'Businesses of the Future' forum to discuss innovation & sustainability

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) will organise on June 18, in collaboration with the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) and the United Nations (UN), a forum entitled “Inclusion, Innovation, & Sustainability: Businesses of The Future”.

The forum will be held under the theme “Balance for Better” and will focus on discussing what it takes to build a culture of inclusion and innovation, how this can support the sustainability agenda and what we can do to remain viable and adaptive within the working environment in an era of disruption and technological revolution.

The forum is complementary to a series of “Women in Leadership” seminars which were initiated in 2015 collaboratively with the UOWD, the UN, and with an endorsement from Dr Raja Al Gurg, President of the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC).

Additionally, the forum will shed light on the ability of organisations to remain viable and adaptive in an era of disruption and technological revolution and their commitment towards a broader set of stakeholders, with the focus on adopting a holistic and synergetic approach to innovation - an approach that is enabled by inclusive and collaborative cultures and networks.

More specifically, sustainable innovations require multi-disciplinary thinking in which human and technological capital intersect in a synergistic way. This will help strengthen the women’s role in the business environment as an important leadership element in the integrated system of the business cycle.

The event will be held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s premises. The opening note will be delivered by H.E. Dr. Raja Al Gurg, President of the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC), and a keynote speech to be delivered by UOWD President Prof Mohamed-Vall M Salem Zein.

The panel discussion will see the participation of Asif Raza — Head of CEEMEA Corporate Banking — JP Morgan, Dr Zeina Khouri Stevens — Chief Clinical Executive - Clemenceau Medical Center — Dubai, Susan Jain — Chief Marketing Officer — IBM Middle East & Africa and it will be moderated by Professor Payyazhi Jayashree, Associate Dean (Education) — the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

The event will also include the launching of the book “Balance for Better”, which showcases and celebrates the various narratives from the interviews held with women leaders, and panel discussions that took place as part of the UOWD-DBWC-UN Women and Leadership Research since 2015. The book will be focusing on exploring how to build a gender-balanced world in the working environment, with specific reference to UAE - and while building on best practices of the world.

Meanwhile the membership database of the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) has grown by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, bringing the total number of members to 949, up from 864 by the end of 2018, according to a statement from the group.

The increase in the membership database “reflects the important role played by the council in support of businesswomen to enhance their competitiveness in the country’s labour market,” the statement said.

In the first quarter of 2019, the council staged as many as 13 activities and events, including workshops, symposiums, business meetings and trade missions, to enhance the expertise of members and develop their skills necessary to get a preference in the labour market and improve their competitive performance. More than 308 businesswomen took part in these activities.

Meanwhile, the council launched the second cycle of the DBWC Mentorship Programme 2019 in the first quarter, building on the first cycle’s success.

There is nothing strange about when it comes to opportunities and support for women, the UAE leads the region. Innumerable initiatives taken by the UAE government to narrow the gender gap have paved the way for many women to set up their businesses, or rise in their career. Now, women in the UAE are taking big strides in the cabinet and boardrooms of large corporations.

The establishment of the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) was one of such decisions that turned out be the bellwether of women empowerment in Dubai’s thriving economy.

This year, the the DBWC celebrated 17 years of working with Dubai’s growing community of aspirational, forward-thinking and influential women - a journey that has seen the council give its members the confidence to inspire their communities daily.

Through the many forums and workshops, the DBWC continues to engage with a wide cross-section of innovative local, regional and international businesses that share the UAE’s vision to drive the cause of gender balance through personal and professional development.