Hague in the Netherlands. Like every other Palestinian from Gaza, my life has been profoundly characterized by violence and by a prolonged period of political instability, oppression and injustice. All these feelings experienced filled me with a sense of helplessness - I needed to do something to help overcome this feeling. I have come to believe strongly that knowledge and education are the most powerful tools that we can use to bring a change. In Gaza, I worked with a wide range of different organisations including the PCDCR as a project coordinator. As well as, working with an international project, Gaza's Ark project, as a coordinator. On December 4, 2015, I had the opportunity to leave the besieged Gaza Strip through Rafah border as it is rarely open- perhaps one day every three months which is the only crossing that connects the Palestinian people living in this tiny place, a 40km long, 12km at its widest point with a population of 1.8 million. This was the only way to continue towards my goal of perusing my studies. I lived in Turkey for a year, where I at least had more freedom of movement. I was doing voluntary work at SPI, a community centre for Syrian refugees living in Istanbul, I was involved in a wide range of activities. Put all together, this helped me to do something useful and to feel useful while I was waiting to travel to a safer environment where I could study and try to achieve my goals. I have graduated and It has been two years since I am physically separated from my home and family. As young Palestinian students, we are forcibly alienated and separated as we are adhering segregating physical immobility. As well we are faced by huge responsibility for bringing about changes in our lives, pursuing higher education opportunities across borders and walls challenging a reality of brutal occupation and colonisation. My education abroad helped me to explore relationships between global, historical and current events in order to come to a greater understanding of the factors at work and the root causes of injustice and conflict in my country in particular and throughout the world. I see myself as A motivated, enthusiastic young man with extensive experience having the passion for youth engagement and bringing actual change. I always used to push my boundaries to discover myself within this exceptional experience. The pace of my life’s change has increased beyond my wildest expectations, every day I am living in the diaspora is full of new phenomenal experiences. I see it as my responsibility to be a mouthpiece for Palestinians who cannot travel outside Gaza and whose voices are often not heard. I strongly believe that we can bring a positive change and light to the most darkest challenges, if we have the belief and confidence. I believe in the young generation and I have hope in our young leaders.

Mr. Ahmad Ashkar is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Hult Prize Foundation – named in a TIME Magazine cover story featuring the top five ideas changing the world. Founded in 2009, today the foundation represents the world’s largest community of impact centered startup entrepreneurs emerging from university. Recognized as the 2017 CEO of the Year by Arabian Business and the 2016 Esquire Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, Ahmad has spent nearly a decade creating, launching and advising for-good, for-profit companies in more than 100 countries. Ahmad is a leading authority in entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy, having created open innovation platforms for leading corporations, philanthropists, businessmen and government leaders across the world, including co-founding, “The Laudato Si Challenge - Inspired by Pope Francis.” He serves as an advisory board member of the United Nations Development Program and is a member of the Entrepreneurs Expert Network of the World Economic Forum. He also serves as an adviser to family offices, religious institutions, private and government sector entities across the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He is the author of the forthcoming book, “The Pursuit of Impact” and an active advocate for Middle East Peace. Mr. Ashkar resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife Tanya and three children, Adnan, Layan and Adam. In D.C. Ahmad is Chairman of the Board of Falafel Inc which he founded in 2016 in partnership with the World Food Program to feed and employ refugees. Falafel Inc was named 2017 restaurant of the year by Yelp and BuzzFeed and has provided more than 50,000 meals through its platform. Ahmad also serves as an adviser to the economic development department of George Mason University and is a guest lecturer at MIT Sloan, Georgetown, AUB and the Hult International Business School – where he earned his MBA in international business and was the 2015 alumnus of the year.

Ramzi is the cofounder of Visualizing Impact (VI), an interdisciplinary organization that specializes in data visualization, technology and data journalism creating visual stories on social issues . www.visualizingimpact.org. Ramzi is also cofounder of onlinecensorship.org (OC), a platform that promotes transparency and accountability of the major social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc). Ramzi has been selected in 2017’s cohort of Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. During the Spring of 2012 he was a fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law as a Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Ramzi has been selected as one of the 100 most influential young Arabs. Ramzi is also an Ashoka Fellow. Ramzi's background is in structural engineering.

MA student - modern and contemporary history. Member of the Association of Political Science in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A researcher at the political and military history. The official spokesman for graduate students in the student council consultant - Department of History and Civilization - Islamic Imam Mohammed bin Saud University.

Hosam Mamoon Zowawi, Ph.D. is a clinical microbiologist and infectious diseases scientist interested in antibiotic resistant bacteria (aka, superbugs). He is a research Group Leader at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research in Australia, and holds an Assistant Professor appointment at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Saudi Arabia. Dr Zowawi and his collaborators at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States have founded the first region-wide surveillance program to monitor the spread and emergence of superbugs in the Gulf States. This work is completing to paint the global picture of antimicrobial resistance. As a clinical microbiologist Dr Zowawi recognizes the need to develop more rapid diagnostic tools to aid rapid implementation of targeted medical management. Hence, he has developed a rapid innovative diagnostic test (Rapid SuperbugsTM) that can rapidly characterize antibiotic resistant determinants. The aim of this test is to facilitate and aid large surveillance projects; and initiate the development of subsequent innovative tests that can improve and expedite clinical diagnoses. Dr Zowawi is dedicated to public engagement and believes that better communication about scientific issues could publicize science, raise awareness and transform healthcare. Hosam and his team have founded the SuperbugsFree and Superbug Slayers Polo Initiative, a social movement for antimicrobial resistance that aims to educate the general public about the appropriate use of antibiotics and the role that hand hygiene plays in reducing this threat. Utilizing social and mainstream media platforms, and engaging directly with the public through seminars, discussions, school visits and sport events, SuperbugFree and Superbug Slayers Polo Initiative are committed to raise the global profile of antimicrobial resistance to create an impact. His commitment to combat superbugs, and appreciation for multidisciplinary collaboration has stimulated him to join scientific expeditions to explore caves in Europe and South America. He believes that caves and exploration will provide valuable understanding about the evolution of antimicrobial resistance and might lead to the discovery of novel chemical compounds to tackle resistant pathogens. Dr Zowawi has advised for the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (Review on AMR www.amr-review.org), which was commissioned by, and reporting to, the former UK Prime Minister David Cameron. He is also a member of the consultants group for the GCC Strategic Plan to Combat antimicrobial resistance, the chairman of the National Awareness Committee about Antimicrobial Resistance and a member in the Saudi National Committee to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance. The significance of his multidisciplinary initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance is widely recognized and has received multiple national and international awards and recognitions including the Rolex Award for Enterprise, Next Generation Leader by TIME Magazine, Queensland Science and Innovation Champion, Change Creator by The University of Queensland, and The Junior Researcher Award from King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.

Khalid' is a serial entrepreneur and his current role is the Founder and CEO of Glowork, an employment organization that has created thousands of jobs for women and placed over 30,000 women thus far. He is the first Saudi Ashoka Fellow, Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum & an Endeavor Entrepreneur. Previously at the age of only 28 he held the role of Chief Operating Officer- Markets at KPMG in Saudi, Kuwait and Jordan. In 2013 Khalid led Glow Group to an investment to expand its current operations into different verticals and has led it from being a startup to a well-established business with over 120 employees. He has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Saint Mary’s University in Canada with three majors, Marketing, HR and Psychology, and has completed his Executive Education in Leadership at the University of Yale, and in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. Khalid has been awarded many awards such as the Chaillot Prize for Human Rights by the European Union, The King Salman Award for Entrepreneurship, Ranked #3 Most Influential Arab by Arabian Business, EY Entrepreneur of the year, amongst many others. Khalid also sits on a number of Advisory boards throughout the Globe such as the L'Oréal Global Panel of Critical Friends, The Global Agenda Council on Middle East and North Africa Issues at the World Economic Forum, and is an Amend’s Fellow at the University of Stanford. He has many articles published in International news agencies such as Huffington Post. Hobbies: An Avid Chelsea fan, Hunting and Fishing.

