Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director

Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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The UN World Tourism Organization on Wednesday, World Tourism Day, announced the winners of its Women in Tech Startup Competition: Middle East, being held in Riyadh. (Supplied)
Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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Executive Director of UNWTO Natalia Bayona said that Saudi Arabia is “booming when it comes to tourism.” (AN/Huda Bashatah)
Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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The winner of the Tourism and Travel Experience category is Kirti Chandel, CPO at SparkleHaze. for creating an enterprise-based AI assistant speaker, named Woo-Hoo, an in-room voice assistant for hospitality. (AN/Huda Bashatah)
Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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The winner of the Events and Community category was Menna Ayad, CEO of Fosha, an AI-powered app for booking personalized experiences in the Middle East and North Africa region. (Supplied)
Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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The winner of the Social Impact Category is Saudi Nouf Alhazmi, CEO of Plastus Biotech, specializing in the making of PHA biodegradable bioplastic re-purposing organic waste. (AN/Huda Bashatah)
Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
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The winner of the Future Tech Category is Zeljana Babic, CEO of Xenios Academy, an AI-powered training program with the mission to help hospitality businesses boost revenue by investing in employee training. (AN/Huda Bashatah)
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Updated 28 September 2023
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Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director

Women’s empowerment is vital to success, says UNWTO executive director
  • UNWTO announces winners of Women in Tech Startup Competition: Middle East
  • The competition saw 143 applicants from across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Syria

RIYADH: The UN World Tourism Organization on Wednesday, World Tourism Day, announced the winners of its Women in Tech Startup Competition: Middle East, being held in Riyadh.
Launched in March to celebrate International Women’s Day, the competition sought women-led startups with innovative approaches to provide services and solutions with a positive social impact.
The competition saw 143 applicants from across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Syria.
The winner of the Social Impact Category was Saudi national Nouf Al-Hazmi, CEO of Plastus Biotech, which specializes in making PHA biodegradable bioplastic by re-purposing organic waste.

 


Al-Hazmi said: “They’ve only selected four from all over the world … It’s huge. It means a lot to us, for young Saudi women and women around the world.”
Plastus Biotech’s concept falls in line with the Kingdom’s circular carbon economy goal for 2030 and the carbon neutrality agreement of 2060.
She said: “There are many opportunities. We can replace so many products that are fossil-based with more sustainable products that are actually carbon negative, and everyone will benefit.”
The winner of the Tourism and Travel Experience category was Kirti Chandel, chief product officer at SparkleHaze, for creating an enterprise-based, artificial intelligence assistant speaker named Woo-Hoo, as an in-room voice assistant for hospitality.
Chandel says Woo-Hoo creates a personalized experience for guests while remaining sustainable and easy to use.

 

 


She said: “We are boosting green hospitality. We are moving away from all the different devices that are used in hotels that are more cluttered. So, we combine them into one single form factor and also, we are digitizing your compendium menu. So, all the paper that is there within the room is gone.”
The winner of the Future Tech Category was Serbian national Zeljana Babic, CEO of Xenios Academy, an AI-powered training program with the mission to help hospitality businesses boost revenue by investing in employee training.
She said: “I feel extremely empowered. I feel very humbled. I am still shocked. To be honest. This might be one of the happiest moments of my professional career …

 

 


“We cannot invest in hospitality without investing in people and without investing in their education. And only once we do that, they will be able to provide services to their guests.”
The winner of the Events and Community category was Menna Ayad, CEO of Fosha, an AI-powered app for booking personalized experiences in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Executive Director of UNWTO Natalia Bayona said that Saudi Arabia is “booming when it comes to tourism.”
Bayona is a frequent visitor to the Kingdom and has collaborated with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education to boost the tourism industry.
She said: “I have to say that … (Saudi Arabia) has those values — the values of investment in people through education, investment in the planet through a better futuristic city for the next generations, and of course, investing in prosperity, in youth, and in technology and innovation.
“I have been working a lot with the ministry to foster education to create together a strategy of human capacity development and to strengthen the power of partnerships again with the private sector for innovation and technology and investments.”

