JEDDAH, 19 January 2003 — More than 500 Saudi businesswomen from all corners of the Kingdom, representing all sectors of society, participated in the first ever day devoted to women at the Jeddah Economic Forum yesterday.
"This forum offers strong evidence of the importance of women’s work in various recognized economic fields, as well as the importance of their role in the service and prosperity of their societies," said Princess Sara Al-Angari, wife of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed and the patron of this event.
The forum’s topic is "Global Competitiveness: Thinking globally, acting locally", and its main theme is finding ways of benefiting from globalization without compromising on local customs and standards.
Princess Lulwa Al-Faisal spoke about the possibilities now open for Saudi businesswomen as a result of earlier pioneers, and pointed to the fact that globalization as an economic phenomenon has its origins in the Arabian Peninsula. With the advent of Islam came an era of justice for all people, regardless of race, religion and gender, she said.
Bahia Hariri, a Member of Parliament in Lebanon, called for the founding of the Khadija bint Khouwaylid’s Award for Arab Business Women which would support Arab women and help facilitate their regional and international success.
The keynote speaker was Mervat M. Tallawy, executive secretary of UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia. She encouraged Arab women to take advantage of such visionary leaders as Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to push for improvements in women’s social status.
Dr. Carol O’Connor, director of Vision in Practice, gave a lecture on the importance of leadership, vision, planning and teamwork.
Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi, CEO of Tejari.com in the UAE, spoke about the growing importance of e-commerce, and Dr. Thuraya Al-Arrayed, planning adviser at Saudi Aramco, gave an example of the role of modern technology and work opportunities for women in the case of Aramco. These two presentations represented the potential for women utilizing the latest technology.
Dr. Al-Tallawy’s speech raised the issue of the responsibility of Islamic and Arab countries in coordinating more efficiently with the wider world to increase understanding.
— Additional reporting by Abeer Mishkhas