Ohoud Muhammad Al-Shawkani Computer programmer at IT of King Khalid University, iOS Apps developer and designer ArabWIC ambassador for KSA Chapter Interested in information security & Graduate studen of master degree in cyber security Passionate about programming and its sciences

PhD Candidate in Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering. King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST). She received a B.S. degree in Microbiology from KAU and an M.S. degree in Bioscience from KAUST. She is currently in her last year of her PhD in Biophysics and Bioimaging at KAUST. Her research focuses on the development of methods and tools for fluorescence molecular imaging. Her research interests include the development of 3D super-resolution fluorescence microscopy for studying the DNA dynamics for different DNA topology and development of new single-molecule tracking methods to capture hidden motion and conformational dynamics at the molecular level. The results of her scientific work have been published in Nature communication, among other reputable journals. She won the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Middle East Fellowship 2017 and she was one of the Finals in Falling Walls lab 2016 Competition in KAUST

Meshal Alshahrani is a Saudi mechanical engineer and an entrepreneur savvy. After graduating from high school, he spent four years working as a firefighter with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, while studying English and saving money to study abroad. When Meshal secured a scholarship to study engineering at San Jose State University in California, he hung up his fire hose and followed his heart. On the West Coast far away from family and friends, he joined NASA’s Ames Research Center on a one and half year microgravity project to test life in zero gravity conditions with a team of researchers. In 2017, Meshal was nominated to be the 3rd best Arab innovator in the Middle East and won a $100K grant by Stars of Science TV program. His project is to build smart bracelets for Muslims who go to Mecca for Hajj to ease their journey and keep them connected with their beloved ones. Meshal envisions a Hajj Navigation Bracelet that will use Bluetooth and other unique communication technologies to ensure pilgrims can find their way around Mecca. It will save the user’s vital information, point them in the direction of the Qibla, and above all assist with navigation to the user’s ‘home base.’ Meshal believes his project will help pilgrims to be more spiritually connected to the Hajj, without having to worry about losing their way during hajj.

Dr. Faris Bukhamsin is an aspiring entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and CEO of Scientific Saudi, which a science communication platform that produces educational content in textual, visual, and audible forms, with the goal of promoting science in the Arab world. Utilizing his medical education and scientific passion, he was able to lead Scientific Saudi to become one the leading online scientific platforms in the Arab world, with an audience that exceeds 670,000 on social media, and many prizes and recognition awards from different ministries, companies, and others.

Abdulrahman Alfozan works at Facebook as a systems Engineer on the Data Infrastructure team. Abdulrahman completed high school in Saudi Arabia and attended MIT to study computer science and electrical engineering. Abdulrahman interned at Microsoft and SAP and in 2015, he was part of a startup in the Y Combinator accelerator in California working on a new consumer tech product in wireless charging. Abdulrahman is passionate about data warehousing and internet of things (IoT) solutions and has been a consultant for a number of start-ups in the region. Abdulrahman is an avid cyclist and enjoys recreational sailing and travel.

Lujain AlUbaid is the co-founder and CEO of Tasamy for Social Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing an ecosystem and a safe haven for social entrepreneurs in the region. Previously honored by HRH King Salman for her various volunteering activities conducted during her tenure at AlGhad forum, an esteemed national youth development focused organization in which she was a founding member of the strategic planning team. Born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her background in finance she diversified her knowledge by participating in the Harvard Business school Women Executive Leadership Program, as well as Columbia Business School’s Executive Education Program for Non-profit Organizations. She is also an Acumen Global Fellow and she worked as the Chief Strategy Officer for Ignis Careers in Hyderabad, India. She currently advises the Small Medium Enterprises Authority in Saudi Arabia (SMEA) on Social Entrepreneurship programs, enablers and long term plans. A CEDPA Alumna, She has been representing the social entrepreneurship field in the region at several national and international conferences, forums, and summits.

Dr. Hussain Bakhsh, Pharm.D., BCPS, is assistant professor at The Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University. Dr. Bakhsh earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from King Abdulaziz University after which time he completed Pharmacy Practice Residency and Emergency Medicine Specialty Residency training at The University of Arizona. Dr. Bakhsh completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at The University of Arizona. His area of research includes: emergency medicine and toxicology. Dr. Bakhsh is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. He is an active member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (ASHP) and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).

Yousra Elbagir is an award-winning Sudanese journalist, working in print, radio and TV. She regularly reports for BBC, CNN, The Financial Times, The Guardian and more. Her work ranges from op-ed articles to radio segments, documentaries and news packages. In 2016, she beat over 100 journalists to win the UK Foreign Press Association & Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award. Since then she has been making a name for herself with British audiences, recently fronting an episode of Channel 4's critically acclaimed - and Britain's longest running - foreign affairs show, Unreported World, and presenting a two-part radio documentary for BBC's Radio 4 set to air in February and March. Through her projects, Yousra works to push the developing world narrative to the forefront of international media and engage young audiences through innovative and exciting storytelling.

Sudanese by way of Washington, DC, she received a BA from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and an MFA in poetry at the New School. Safia is a Pushcart Prize nominee, receiving a special mention for the 2016 Pushcart Prize, and recipient of the 2015 Brunel University African Poetry Prize and the 2016 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. She has received fellowships from Cave Canem, The Conversation, and Crescendo Literary and The Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Incubator. Safia’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in POETRY Magazine, Callaloo, and The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-day series, among others, and in anthologies including The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop and Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism. Her work has been translated into Arabic, Japanese, Estonian, Portuguese, and Greek. With Fatimah Asghar, she is co-editor of the anthology Halal If You Hear Me (Haymarket Books, 2019

Ayah Bdeir is the founder and CEO of littleBits, an open source library of modular electronics that snap together with magnets. Bdeir is considered one of the leaders of the Maker Movement and Open Hardware Movementand a proponent of an open Internet of Things. She was named to Fast Company's list of ""Most Creative People in Business"" in 2013, Entrepreneur magazine's 10 Up and Coming Leaders to Watch (2014), and Popular Mechanics' 25 Makers Who are Reinventing the American Dream (2014). Bdeir was named a 2010 Creative Commons fellow for her work in defining Open Hardware and for co-founding the Open Hardware Summits of 2010 and 2011. She is an MIT Media Lab alum and a TED Senior Fellow.

Hadeel Ibrahim has served as the founding executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation since 2006. She serves on the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation, the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice and the Synergos Institute. She also serves as the co-chair of the board of directors of The Africa Center, and on the council of advisors of Refugees International. She is a patron of Restless Development

Medical director of Emergency department of Ibrahim Malik teaching hospital. Head coach of critical care unit in the same hospital. Founder and manager of community guided Researches and awareness organization. Coordinator of external relations director of united nation association. Media support division director of Sudanese organization of emergency support.

The ingenious Mandela said, "Every now and then a generation is called upon to great, you can be that great generation”. This is the conviction that I followed throughout my life. Gain knowledge and the rest follows is the slogan that inspired me. Therefore, benefiting communities and establishing a significant global impact. My name is Yousif Adam. I graduated from University of Khartoum, Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. Currently, I am doing a Master degree in field of Environmental Engineering at The American University in Cairo. My ultimate aspiration is to create an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence, synergy, and collaboration within my community. My long-term plan is to proceed my higher education, receiving my PhD degree in order to work as a professor; therefore, fulfilling my passion of inspiring next generation not only to take scientific approaches as an indispensable tool to find solutions to the most challenges within the Arab states but also to find new platforms, ideas, and approaches across disciplines in order to handle multi-generational challenges throughout the world.

Dia Haykal works as Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science Arabia, and Head of Content at Haykal Media, a leading publisher and content maker based in twofour54 Abu Dhabi, known for publishing the Arabic versions of Harvard Business Reviews, Aliqtisadi.com and Man Hom. Dia is a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum, and served on the Global Shapers Steering Committee, and selected to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos 2017; member of president's Young Advisory Board at EARTH University in Costa Rica; and of the international fundraising committee of the British Red Cross. She also advises startups and non-profits on content, knowledge management, and online presence. She holds a BA in business administration from the American University of Beirut, and two master's degrees in corporate communication, and in visual media from IE Business School, Madrid

Kinda Altarbouch is a team leader in Lableb project at Labeeb Labs which is working on Arabic language technologies including Arabic Search engine and Arabic translation. She has served as a teaching assistant at Damascus University and scientific supervisor for the Robotic Club in the same faculty and took part in several competitions. Moreover, kinda is member at Syrian Society for Scientific Research (SySSR) and has lead the technical development team which working on scientific databases, content management, and web development. Kinda serves on the advisory board of Popular Science Magazine (Arabic Edition). She is a graduated from Information Technology Engineering Faculty in Damascus University, specialized Artificial Intelligence.

He is a programmer and an entrepreneur. He is the founder of the company "Hassoub" in which the following sites root from "Hassoub Ads" and "Asnad". Al Agha is also the founder of the website "isecur1ty". On top of that he is also a member of the advisory board of the Harvard Business Review Arabia.