 

 


Bayona said that the Financial Times’ joint report with the UNWTO reported that Saudi Arabia has been growing its foreign direct investment by 80 percent. “That’s crucial and that’s really strong because that means that the country is really into investment and diversifying the economy through tourism.”
With tourism being the top employer of women and youth, Bayona says staying committed and being part of a positive community makes all the difference.
“The most important thing is that I have to be thankful to my bosses,” she said, crediting her employers for empowering and trusting her. “And at the end of the day, that’s what matters. Because of course you can be talented, and you can have a very bright curriculum, but if you are not empowered, you are not (going) anywhere.”


Saudi Air Force jet crashes on training mission, 2 crew members killed

Saudi Air Force jet crashes on training mission, 2 crew members killed
Updated 27 sec ago
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Saudi Air Force jet crashes on training mission, 2 crew members killed

Saudi Air Force jet crashes on training mission, 2 crew members killed
  • Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said crash occurred during routine mission at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran

RIYADH: A Saudi Arabian Royal Air Force F-15SA fighter plane crashed during a training mission in Dhahran on Thursday, killing two members of the crew on board, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the ministry, said that the plane crash occurred at 12:50 p.m. on Thursday during a routine mission at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Al-Maliki added that an investigation committee had begun probing the causes of the accident.

He offered condolences to the families and relatives of the pilots.


Neamaa Mostadama project in Makkah aims to reduces food waste

Food waste costs the country in the region of $10.66 billion annually. (Twitter @hneksa)
Food waste costs the country in the region of $10.66 billion annually. (Twitter @hneksa)
Updated 33 min 43 sec ago
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Neamaa Mostadama project in Makkah aims to reduces food waste

Food waste costs the country in the region of $10.66 billion annually. (Twitter @hneksa)
  • Shoura Council member Hoda Al-Helaissi told Arab News: “We should work together on the project to combat food waste

MAKKAH: The Neamaa Mostadama project was inaugurated in Makkah on Wednesday as part of the Hefz Al-Neamaa initiative, and Abdullah Felali, the chairman of its board of directors, told Arab News about the importance of establishing an organization to help preserve food while reducing waste.

He said it was also important to find a mechanism to collect clothes to provide for the needy, and create a volunteer team to help with its distribution.

He said: “We are heading towards creating a clothing center similar to (the) markets so that beneficiaries can visit these centers at the association’s headquarters and take what they need.

“They will be able to obtain what they need throughout the year, and we will thus be a recipient of these pre-owned clothes that are in good shape, and will allow the beneficiaries to take them.

“Worn-out clothes will be sold to clothing companies and the amount we get will be used to serve the expansion of the organization’s community projects.”

Shoura Council member Hoda Al-Helaissi said recently that the amount of food waste in Saudi Arabia was far too high.

She stressed the importance of introducing stricter penalties against bodies and stores that violated the system.

She told Arab News: “We should work together on the project to combat food waste.

“Collective efforts (will) lead towards the success of the food and clothing waste process, in addition to controlling societal behavior in the issue of waste.”

Food waste costs the country in the region of $10.66 billion annually, and Al-Helaissi added: “The Shoura Council … (has) studied several … European models and tried to emulate their positive aspects and apply them.”

She called on supermarkets to “distribute goods that are about to expire, to those in need, instead of letting them spoil.”

She added: “This should also apply to the many large coffee shops scattered all over the Kingdom that dispose of their leftovers such as cakes, croissants, and pastries on a daily basis.

“The poor and needy are not benefiting from these leftovers, which is an issue that must be reflected on.

“The quantities of wasted food are very large, which is annoying. Everyone must work in solidarity to reduce this irresponsible waste. Waste is not a sibling of generosity. Generosity is one thing, and waste is another.”

She pointed out that Saudis are generous people “but let us not reach levels of waste and failure, and (help) preserve food.”

Al-Helaissi indicated that the European system of food preservation first appeared in France, with Italy, Britain, and then Germany following suit.

