Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani
Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani , is the Founder Chairman of the Arab International Women's Forum, a Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative 2017, and a Commissioner on the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work. Her work is focused on international government and business circles as a high-impact change agent focusing on leadership in cultural and gender issues.
Al Kaylani is a development economist and a graduate of the American University of Beirut and the University of Oxford.
Al Kaylani has successfully led numerous initiatives and has been involved in a wide variety of charities, cultural institutions, NGO's and the private sector in the UK, the Arab world and internationally. She also commands wide international exposure in government and business circles, including high level contacts in the Middle East, Europe, India and North & South America. Al Kaylani serves as a Freeman and Liveryman of the City of London. She has also chaired and addressed major conferences on development, diversity, leadership and cross cultural dialogue.
In January 2017, Al Kaylani was invited to become a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University to join 45 global leaders selected for an intensive, multi-disciplinary program and year-long Fellowship to research and address significant social problems. As a Fellow of Harvard's Advanced Leadership Initiative, Al Kaylani stated that her aim would be to focus on economic development through the empowerment and advancement of Arab women and youth and by advocating job creation, entrepreneurship, education and economic empowerment, not only in the MENA region but internationally. In August 2017, she joined the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work and also served on The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance.
Early life and languages
Al Kaylani was born in Palestine and raised in Lebanon. She is the eldest of 5 daughters and studied at English-speaking schools, learning five different languages fluently. Al Kaylani is a dual British and Lebanese citizen of Palestinian origin. She speaks English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Italian.Education
Al Kaylani attended the Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset and the British Lebanese School for Girls in Beirut. She achieved a BA in Economics at the American University of Beirut in 1966, later returning to AUB to earn a Masters in Economic Development in 1971 after preparing for a Diploma in the same subject at Oxford University in 1967. After completing her education, she went on to work as a junior economist for the United Nations for two years.Personal life
Al Kaylani married a Jordanian Ambassador, the late Wajih S. Al Kaylani, in 1970. For over forty years she assisted her husband in his diplomatic postings and official engagements including those as Jordanian Ambassador to India, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. They moved to the United Kingdom permanently in 1976 whilst maintaining close ties in Jordan and Lebanon. They have a son, Sirri Al Kaylani, a commercial lawyer.Arab International Women's Forum
Al Kaylani founded the Arab International Women's Forum in London in February 2001. AIWF is a non-profit network that serves as a voice for Arab women.Fellowship of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative
In January 2017, Al Kaylani was invited to become a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University to join 45 global leaders selected for an intensive, multi-disciplinary program and yearlong Fellowship to research and address significant social problems.ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work
In August 2017, Al Kaylani was invited to join the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work, as the only Commissioner from the Arab world under the joint chairmanship of Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, and the President of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.Voluntary & Philanthropic Work
Al Kaylani was the President of the Federation of International Women's Associations in London, an organisation of 30 women's associations and clubs encompassing around 40,000 members, from 1997 – 2000, and a Board Member of FIWAL from 1990 – 2000. She was a Member of the Steering Committee of the Department of Trade and Industry UK, co-chairing two conferences in 1999 and 2000 to promote Arab-British business opportunities and women in business in the Arab world.Al Kaylani was the Chair of Welcome Clubs International Middle East, a worldwide network of international women's organisations aimed at fostering friendship and understanding through education and training, in 2000 – 2003; the Chair of the UK Appeal of the Jordan Badia Research & Development Programme 1998, a joint initiative of the Royal Geographical Society and the Higher Council of Science & Technology in Jordan; Chair of the UK Appeal of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development 1994, chaired by Princess Basma bint Talal, which helped to empower women in rural Jordan through small loans. A Co-Patron of the UK Appeal was the Duchess of Kent.
Al Kaylani was a Member of the Board of Medical Aid for Iraqi Children, a UK registered charity supplying medicines from the UK to children in Iraq ; and a Member of the Board of the Fund for Refugees in Slovenia, a UK charity to assist Bosnian refugees set up in 1992 by Lady Nott with Baroness Margaret Thatcher as Patron.
Advocacy
Al Kaylani holds senior roles in several cultural, commercial and educational UK and international organisations. These include:• Founder & Chairman, The Arab International Women's Forum
• Board Member, The Women's Leadership Board at Harvard Kennedy School
• Advisory Board Member, The London Middle East Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
• Board Director, EastWest Institute in New York
• Board Member, The Arab British Chamber of Commerce, London
• Commissioner, Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance
• First Honorary Member, Euro Mediterranean Association for Cooperation and Development
• Freeman of the City of London.
Recognition, awards and fellowships
Al Kaylani's work has been recognised by the international development community and she has received numerous high-level awards from organisations across the globe. In February 2018, Al Kaylani was included in the Muslim 100 Parliamentary Review and in March, she was honoured by the American University of Beirut and named amongst the leading women alumni recognised and featured in the book For All Conditions of Men: Stories of Women at AUB.She was featured in Forbes Middle East's LeaderBoard: Standing Out list of High Achievers in July 2017, recognised for her leadership of AIWF and her commitment as Founder Chairman to encouraging cultural exchange and understanding between communities and promoting gender equality around the world. In May 2016, Al Kaylani received an award presented by the Jordanian Embassy in London on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Independence of Jordan in recognition of her lifetime work and service to Jordan and the Arab World, and in October 2015, she was presented with The Honorary Global Exemplary Award for Leadership Development 2015 at the European Women Inventors & Innovators Network International Conference & Awards Ceremony held at The British Library in London. This award was given in acknowledgment of her international achievements in promoting cultural and gender equality around the world and her extraordinary contribution to economic growth and to society.
In 2015, Kaylani, received The Pearl Initiative Recognition for a Career Focused on Arab Women in Leadership, presented by the Pearl Initiative Honorary Chairman HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Social Development in the United Arab Emirates on the occasion of The Pearl Initiative & United Nations Global Compact Forum held in Dubai. Al Kaylani was also included in the Power 100 List, compiled by Arabian Business Monitor and recognised on the Arabian Business Power 500 List published by Arabian Business Magazine and placed in the highest ever recording of 118 women in a list of Arab men and women leaders.
Al Kaylani received The Excellence in Life Award presented by The Global Thinkers Forum in Dubai December 2014, and she was inducted in 2013 by the Centre of Economic Leadership & Development into The Global Women Leaders Hall of Fame as a distinguished achiever and symbol of female achievement globally. She was presented with an Award for an Outstanding Contribution as a Women Leader of Palestinian Origin and was honoured by the Qatari Businesswomen Association and honoured for her contributions to the growth and development in the Arab region. She was the recipient of the Global Inspirational Leadership Award in 2013 and was honoured for individual achievements as a role model and having made contributions worthy of acknowledgement towards the role of women in Emerging Economies by the Georgia General Assembly.
Al Kaylani was named one of the 20 leading Muslim women in the UK in the Equality & Human Rights Commission Muslim Women Lists 2009-2012.
She received an award for Muslim Woman of the Year at the British Muslim Awards in 2013, nominated by the World Congress of Philanthropists.
She was a recipient of the International Alliance for Women 2008 World of Difference Lifetime Achievement Award, and was included in the Muslim Power 100 Leaders in the UK listing in 2007, receiving the Education Excellence Award; and has been honoured as one of the Women eNews 21 Leaders for the 21 Century in 2006.