Besher is passionate about the changing landscape of education, and believes that traditional education methods are no longer effective. Besher is a Syrian who has begun undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering after having to interrupt his education because of the continuing conflict in Syria. Living in Aleppo with his family, Besher has had to adapt to the worst of circumstances and limited resources for years now. In his year out of school, Besher continued to teach himself coding and informatics through tens of open online courses and even competed in the International Olympiad in Informatics. In his own words, Besher says” I have learned from my life in Aleppo that anyone can achieve anything he wants if he believes in himself, motivates himself, and has the persistence to complete the journey through all circumstances’’

"Houssem Aoudi is a Tunisian entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in media, civic engagement, and social innovation. A strong believer that supportive communities are the best catalysts for change, Houssem’s work specializes in bringing together diverse stakeholders to tackle today's most pressing issues. Houssem is the co-founder and CEO of Cogite Coworking Space, the country’s first coworking community. Founded in 2013, Cogite is now home to a vibrant mix of entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and young professionals. Cogite has also grown to assume a leadership role in cultivating an entrepreneurship community across the country. Cogite has received recognition from top news outlets such as Forbes, which named Cogite ""the third best coworking space on earth"" and visits from high ranking diplomats such as High Representative / Vice President Federica Mogherini from the European Union. With a network spanning government, civil society, and private enterprise, Houssem consciously endeavors to create platforms for public debate, community building, and open expression with his company Wasabi. In 2010, Houssem co-founded TEDxCarthage, the country’s first and largest TEDx event, which returns each year on new themes such as trust in society, tolerance, and female empowerment. Houssem later went on to work with TED to launch a major international summit in Doha, Qatar for TEDx organizers from around the world. In recognition of his media and civic engagement experience, Houssem received an official appointment to serve as Director of the Media Center for the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE). In this capacity, Houssem successfully presented the process and outcomes of Tunisia’s historic 2014 parliamentary and presidential elections to the world -- democratic elections which were internationally hailed for their openness and transparency. More recently, Houssem He is an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in media, civic engagement, and social innovation. His work specializes in bringing together diverse stakeholders to tackle today's most pressing issues. He is the co-founder and CEO of Cogite Coworking Space, Tunisia's first coworking community and Wasabi, a company that endeavors to create platforms for public debate, community building and open expression. served as director of the Media Center for the Independent High Authority for Elections; a government agency in charge of organizing and supervising elections and referendums in Tunisia. He also co-founded TEDxCarthage, the country’s first and largest annual TEDx event in 2012.

Salma is a Junior Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva, Switzerland (started June 2017). She conducts research on social systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and explores alternative employment policies and options for the region. She also contributes to the work of UNRISD by reviewing submitted chapters, developing project proposals and building partnerships between UNRISD and MENA-based organizations. Prior to joining UNRISD, Salma trained with the UAE Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva (2016 - 2017), worked in the area of Social Development with the General Secretariat of the Executive Council in Abu Dhabi (2011 – 2016), worked as a Parliamentary Researcher at the General Secretariat of the Federal National Council (2009 – 2010), and interned with the Abu Dhabi Government Restructuring Committee (2008). Some of Salma’s notable participations include, her selection as an Emirati candidate for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program organized by the United States of America’s Department of State (2017), the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Scholars Program (2008-2009), amongst others. Her volunteering experiences include working with the Filipino Shelter for Runway Domestic Workers, and assisting refugees in Greece (2016). Salma was also a managing partner in the Global Youth Empowerment Organization (GYEM – 2013 - 2015), which she and her partners established to help youth align their personal interests with career paths, with a focus on social enterprise development. GYEM worked with the former Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Community Development and Khalifa Fund to offer summer programs in 2015, and earned a certificate of appreciation for those programs. Salma holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Zayed University (with honors), and a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Maitha is a truly multi-faceted and well-rounded young person, who is combining her passion for art, science and community wellbeing. She is working towards being an inventor and gleans inspiration from everything around her, whether it’s the personal struggles of a family member or a visit to South Korea. She is also civic-minded and is working on projects to promote wellness and more physical activity in the UAE by advocating for community-based wellness centers within her community. In her first semester at AUS, she is already an active member of 6 student clubs. Maitha is pursuing a Bachelor in Architecture at the American University of Sharjah.

Born and raised in the UAE, Mohammad is an ambitious engineer specializing in the field of nuclear energy. He holds a Bachelors in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Sharjah (UOS) and was the first male student to complete an undergraduate degree in this field across the UAE. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Engineering Systems and Management at the American University of Sharjah. Mohammad’s passion for education and for helping others led him to seek a full-time job at the UAE’s Ministry of Education, in parallel to his studies. He has also obtained certification as a teacher for students in public schools, and soon after was promoted to help spearhead the Ministry’s creative design and innovation efforts. Mohammad’s goal is to use both his skills and his passion to drive key reforms in the education sector in the UAE and Arab world at large. In addition to his passion for youth empowerment and community development, Mohammad hopes to make a mark for himself in the field of engineering by completing a PhD degree in engineering and becoming a professor in the university. Previously, he was an intern at the Nuclear Engineering Research Group (NERG) in Barcelona, Spain. He has also co-authored and presented a scientific paper in the 2015 American Nuclear Society conference in Washington, D.C.

Hadya Alrajaby is an Emirati undergraduate senior student who’s majoring in Environmental Health Science at the University of Sharjah. She believes that protecting the environment is an important aspect in achieving an overall human wellbeing. Her high academic achievements have secured her a spot in the chancellor’s honors list which she has been on throughout her university years. She has strong public speaking skills which has landed her a first-place win in Emirates Environmental Group’s 17th Inter-college environmental speaking competition 2017, where she and her team presented about ‘Sustainable Transportation’. Time management is a strength that Hadya has acquired while pursuing a part-time sales job which has really helped in managing her work and study life. Hadya is a very active person who enjoys training and developing her football skills, and participating in badminton tournaments during her spare time. She also loves spending time with her family, and volunteering in community service work.

“Zièd grew up between Oman and Tunisia before moving to Germany after high school. Since his childhood he has been passionate about programming and mathematics. He had been coding since the age of 11 and had won several prizes in mathematics. In Germany, he joined the elite Technical University of Munich, where he studied Mechatronics and IT and did research in Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence. From the early years of university he had been involved in state-of-the-art research projects at the university as well as in BMW. During his studies, Zièd and some colleagues founded Motius; a unique R&D company. It is specialized on using new technologies to create innovative products for big Tech companies like BMW, Microsoft, Siemens, Lufthansa, Audi, Innogy, Porsche, etc. With those companies, Motius works on autonomous cars, smart cities, drones, urban farming, 3D-Printing, etc. In 2017, Motius has been chosen among the Top 50 fastest growing companies in Germany. Zièd is the Managing Director and Co-founder of Motius. Zièd is also a member of the Digital Transformation Board at Innogy and holds several other advisory roles in the areas of entrepreneurship, new technologies and innovation. He is also an active researcher in systemic neuroscience and artificial intelligence.”

Nihed Ghedira is a 23-year-old from Tunisia. She is a passionate of new technologies and the importance of their dissemination to a wide range of users, especially to youth. She is a strong believer in the importance of new and innovative technologies in sustaining the transition of our countries to knowledge-based societies. It was this belief that underpinned her determination since her early age to pursue an education in science and advanced technology. In summer 2017, Nihed completed her undergraduate studies with honor in information and communication science and technology from the National Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Tunisia. Thanks to her outstanding scholarly performance, Nihed received a scholarship of excellence from the National Institute of Scientific Research in Montreal (Canada) to pursue her graduate studies in the field of communications, and more specifically in voice recognition. As a young Arab scientist, her research objective is to contribute to the integration of the Arabic language in the growing field of voice recognition platforms and solve the complexity of Arabic dialect identification. Her research will be funded by Google. In addition to her academic achievements, Nihed was an active member and action leader in many civil associations in Tunisia, including Junior Chamber International, Ambassadors of the Environment, and Notre Grand Bleu Association. More recently, she was admitted as junior member in Tunisian Talents United where she was selected in the first coaching batch for leadership skills development.