She added: “We need community awareness and media coverage at all levels to reduce levels of waste, starting with schools.

“Parents must instill in their children the importance of only buying necessities … and for a person to only buy what they need, as well as raising awareness of the harmful effects sugars and fats have on a person’s health.”

 


MWL chief meets French parliamentary delegation

MWL chief meets French parliamentary delegation
Updated 07 December 2023
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MWL chief meets French parliamentary delegation

MWL chief meets French parliamentary delegation
  • Al-Issa condemned on behalf of the MWL the murder that took place in France three days ago

Riyadh – Secretary-General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa met a French parliamentary delegation at the sub-headquarters of the MWL in Riyadh.

During the meeting, both parties discussed topics of common interest, including MWL initiatives to build bridges and enhance mutual respect between people of different national and religious backgrounds.

One such initiative is “Building Bridges of Understanding Between East and West,” launched by the league at UN headquarters, with the support and participation of international leaders.

Al-Issa condemned on behalf of the MWL the murder that took place in France three days ago, in which a French man pledging allegiance to Daesh killed a German tourist and wounded two others near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.


Mangrove park to be created in Jubail as part of ecology push

Mangrove park to be created in Jubail as part of ecology push
Updated 07 December 2023
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Mangrove park to be created in Jubail as part of ecology push

Mangrove park to be created in Jubail as part of ecology push
  • ‘This partnership is focused on preserving the Kingdom’s unique natural environment’

RIYADH: A mangrove park in Jubail is set to be created thanks to a new agreement signed by the Saudi Arabian Mining Co., also known as Ma’aden.

The firm inked a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu in a move that will support carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation in Saudi Arabia.

The plan falls in line with the mining company’s commitment to plant 10 million terrestrial trees and 10 million mangroves by 2040, as part of its ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050.

It also aligns with the Saudi Green Initiative’s target to plant 100 million mangroves in Saudi Arabia by 2030, which will offset around 96 million tons of carbon emissions as well as help to stabilize the Kingdom’s coastline ecosystems.

“This partnership is focused on preserving the Kingdom’s unique natural environment,” CEO of Ma’aden Robert Wilt said.

“Mangroves provide one of the most effective natural carbon-capture ecosystems and our ability strategy provides a roadmap towards restoring and enhancing the biodiversity of our coastline, in line with Ma’aden’s vision for sustainable growth in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Under the agreement, both parties will work hand in hand on research initiatives relating to mangrove planting and ecosystem health.

In addition to this, the two entities will work on developing local community programs which back ecosystem restoration as well as boost environmental awareness.

“Our partnership with Ma’aden will continue to preserve and expand mangrove ecosystems in Jubail, a key feature of our region’s natural environment,” CEO of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Mahmood Al-Theeb explained.

“Together we will develop impactful initiatives that benefit the local community and contribute to the Kingdom’s sustainability objectives,” Al-Theeb added.

Recognizing mangroves as an essential barrier to protect biodiversity in the coastal areas and prevent erosion, the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification is implementing an ambitious project to plant over 200 million mangrove trees, said the CEO of the government organization mandated to protect and restore green cover all over Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

Speaking to Arab News during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum held at Expo City on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, Khaled bin Abdullah Al-Abdul Qadir said that mangroves were distributed widely in the Gulf region and also in the Red Sea areas of Saudi Arabia and that a massive effort was underway to not only preserve the existing mangroves, but also restore others.


Saudi foreign minister, UN chief discuss situation in Gaza

Saudi foreign minister, UN chief discuss situation in Gaza
Updated 07 December 2023
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Saudi foreign minister, UN chief discuss situation in Gaza

Saudi foreign minister, UN chief discuss situation in Gaza

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed on Wednesday the situation in Gaza  with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said.
Guterres called Prince Faisal and they discussed the importance of making more effort to reach an immediate ceasefire.
Israel is waging a ground and air offensive against Hamas in all parts of Gaza, resulting in mass civilian deaths and causing a humanitarian catastrophe.