Speech of Dr. Nadine Abou Zaki, NAWF Executive Chair
At the Opening Ceremony of
THE 2ND NEW ARAB WOMAN FORUM
Intercontinental Phoenicia, Beirut
October 23 and 24, 2008
First Lady of Lebanon, Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman, Patron of the ForumYour Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor for the 2nd New Arab Woman Forum to have attracted such a great and exceptional and high level participation at. We equally feel honored to have this event held under the patronage and in the presence of the first lady of Lebanon. It is an indication and a testimony to the seriousness and relevance of this event; it is also a proof of the need for this forum and its pioneering role.
I would like to welcome all of you, dear guests that have come from 22 Arab and friendly countries to join our gathering today.
Ladies and gentlemen,When Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group and the Al-Hasna magazine launched the idea of convening this Forum, success was never in doubt because we were sure of the need for such forum where all those who are interested in the issues of the woman, the family and the society could meet. The first experience of convening this forum in Dubai under the patronage of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein proved the veracity of our expectations. Similarly, the second convening today of the forum in Beirut is a confirmation of the need for this event to be held regularly and the need to lay out all issues concerning women to discussion with view of developing a modern vision of a modern Arab Woman. Here we meet today, ministers, officials, leaders in various fields, to honestly and objectively discuss the important issues listed in the program.
Ladies and Gentlemen,A Hundred years ago, the Al-Hasna magazine was launched to be the first Arabic magazine devoted to championing the Arab woman’s rights focusing on issues concerning her, the family, and the children. This magazine was a pioneer in providing a futuristic vision of the feminist issues in an era then dominated by reactionary thoughts and characterized by the absence of women from social and political life and the work place.
Many decades later, following the evolution of the Arab societies and the great progress achieved by the Arab woman in various fields, the New Arab Woman Forum came as a major step forward that is as important as the launching of the Al-Hasna magazine a century ago. This is because the forum elevates feminist issues from a mere topic of the media to the level of direct action through providing a excellent framework where representative of women as well as representative of the whole society meet to discuss the predicament of the Arab woman as human being, as parent and as productive and creative person contributing to the progress of society.
We named this event the New Arab Woman Forum because we wanted to emphasize the challenges facing the Arab woman and family in the global age, where various aspects of globalization are having a great effect on parenting and disciplining our children and setting our new values as individuals and communities.
We have at the same time to work for the long run so we can in the near future create a new model of the Arab woman that would allows her the freedom of choice and self-expression while establishing the right balance between her god-given rights and her primary role as a woman and a lynchpin of the family. In many Arab societies women are still an inoperative power and a marginalized human resource kept out of the economical and political cycle of society. This marginalization undermines the potentials of our societies which are facing great challenges to keep up with modernization and face up to all sorts of challenges and perils looming in the horizon.
However, the problems facing the Arab woman and family can not be tackled through isolation and surrendering to fear and negative emotions but through candid recognition and objective investigation of these problems, the potential risks and shaping realistic policies. The aim should be to make the most of globalization thus incorporating what is beneficial and positive while making sure to mitigate risks negative by-products.
I would like to emphasize that the New Arab Woman Forum is a meeting place for unrestricted dialogue and an open platform for dealing with the important problems facing the Arab woman. Our aim is to develop comprehensive findings and conclusions and -whenever possible- provide the basis for constructive initiatives and solutions.
The pioneering role of the forum is perhaps evident in its methodology that has been improved with the lessons we learnt from the first Forum a year ago. The forum also benefited greatly the efforts of many friends, especially the members of the consulting committee. The evaluation of the first forum led to the introduction of many important conceptual changes to this year’s forum where many priority issues and questions have been boldly incorporated as part of the debate.
I am happy to say that the improvement was not limited to the programming of the dialogues but also tackled the range and caliber of participants and speakers. This year’s Forum attracted officials and leaders from the world of business, politics, culture, art and sociology, top officials and civil organizations and other eminent Lebanese, Arab and international personalities. We, organizers, consider this wide and distinguished participation as a vote of confidence which makes us feel proud but equally apprehensive as this mandate heighten expectations and is a huge responsibility that we hope we shall be able to live up to.
It’s our great pleasure to have this second forum convene under the auspices of the First Lebanese Lady, Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman and in continual cooperation with the Arab League and the pioneering MBC TV station. I would like to thank his Excellency Tammam Salam, Minister of Culture and his Excellency Dr. Tarek Metri, Minister of Information for their cooperation and greatly appreciated support.
I would also like to thank the Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal group, of which the Al-Hasna magazine is a subsidiary, for the resources and experience they have provided and without which this conference would not have started. I would also like to thank all cooperating entities, particularly, our sponsors who gave their full support to this event, I would like to make a special mention of Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris International, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (HSBC), EDUGATESÒ International, HP- Hewlett- Packard, Microsoft and Plus properties.
I conclude by thanking the distinguished audience for their participation, hoping that the forum was up to their expectations and that they can contribute effectively to its activities.