Marwen HAMROUNI is a 22-year old Software Engineering Student at the National Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology in Tunis, Tunisia. His strong passion for Software Development and innovative solutions had led him to be an active member of the Computer Society Chapter within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's biggest technical and professional organization. Also, Marwen is an engaged member of the Cultural Club Ciné Radio INSAT, whose core mission is to democratize culture within the Tunisian Student life as well as taking part of charitable works that aim at promoting arts in Elementary schools located in deprivileged areas in Tunisia. Plus, He participated at several international experiences by taking part of a volunteering experience abroad with the international organization AIESEC as well as representing his organization in different occasions on a global scale. Among these experiences, He took part of the Africa-Europe Youth Summit where he worked within the Business, Job Creation and Entrepreneurship Cluster and contributed to the drafting of Abidjan Declaration which englobes theme-specific recommendations to put forward to Heads of State and Government at the 5th AU-EU Summit. Also, He took part of the REMENA Youth Winter Academy on Renewable Energies and Energy Security organized by the German Think-Tank Konrad Adenauer Stiftung where he co-wrote a Policy Paper on Waste to Energy Management that was published in the Scientific Journal of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Philip Bahoshy is the founder and CEO of MAGNiTT, an online community that connects MENA entrepreneurs with stakeholders across the MENA ecosystem. Raised in the UK with Iraqi origins, Philip obtained an MBA from INSEAD in 2013 and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. During his time in Dubai, Philip worked at Oliver Wyman in the Financial Services practice for three years, followed by nearly three years at Barclays Wealth working as Chief of Staff to the CEO advising on strategic initiatives. Philip has lived in the UAE for more than eight years and is passionate about developing the MENA startup ecosystem.

Amrousse is currently a research and development engineer with the Japan Space Agency JAXA. After obtaining his degree in chemistry at Shuaib Dalkali University, he joined the University of Poitiers in France to complete in-depth studies in the chemistry of chemical catalysts and the environment.

Moroccan social media star who is famous for her eponymous YouTube channel and its content. She has gained popularity there for her personal lifestyle vlogging, as well as makeup, beauty, and fashion hauls and tutorials. She has over 500,000 followers and more then 25 million views on her YouTube channel.

An entrepreneur helping other entrepreneurs succeed in business and beyond, with the passion to end poverty and youth unemployment in the Somali region through the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovations. Mohamed is a self made serial entrepreneur, business coach/consultant and venture capitalist; he holds a business administration degree and also PhD in Life.

Haweya is the founder of MUD & MUSK - an ecommerce platform for customisable DIY skincare. In 2016 MUD & MUSK was selected against 150 applicants as the winner of Bschool’s Idea Nation competition, receiving a prize of $20,000 to help launch the startup. The startup also received several other awards for its novel concept and its focus on social impact. Prior to running a start-up, Haweya worked as a Research Analyst for Perth think tank Future Directions International. Her role involved conducting comprehensive research on important medium to long-term environmental issues facing Australia and the Indian Ocean littoral states, and providing policy recommendations to address local and global food and water issues. Haweya was also a previous Global Voices Youth Delegate for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington DC. As part of this role she completed a research paper on Energy Access in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Her research highlighted the instrumental role of local-based entrepreneurs to assist communities gain access to affordable electricity

Alharith Alatawi is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at onegcc, an employment platform, focused on providing job opportunities for job seekers in the GCC region. onegcc recently raised $2.5 Million dollars in its last fundraising round at a valuation of $ 12.5 million. Along with onegcc, Alharith is also a cofounder in Level Z, a Tech startup factory with it’s first Startup Skiplino which is one of the only Startups in the region that is creating a proprietary technology. Both onegcc and Skiplino have been named as one of the top 15 innovative startups in the Arab world by Forbes in their latest Forbes Innovators edition. Alharith was previously a CEO of a Saudi investment Company and named Arab Youth Ambassador to Bahrain by the Arab Thought Foundation for two consecutive terms. Alharith’s academic background is in Finance where he graduated from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

Born and raised in Bahrain, Bodoor is a Program Officer at the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one of the largest privately funded education initiatives in the Arab world. Bodoor is currently developing the co-curricular component of the Foundation’s flagship scholarship, which supports over 300 high-achieving, underserved Arab youth globally. Previously, she was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company’s Dubai office, where she advised GCC governments on topics in economic development, education, and human capital. Bodoor holds a BS in Economics and a BA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. As an alumna, she is a member of the university’s interview committee, where she interviews applicants from the Middle East and Africa for undergraduate admission. Bodoor was also one of three high school graduates awarded a fully funded, merit-based scholarship by Bahrain’s Ministry of Education to pursue her undergraduate studies in the US.

Noor Al Qatami is the classic case of an entrepreneur who spotted a gap in the market as a frustrated consumer, using her own experience, intuition, and customer requirements to create a new category. After returning from living in the US, she missed the highly evolved shopping experience there, and set out to create Kuwait’s first destination hypermarket. Her achievements would have been notable in any country or industry, but the fact that she’s become a successful business woman in one of the world’s richest Arab states has set her head and shoulders above her competitors. Noor has almost single handedly conquered the Kuwaiti hypermarket, turning the industry on its head with her own unique and international perspective. She has demonstrated that persistence, patience and optimism pay off and that dreams can be achieved, no matter how challenging the environment. Her tenacity and entrepreneurship have turned Saveco into a household name in the Middle East in just three years- a considerable achievement. Her first store, Saveco Al Rai opened in 2014 and now serves a target market of 80% Kuwaitis and 20% high earning ex-pats. She’s since opened two more stores in her native Kuwait and plans to expand to Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and eventually Saudi Arabia. Not content with staying in one area, she’s also set up Healthy Foods- a distribution company focused on delivering healthy nutritious options including gluten-free and lactose-free items - to supermarkets and gyms across the region. Today she employs more than 750 staff, but that figure is set to grow even more over the coming years. Despite her success, Noor did not set out to carve a career in the supermarket sector. After graduating from America’s Boston University, she co-founded Business Expansion International with George Naddaff- AKA the franchise king- and Robert Grayson of Limited brand/Victoria's Secret. Her time in the US led her to notice the disparity between grocery shopping there and in her homeland of Kuwait, which inspired her to do something about it. Noor puts her success down to making shopping in Kuwait a pleasurable experience. “I made it my mission to make shopping not just bearable but enjoyable. Our stores include restaurants, juice bars, bakeries, children’s play areas and many other shop-in-shops. We also offer higher hygiene standards than hospitals and are the only retail company in Kuwait who have been awarded both ISO Certifications – ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 22000:2005”.

Focused on youth development and connecting Kuwaiti youth internationally, Sara is newly appointed to head the International Relations Department at the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs. She is a strong advocate for Arab Youth and has participated in numerous conferences supporting innovative young talents. Sara obtained an MA in International Relations from the American University of Paris, France, and a BA in Business Administration with a focus in Management from the American University of Kuwait. Prior to heading the International Relations department at the Ministry, she managed the project management office at the Assistant Undersecretary for Youth Projects Sector’s office. Also, she worked as a Teacher’s Assistant for Business Management and Marketing at the Gulf University for Science and Technology and a part-time Professor of Management at Box Hill College Kuwait.

Deema is Founder of Madeenah, a multidisciplinary platform that curates cultural tours and delivers spatial studies. Deema obtained a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Kuwait University in 2008. She participated in Kuwait’s first participation in Venice Biennial in 2012. she has also been a visiting teacher in KU and worked on concept research and development format Raw Design Studio.

Dalal AlSulaiti, 24 years old, Attorney at Law. Dalal joined the Proteges program in 2010 and graduated along with her peers as the first generation of the program. She has since contributed in the continuation and prosperity of the program. Dalal was then a Chancellor for the following generations. Dalal graduated from the University of Bristol, School of Law in 2015. She now works at one of the biggest law firms in Kuwait.

An AGFE scholar whose mind is swimming in the pool of science, purifying his art and soul, who has freedom - since his first thoughts in life - to draw science and breathe life into the math laws. STEM school environment has challenged me to become a better scientist and a greater artist as I combined those two different aspects of my personality to deliver the best and most elegant projects, and to choose architectural engineering as my major. I started - with two of my friends - “STEM Motivation” initiative with which I could help people using both my scientific and artistic skills to apply for foreign universities. Witnessing the mesmerizing effects this initiative had on the students in my school has helped me to realize another passion of mine: being a “Guardian of Smile”. Leaving school has not stopped me from moving towards such goal as I started volunteering in “Volunteers in Action” community club the moment I joined university. As a volunteer in the children committee, I was given the chance to help orphans and to paint smiles on their faces through the simplest of actions that had the greatest consequences as they were done sincerely and passionately. I have to admit that the various communities that I have been part of and the drastic challenges that I have faced have defined my path and shaped the person that I am now: an artistic, guardian of smile scientist. My mind is swimming in the pool of science, purifying my art and my soul. The battling powers - between art and science - since my first thoughts in life gave me the freedom to draw science and breathe life into the math laws. I can express my scientific soul through my artistic mind, and tracing science with elegance. This multidimensional functioning mind, which sketched further scripts, is creating a continually-increasing curve in my life. Driven by a push from my sharp mind, I joined STEM schools in my first year as a high-schooler in an attempt to satisfy my scientific needs. Interestingly, through my three years as a STEM student, not only did my skills get developed and my scientific curiosity partially satisfied, I also got the chance to grow as an artist. I discovered that being a constantly-growing, smartly-working, knowledge-seeking, STEM student has helped me thrive, both scientifically and artistically. The STEM environment has challenged me to become a better scientist and a greater artist as I combined those two different aspects of my personality to deliver the best and most elegant projects. Those two aspects have continued to define and challenge me as they have also driven me to choose architectural engineering as my major. To me, architectural engineering meant that I could combine the two things that were always contrasting inside me: science and art. Being part of a diverse community as STEM’s has also greatly helped me to become better on the humane side as it has opened my eyes to the astonishing changes that one person could establish if they actually exerted some effort in helping others. During my school years, I have always worked as a part of the team and I learnt how to cooperate with others using my strength points to achieve a greater goal which eventually became my life strategy. I started helping students around me in every way I knew possible and as I approached my senior year, I started - with two of my friends - “STEM Motivation” initiative with which I could help people using both my scientific and artistic skills. Witnessing the mesmerizing effects this initiative had on the students in my school has helped me to realize another passion of mine which is helping others and drawing smiles on their faces; being a “Guardian of Smile” has become another purpose of mine. Leaving school has not stopped me from moving towards such goal as I started volunteering in “Volunteers in Action” community club the moment I joined university. As a volunteer in the children committee, I was given the chance to help orphans and to paint smiles on their faces through the simplest of actions that had the greatest consequences as they were done sincerely and passionately. I have to admit that the various communities that I have been part of and the drastic challenges that I have faced have defined my path and shaped the person that I am now: an artistic, guardian of smile scientist.

Ahmed Borik is a fourth year engineering student, and he is expected to graduate in May 2018 from the American University of Sharjah with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Computer Engineering. He is at the top of his class with a CGPA of 3.95/4.0. Borik has a keen interest in the control systems field; he spends a lot of time in the lab ‘creating’ things. Borik’s innovative projects and creations include building and programming of multiple robots and drones. In addition to his academic excellence, Ahmed also worked for one year as Residence Manager of his Residential Hall at university, where he was responsible for nurturing students development, hosting and organizing activities and events. Currently, he is working as Mathematics Tutor at his university and volunteers as an IT Teacher at Al Thiqa Club for Handicapped in Sharjah. Borik believes in one ultimate goal: Improvement. His dream is to continuously improve and develop. He lives today to be a better and more knowledgeable person than he was yesterday. With persistence, Borik believes such objective to be motivating and challenging. Therefore, he plans to exploit any possible opportunity to achieve that.

My name is Alaa Youssef, an ambitious young lady from Egypt. I received my bachelor degree from the faculty of pharmacy at Alexandria University in 2016. Currently I am commencing my master studies in biotechnology field at the American University in Cairo with a scholarship from Abdullah Alghurair foundation for education (AGFE) at the UAE. I am highly interested in cancer research as I lost my dad to cancer at the age of 9. Since that, I grew up dreaming of being this empowered researcher who someday will be able to discover efficient drugs to treat cancer and end up people suffering worldwide. At this stage, I am still learning and opening new doors to my prospectives and potentials. With persistence, hard work and patience, I am pretty sure that one day I will drive a real change to the world and hence reach my dream.

Enass is the co-founder and CEO at H2GO power ltd; an award winning spin-out company from the University of Cambridge developing energy storage technologies. She completed her PhD at Cambridge University, where she also was a postdoctoral fellow. She obtained her BSc. and MSc. degrees in applied chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Currently, she is also the Cambridge University Energy Champion, the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow and a technology expert consultant to European Commission (REA) . She has 9 years of research and business experience in hydrogen production, nanotechnology, catalysis, renewable energy and energy storage. Enass is passionate about entrepreneurship and clean energy technology policy. She often speaks at international forums and roundtable discussions on clean energy, energy security and women entrepreneurship in tech. Enass won few recognition awards and grants to support the development of H2GO Power and recently won the visionary of the year award by MIT Tech Review Innovators Under 35 Europe, the best energy start-up award at the Global Hello Tomorrow Summit and others. In 2015, she was selected by the Cartier women's initiative awards as one in 18 best women entrepreneurs globally and one in 3 representing Europe. She travelled to Africa, China and central Asia on government-supported partnership missions, delivered speeches and recommendations about clean energy technologies as a tool to combat climate change. Enass spoke at impactful forums like the MIT Tech Review EmTech, Womens Forum, Crans Montana Forum, One Young World, UN Global compact – LEAD symposium and Google @ Think (A moonshot for clean energy). Enass was also invited to and attended the 2016, 2017 Fortune Most Powerful Women summit in London.

Ahmed Elghandour hosts the biggest Popular Science show in the middle east, with over 70 episodes reaching over 60,000,000+ million views . He holds a Bachelor's degree of Science in Biology from the American University in Cairo, is a Master of Education candidate at the University of Hong Kong, and an Open Society Fellow.

Engy is an Egyptian undergraduate Civil Engineering student at the American University of Sharjah, whose sense of determination and commitment to education is an inspiration to all Arab youth. After graduating high school with a perfect GPA but being unable to attend her dream university due to financial constraints, she left her family behind in Egypt, taking a gap year to work as a sales assistant in the UAE to fund her degree. Engy is enthusiastic about preservation of Arab Heritage and Architecture. Her dream is to revive the unique architectural heritage in her home city, Alexandria. She hopes to build a team of like-minded individuals who are passionate about architecture to restore existing buildings and help develop unique additions to the city.

Born and raised in Egypt, Manar grew up as the only female among her siblings. As her mother suffered breast cancer, Manar was greatly affected. She wanted to make a change, to help patients. Manar channeled her energy into pharmaceutical research at Alexandria University to find novel solutions to deliver chemotherapy using nanotechnology for better patients’ well-being. She earned an Al Ghurair scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in Nanotechnology from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She is dedicated to support health system by raising awareness. She participated in nurse education project in governmental hospitals. Also, she was an instructor in model World Health Organization held at Alexandria University. Manar strongly believes in people and team work; her team won the Best Team Spirit Award in the big idea competition 2016, held at Nestle – Egypt. Manar wants to be a role model to females in science and share her story with as Arab females passionate about science.

Ahmed Samir Ead is the founder and presenter of YouTube educational channel, Egychology. On his channel, Samir sheds light on a number of topics from a wide range of fields including psychology, philosophy, biology, physics and maths. He has made videos on quantum mechanics, black holes, smoking, philosophical paradoxes and many other diverse topics. Through his videos, he attempts to appeal to a more general audience, often presenting the material in a manner that makes it approachable and entertaining. With more than 300,000 subscribers on the YouTube channel and more than 600,000 likes on the Facebook page, Samir has managed to grow the channel at an outstanding rate, even more impressive when he does all the scripting, directing and editing of the videos by himself. Samir is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in Canada after graduating as Valedictorian and representative of the graduating class from the American University in Cairo. During his time as an undergraduate, Samir was actively part of a community service club and coach of a fitness team. In his graduate program, Samir is also a Teacher Assistant, trying to put his passion for knowledge to helping his students appreciate concepts in mechanical design and actively learning new methods to teach. When he is not reading, working out or cooking, Samir enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Nada Shahin - Nada is a young professional with a passion for communication in both the digital and the real world! She can code in over five computer languages and can communicate in four human languages; Arabic, English, French and American Sign Language. Born and raised in the United Arab Emirates. Nada earned her bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Ajman University, and is now a Grants and Scholarships Officer at the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one the largest private education philanthropies globally. In addition to helping disadvantaged youth access higher education, one of her life’s missions is to raise awareness in support of the hearing-impaired community in the Arab World.

Member of the Governorate Council of Aqaba She is a graduate of the University of Jordan, she has a BA in French Language and Literature, Coordinator of the Lusam Amal Volunteer Initiative and a consultant at Injaz Foundation

Twenty-seven-year-old Hamza Tarawneh has just been named Jordan’s youngest Mayor. Tarawneh, who represents the city of Moab in Karak, won 3055 votes in Tuesday’s Decentralisation and Municipal elections, making him the youngest mayor in the Kingdom. Born in 1990, Tarawneh holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Mutah University. Moab’s new mayor told Khaberni News that “he will stay true to his word and deliver what he promised those who voted for him.”

Ala' Alsallal is the Founder and CEO of Jamalon, the largest online store for Arabic and English books in the MENA region, offering more than 10 million titles with worldwide delivery. Jamalon’s ultimate aim is to develop from an e-commerce offering for books into a disruptor of the publishing industry in the MENA region by enabling authors and IP rights owners to bypass the dysfunctional regional publishing industry and access the full value chain for publishing including printing, distribution and discovery. Ala' has worked on web development projects since 2004, and he has been working to administer the translation process of Wordpress.com into Arabic since 2006. As an undergraduate, Ala’ supervised a team of volunteers who translated “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” into Arabic and it crossed 1M downloads in 1 month, which was a driving force in the later creation of Jamalon.com. He holds a Masters of Science in Information Technologies and Telecommunications from Athens Information Technology and a Bachelors of Computer Science from Philadelphia University. Before starting Jamalon, he worked for CCC as an Automation Engineer in five different countries.

Ahmed Alshaiba is on a mission to help the world appreciate one of the oldest and most beautiful musical instruments ever conceived. It is arguably the forefather of all instruments, predating the guitar by 1500 years. Yet, in fact, the music of Ahmed is modern and western as well as ancient and eastern. For Ahmed has mastered the popular middle eastern instrument called the oud, and he dazzles listeners with surprising and innovative covers of the most western and popular of musicians, especially Michael Jackson, whose music he has loved all his life. You haven’t heard music until you’ve heard MJ’s Smooth Criminal played on an Oud in the hands of the creative Ahmed Alshaiba. Born and raised in Yemen, Ahmed actually disliked the sound of the oud when he was young. In fact, he hated the sound – for reasons that escape him today. As fortune would have it, as a joke, his sister had given his older brother an oud, for years, the oud sat in the Alshaiba household unplayed. No one in the family was musical, and no one knew how to play the instrument – until one day a family friend saw the instrument and showed Ahmad’s brother how to play it. Ahmed was intrigued, and he would come to love the sound of the oud…and become obsessed with learning to master the playing of the instrument. Ahmed is a self-taught musician who plays entirely by ear and doesn’t read notes. His first performance with the oud was in 2007. After playing on Woman’s National Day in 2009, he began getting invited to perform for numerous events in Yemen. His fame grew quickly, performing before audiences that included Hillary Clinton and the President of Turkey as well as the President of Yemen. Ahmed has worked diligently to become a true master of the oud and a great promoter and preserver of traditional Middle Eastern musical culture. Just as importantly, wherever Ahmed goes, he absorbs and adapts the music of the surrounding culture, and in particular, he has gradually and creatively injected Western musical influences into his music. A jazz band from Germany had a profound influence on him, and when he lived in Egypt for a year, he was exposed to even more Western music. Ahmed’s influences have run the gamut from Middle Eastern musician Farid al-Atrash to Spanish guitarist Paco De Lucia, Canadian guitarists Don Ross and Tommy Emmanuel, and of course, Michael Jackson. While in Egypt, Ahmed performed frequently at the Opera House and began performing professionally. In 2012 he moved permanently to the U.S., now ready to expand his musical repertoire and ultimately conquer the musical world. He has built a home studio and made influential YouTube videos that include his oud version of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal as well as other hits of MJ and other popular western singers. On the traditional side, his “My Trip Around the Arab World” is a stirring series of oud instrumentals of traditional songs from each Arabian country. With his mixed eastern-western style, Ahmed delights in seeing how western music sounds when played on the oud. He is intent upon showing the world the beauty of the oud and how it can be used for playing any kind of music, not just Middle Eastern. Indeed, Ahmed firmly believes that every musical instrument of every culture has global validity and beauty and will sound good in any culture. His first album will have all the original music of Ahmed, impressively showcasing for the first time his astonishing musical mastery of the oud from East to West and all in between, with the input of other artists from around the world. Ahmed is truly a one-man-band evangelist of oud for the world.

Dr. Jawad Fares is a Lebanese medical doctor, researcher and scientist. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Biology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he also attended medical school to acquire his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. He, concurrently, attained a Master of Science in Neuropsychology from the Lebanese University Neuroscience Research Center, where he graduated with High Distinction and was the recipient of “The NRC Award for Academic & Research Excellence.” In January 2018, Dr. Fares was selected for the “FORBES 30 Under 30” Europe list in Science & Healthcare for his contribution to solving healthcare problems in the developing world, becoming the first Lebanese physician to be inducted into the prestigious list. Throughout his career, Dr. Fares occupied several positions, as a Senior Researcher at the Lebanese University Neuroscience Research Center, Research Fellow at AUB and Visiting Researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute/McGill University. His polyvalent contributions were central in the fields of conflict medicine, neurosurgery and medical education. His work on injuries resulting from cluster munitions – weapons that open in mid-air and releases smaller explosives – led to the “Fares Scale of Injuries due to Cluster Munitions” that evaluates functional impairment in victims. The Scale helped in better classifying the wounds of victims and delivering the best possible treatment. Dr. Fares also led the Lebanese Multiple Sclerosis (LeMS) study group, which explored pregnancy outcomes in Lebanese women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS); the LeMS study was the first prospective multicenter project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region. The study offered a new model for MS relapses in pregnant women with the disease and raised questions on the role of epigenetics and lifestyles in controlling MS after delivery. Back in medical school, Dr. Fares was adamant to improve the medical education experience. So, he led a project that explored stress and burnout in pre-clinical medical students. He also studied the effects of different types of extracurricular activities and lifestyles in decreasing medical student stress and burnout. His work in the Neurosurgical Simulation Research and Training Centre at McGill University (Canada), with the pioneering Professor Rolando Del Maestro, led to the development and validation of multiple neurosurgical scenarios on the NeuroVR, a virtual reality neurosurgical simulator. This work will hugely impact neurosurgical practice, enhance neurosurgical training, and subsequently improve patient outcomes and care. Dr. Fares also explored the history and development of neurosurgery in Lebanon and the Middle East. He co-designed the “Fares Model in Academic Neurosurgery” to describe the ideal academic neurosurgeon and illustrate the neurosurgeon development as a function of age, time and experience. So far, Dr. Jawad Fares has co-authored over 30 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, and has served as an ad-hoc reviewer for numerous indexed journals. In addition, Dr. Fares has presented his research and scientific findings in multiple national and international settings, and was the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his academic and research works.

Rawan is a young professional working to empower underserved and marginalized groups through education and health programs. She is currently a Senior Program Officer at the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one of the largest privately-funded philanthropic initiatives in the Arab world. She works with organizations and universities to identify the most underserved and brightest youth to support with accessing the Foundation's opportunities. Previously, she worked in the Development sector in Lebanon as part of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and International Labour Organization (ILO) on projects tackling refugee health, entrepreneurship, and education. Rawan holds a Bachelor of Science from the American University of Beirut and a Master’s degree from Columbia University.

Lynn Barghout Jafar is the co-founder of Loulou Foundation, a private non-profit UK foundation dedicated to advancing research into the understanding and development of therapeutics for CDKL5 deficiency disorder. A mother of two and an ex- marketer, having worked in advertising for 5 years before becoming a full time mother, including as the primary care-giver for Alia, her eldest daughter who has CDKL5 Deficiency. Lynn is also the Founder and Managing Mum of High Hopes Pediatric Therapy Center, her brainchild - a place she envisioned in Dubai to enable children with moderate to severe special needs to maximize their potential. Her dream was always to establish a center that offers world class services through highly experienced therapists in one warm and loving environment. Lynn holds a BA in Business Marketing from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and an MSc in Management and Marketing from CASS Business School in London.

Maitha AlMemari, is a senior at NYUAD Majoring in Social Research and Public Policy with minors in Legal Studies and Political Science. She is currently working on her capstone, which aims to understand how Emirati youth make decisions about higher education. Passionate about intercultural engagement Maitha spoke at TEDxNYUAD where she addressed stereotypes many have about Emiratis and specifically about the Abaya, a traditional Emirati female clothing. She is also a member of the RoadWatch team that in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior won the HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Best mGovernment Service Award, UAE University level, at the World Government Summit in 2016. Maitha also enjoys teaching a group of Abu Dhabi high school students about females and leadership qualities as part of the Girls Education Network. She is also the inaugural receiver of Associate Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence that recognizes single most impactful student leader in the student body. As well as, President’s Service Award which is bestowed by NYU President Andrew Hamilton for commitment to cross‐cultural understanding. Maitha is passionate about Education and Public Policy and after NYUAD she hopes to continue her graduate studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Lama graduated from Saudi Arabia's Effat University in 2005 with a degree in Counseling Psychology. She pursued her graduate studies in the UK and obtained her Masters degree from Middlesex University in London where she double majored in Criminology and Forensic Psychology. She has completed the final requirements for her Ph.D in International Childhood Studies, department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, a world-class institution recognized for its excellence in research and teaching. Lama's professional skills and strong educational background were determinant in her joining the Human Relations Institute in Dubai, UAE in 2007. The institute offers individuals and organizations across the Middle East professional services in psychology and human resources. In this capacity, Lama traveled across the entire Middle East region, providing qualified and expert consulting and educational services. During this time Lama was also affiliated with Effat University, teaching Developmental Psychology and Communication Methods courses in their Department of Psychology. Continually in search of furthering her professional development, in 2008, Lama attended a post-graduate course at Harvard University entitled Delinquents, Criminals, Psychopaths, and Terrorists. This course proved crucial to broadening her development and understanding of the relationship between psychology and the law. In Spring 2010, Lama attended ""Developing Critical Thinkers"", a course at Teachers College of Columbia University which introduced critical thinking as the central process in the practice of leadership and teaching. Intent on building on this knowledge, later that year Lama attended a course entitled ""Healing and Reconciliation in Relationships"" taught by Harvard University professor Dr. Donna Hicks in the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College in Columbia University. In this course, Lama, using evolutionary theory, explored with Dr. Hicks, emotional human vulnerability and the fact that threats to inner psychological stability are as dangerous as physical wounds. Hicks' framework included the language of dignity and indignity for describing the universal effect of emotional injuries. Office 102, Block 6 Dubai Knowledge Park, UAE www.hissahec.com Phone +971 4 3914073 | +971 4 3914306 In 2013 Lama completed a Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Traumatology and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Diploma is accredited by the Counseling and Psychotherapy Central Award Body. In this same year she was also a guest speaker on a panel in Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Forensic Science in the Islamic Legal System. The topics discussed on this panel were ""Discipline and Punishment of Children"" as well as, ""Child Abuse: A General Perspective in Saudi Arabia."" In 2014, Lama received an award in the ‘Women in Business’ category at the 2nd Arabian Business StartUp Awards for her successful contributions to the business world through Hissah Enrichment Center. Her passion to create change in the GCC led to her powerful campaigns on child abuse and child protection. She was recognised for these life changing campaigns and was listed in ‘The 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40” by Arabian Business, April 2015 and “Middle East, 50 personalities you need to know” by the Italian news from the world website, SecoloNuovo, April 2015. In May 2015, Lama served as a panel member in the seminar “The Role of Women in Family Business” hosted by Crowe Horwath UAE, in partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) which was held in support of the noble legislation undertaken by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai in 2012, to make it compulsory for companies and businesses to appoint women to their boards and senior managerial roles. To commemorate survivors of cancer, Lama organised the first National Cancer Survivors Day in the GCC registered by The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, Tennessee, U.S.A. on 7th June 2015 where cancer survivors, caretakers and professionals from various fields came together to celebrate, support and share stories with one another on cancer survivorship. The event paved way to honouring different organizations which work towards the good cause of supporting individuals battling with cancer. In August 2015, to mark World Humanitarian Day by United Nations, Lama organised an awareness lunch where people were educated on the importance of World Humanitarian Day and was asked to be a part of humanitarian efforts by sharing kindness with the less fortunate. As a Office 102, Block 6 Dubai Knowledge Park, UAE www.hissahec.com Phone +971 4 3914073 | +971 4 3914306 humanitarian effort, Lama showered children and the general public of the U.A.E with acts of generosity. Lama Younis is a strong advocate for children’s rights for the past 10 years and she believes it is time to mark the cause with a name which is ‘The Lama Campaign’. ‘The Lama Campaign’ aims to reach out and educate the people living in the GCC on different topics related to child abuse. Towards the end of the campaign each year, Hissah Enrichment Center will use its profits to visit shelters in developing countries around the world to provide emotional and financial support to abuse victims. For her distinguished achievements, Lama was awarded “Young Achiever Award 2015” by the World Leadership Congress and “Sustainability Leadership Award 2015” by the World Sustainability Congress. She was also nominated for the Emirates Woman of the Year Award 2015 in the “Visionaries” category by the Emirates Woman Magazine. Lama’s incessant desire to contribute to the well-being of the region continues to gain recognition and support. Among her many distinctions, in 2016, she was listed as one of the “most influential Arab people under 40” and served as a panel speaker for the Young Leaders Global Debate on “Sustainability, science, new media and education”. As evidenced through her dedication, passion and work, Lama aims to enrich communities by providing critical services that will have a meaningful and long-term impact on the gulf region and aims to eradicate the taboo of child abuse in the GCC, Insha'Allah

Elissa Freiha is an angel investor, motivational speaker, and founder of WOMENA, a Dubai-based angel investment platform. As one of the region's most active angels with over 40 investments, she has won numerous awards including being the first female recipient of Investor of the Year at the StartUp Awards. She is frequently listed by media outlets, most notably by the BBC as one of their 30 women under 30, in Forbes as One of the most Inspiring Business Leaders of the UAE, and by Arabian Business as one of the 100 most influential Arabs. Elissa received her Bachelor of Arts in Global Communications from the American University of Paris, the city in which she was born and raised. She is an Emirati of Lebanese and American decent and is a strong advocate for equal rights, and women's rights with a focus on the Middle East. Her passions for entrepreneurship and gender diversity have given her the opportunity to speak at events around the world and has drawn the attention of brands such as Elie Saab, Cartier, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren, and Burberry. WOMENA is an award-winning investment platform and initiative that empowers women to invest in MENA tech startups. WOMENA has simplified the investment process by managing deal from sourcing and vetting through diligence and portfolio management. Having faciliated over 2 million AED in funding to 7 UAE based startups, WOMENA is just getting started. With over 20 pitch events, 26 workshops and numerous awareness events, in partnership with global brands like Elie Saab, WOMENA have shown that powerful, brilliant women in the middle east are in abundance and their unique story made angel investing seem accessible to first time investors. in 2017, WOMENA expanded their audience, from professionals to university students. Having partnered with the largest universities in the UAE, they educate students on local entrepreneurship and venture capital investing through their workshops and courses.

Azza Al Bakr graduated from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah in 2014 with a BSc. in Electronics and Communications Engineering. She then continued her graduate studies at Khalifa University’s Masdar Institute of Science and Technology pursuing a MSc. degree in Microsystems Engineering. Azza was also part of the Space Systems and Technology concentration program, being involved in a CubeSat project, MYSAT-1. Her research focused on developing Organic Photovoltaic Technologies for space applications, which was presented as an oral contribution in International conferences. She also interned in Japan at IHI Corporation as part of the Japan International Corporation program.

Born and brought up in the UAE, Mansoor’s art primarily revolves around the abstract form. In the habit of using bright colours to express himself, his work generally portrays a sense of positivity and can almost seem euphoric at times. Mansoor majored in Marketing at the University of Concordia in Montreal, Canada. It was during this time that external influences coerced him into taking his passion seriously. With no formal training in the arts, he has over the years developed a unique style, one that feeds off instinct and talent. His hope is that through his work, he is able to inspire others and help promote the arts on a local and international platform.

After having graduated with a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering, Mohammad is now continuing his graduate studies in Civil Engineering at the American University of Sharjah. During his undergraduate studies, he was part of a select group of Engineering students at the American University of Dubai who were awarded a full scholarship as part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Program. Mohammad’s work experience is significant compared to students his age, including multiple internships at Dubai Municipality and Dubai Road and Transport Authority. Mohammad’s passion lies in transportation engineering. He has his eyes on improving transportation in the UAE and reducing accident rates through the use of better technology and better engineering. His research work has also been published and presented at the 2017 International Road Federation congress in Dubai. Previously, Mohammad was the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers Club at his undergraduate university.

Slices is a homegrown F&B company based in the UAE that offers nutritious meals in educational institutes with the goal of combating lifestyle diseases. Since its inception, the company has served more than 1,500,000 healthy meals and offered nutrition education programs to more than 1,200 students. In his previous role, Al Hammadi was a Member of the Board of Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre as well as Vice President at Mubadala Healthcare. He has also served as a member of a number of Abu Dhabi Government initiatives and committees including the Executive Committee for the Abu Dhabi Economic Plan at the Department of Economic Development, and the Health Education Committee at Health Authority Abu Dhabi. Al Hammadi holds a Master in Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School, USA, and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the American University Dubai, UAE.

A postgraduate student in the United States, who was chosen as one of the top five Arab innovators by the MIT Technology Review. His project, Glean, has progressed to the final stage of selection in the Sirius program, a UK-based program that provides networking, funding, and support for young entrepreneurs from all around the world.

She is the first Saudi woman to be appointed to the position of General Manager of Technical Platforms and Developers at Microsoft Arabia. She has 11 years of experience in the field of e- marketing and is not a stranger to the world of business for she has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi Stock Exchange previously. Since her tenure, she has been organizing conferences and launching initiatives to improve the position of Saudi women in the labor market and enable them to achieve the same.

He is the first Saudi student to graduate from ciminal justice and criminology major from Southern Oregon University. He is also the first Saudi student to earn a membership in the American Society of Criminology in 2015 due to his scientific excellence in research.

Ahmed Yousry is an Egyptian who specializes in visual effects. He won two Oscars: in 2012 and 2015, for "Hugo" and "Interstellar". He was born in Egypt and he admired Hollywood movies like the "Terminator" and "Alien" since an early age. He fell in love with the visual effects of these movies before he began to learn about graphics. He started to educate himself through reading foreign magazines about visual effects. Soon enough, he had sufficient knowledge to get a job when he was still a university student, in one of the Egyptian graphic companies.

Belabbes Benkredda is an Algerian-German social innovator, writer, television commentator, and government consultant who specializes in public diplomacy. He is the founder of The Munathara Initiative, an Arab online and television debate forum that promotes the voices of youth, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public. He was a recipient of the 2013 Democracy Award of the National Democratic Institute, and is a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar. In 2016 he was named a World Fellow by Yale University.

Grown up in the UAE, Mohamad’s family faced many obstacles during the time of his high school graduation, forcing him to interrupt his education and manage his dad’s electronics shop after the passing away of his dad. In high school, Mohamed stood out among his peers for his many achievements in leadership roles including Engineering and Business competitions, Model United Nations, and other active volunteering initiatives he takes on with underprivileged youth in the country. Mohamad hopes to contribute to the UAE’s Sustainability vision and start his own company in the field of Energy and Water sustainability. Mohamad is an undergraduate student at the American University of Sharjah pursuing his Bachelor Science in Electrical Engineering

Yehia Abugabal is an oncologist, and a leading international advocate for the rights of youth and their inclusion. Abugabal works at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA and founder of the International Cancer Research Center. Abugabal is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology [ASCO] and the European Society of Medical Oncology(ESMO). He founded the International Cancer Research Center and acted as its CEO. The organization works for awareness, patients support, education, research, and programs to train professionals. He also started collaborating with other entities. The center worked with the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the United States. Abugabal has been a professional speaker at international conferences on health employment, challenges faced by the youth, and the role of innovation and diversity for a better future. Abugabal was named one among Forbes USA top 30 most influential people in the world . Forbes Middle East named him one of the top five change makers in the Middle East for 2016. [Arabian Business] magazine named him one of the top 100 influential Arabs under 40, and Cairo Scene online magazine named him one of top 16 Egyptian changing the country in 2016, USA Ministry of external affairs chamber of commerce selected him in their prestigious list “ Stars of Egypt” his work was recognized by the German TV channel Deutche Welle and other magazines and news outlets. Yehia is a TEDx Speaker with his recent lecture on the challenges facing research work in the MiddleEast. He is the founder of RISE initiative in USA , based in Texas working on enhancing scientific work and collaboration between USA and Egypt and other countries in the MiddleEast.

In 2012, Rashwan stared Ribbon, bringing the first in-stream payments to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter via ""buy buttons"". He left Columbia University to launch his second startup Payout.com, allowing loan payments to be paid and received online. Rashwan is one of 600 ""game changers"" chosen from 20 different industries. The 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 is a compilation of ""the most definitive gathering of today's leading young change-makers and innovators in the US.""

Mina is a PhD researcher at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, holding a Master of Drug Discovery from University College London. Beyond the lab bench, Mina is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Panacea Innovation and acts as the Founder and Chairman of the Science Innovation Union. During the past couple of years, Mina has led Panacea Innovation’s team to architect a multiventured science and technology translation ecosystem with the purpose of maximising the commercialisation of deep science research. Panacea Innovation currently runs and owns PanaceaStars, the well-known startups technology translation vehicle, that helped introducing more than 60 ventures to the market; Panacea Ventures: the funding arm for Panacea Innovation that provides seed investment for early stage startups; and Panacea Therapeutics: an artificial-intelligencedriven drug discovery pipelines. He also sits on several international advisory boards and has been recently named on Forbes 30 under 30 list for Science and Healthcare. His contributions are being recognised by several, alike HE President of Egypt and HRH The Duke of York. Mina has recently contributed to the “The future of UK Life Sciences and Industry report” to address the inquiry by The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.

Abdel Hameed is a real inventor with a mission to create products that benefit the greater good. As part of a school project, Abdel Hameed designed and created an invention called “The Virtual Eye.” It is an electronic cane designed for visually impaired individuals that helps them detect their surroundings and assists them in navigating independently. “The Virtually Eye” has received a patent, won awards at several national/regional competitions, and has been featured on local television in Lebanon. In addition to being an inventor, Abdel Hameed is also an environmental activist and a strong believer in equality. In high school, Abdel Hameed was the President of the Environment Club and managed to garner UN support to make his campus more eco-friendly. Abdel Hameed is a Lebanese national studying Mechanical Engineering at the American University in Beirut (AUB).

Mohamed El Dahshan is the managing partner of OXCON, a research and consulting firm working on issues of economic development, freedom of expression, and internet governance in transition countries, with a focus on fragile and post-conflict countries. In addition he is a Nonresident Fellow with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), and a co-founder of Afrilanthropy, a philanthropic investment advisory firm. Prior to this, he was Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard University Center for International Development, and Senior cooperation advisor at the African Development Bank.

A highly decorated former professional basket player for Gezira and the Egyptian national team, Yasmin Helal made the switch into entrepreneurship in 2011. With a degree in biomedical engineering from Cairo University, Helal had originally pursued a career in telecoms, but eventually joined Wild Guanabana, the company founded by Omar Samra, to assist with her fellow Egyptian entrepreneur’s education and ‘voluntourism’ initiatives. But her main claim to fame is Educate-Me, a start-up that tries to help underprivileged children go to school. She focused on this company full time in 2011, and Educate-Me’s programmes have helped hundreds since.

Mahmoud Kassab is an Electrical Engineering student at the American University of Sharjah. He graduated from National Charity School in Dubai with an average of ninety-seven, making him one of the top ten students in his school. His interests are diverse, but he is mainly interested in fields related to mathematics and physics. Mahmoud is passionate about teaching and helping other students who are having difficulties in their courses. This does not only satisfy his intellectual curiosity but also strengthens his knowledge in these courses. Moreover, he always takes the opportunity to participate in voluntary work at his school and university in order to contribute positively to the society.

Dr. Raghda El Ebrashi is currently an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at the German University in Cairo (GUC). She earned her Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in 2004 from the American University in Cairo (AUC), and acquired her Master Degree in Professional Development from the AUC as well in 2006. She acquired her PhD in Strategic Management from the GUC, and wrote her PhD thesis on Social Entrepreneurship. Raghda has got an extensive experience in the field of community development in various governorates in Egypt since the age of 15. She is currently working on national and international researches related to economic and social development. Raghda is an Ashoka Fellow, and also the first young Arab Board Member in the International Youth Foundation (IYF) based in the US. She founded Alashanek ya Balady student club at the American University in Cairo in 2002, and she was able to expand it to Ain Shams and Cairo Universities in 2003 and 2004. Raghda founded Alashanek ya Balady Association as a registered NGO in 2005.

Abdelhameed Sharara, is the founder and CEO of RiseUp; the Middle East and Africa’s top and biggest entrepreneurship summit with around 5000 attendees from 52 countries. Before founding RiseUp with his co-founders and the whole startup ecosystem in the GrEEK Campus in November 2013, Abdelhameed worked at Injaz-Egypt where he helped creating the first startups’ pipeline in all Junior Achievement countries worldwide. The program design was awarded the “MetLife foundation award” for the most outstanding award in all JA countries.

Khaled Kteily is Senior Manager and Lead for Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum. In his role, he runs projects supporting Arab entrepreneurship and innovation. Most recently, he managed a project to identify the “100 Arab Startups Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” which brought together top entrepreneurs from 18 countries in the Arab world. In January 2018, his work exploring the Future of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Arab World was launched at Davos through the Digital Arab World whitepaper. Khaled was formerly a healthcare consultant at Oliver Wyman, and has a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.