Second edition of Oman Women Summit to host impressive list of women achievers

Muscat: To celebrate the power, strength and resilience of extraordinary women, Experiment Events — a creative house known for organising topnotch events — has announced that it will host the second edition of Oman Women Summit.

The event will be held on 17 October 2019 at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC). The summit will build on the success of the first edition held in October last year.

Seventeenth October was designated 'Omani Women Day' during a ‘Symposium on Omani Women’ organised in 2009 on the instructions from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. In accordance with the objectives of Omani Women’s Day observed on 17 October annually, the Summit will reiterate His Majesty’s vision for women empowerment.

Designed to inspire and empower extraordinary women to have a positive impact in society, in 2019 the summit's theme will be ‘Celebrate Omani Women’. The Oman Women Summit will serve to inspire women, build their networks, find ways to engage with the community and will help build diverse partnerships through networking, stimulating talks and discerning discussions.

Several inspiring women, including CEO of INJAZ Oman — an organisation that empowers youth to own their economic success — Khaula Hamoud Al Harthy will be present at the event.

Hamoud is a businesswoman with over 15 years of corporate work experience, took part in a number of initiatives to enable the private sector to play an active role as a social and economic partner in the development of the Sultanate; this was during her time as a member of ‘Sharaka’ the Public-Private Partnership under the Diwan of Royal Court. She currently sits on several boards including Ominvest, one of the oldest and largest investment companies in the region, Oman Convention and Exhibition Center and NBO’s GCC fund.

As a youth leader and an advocate for innovation and entrepreneurship, she has taken part in the design and planning of the Sultanate’s youth programs during her time as a member of the National Youth Commission, and played an active role representing youth in the National program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh).
The summit features an impressive list of speakers including Health Care Counselor Dr Sora Al Rowas; Co-Founder and CTO at MarkeetEx, Sharifa Al Baraami; Founder of Oryx Football Community, Malak Al Zadjali and Senior Advisor for the UN Women Arabia and Hala Kazim, social entrepreneur and life coach, Nicolla Hewitt.

Hala Kazim is a social entrepreneur and life coach who seeks to change peoples’ lives through positivity and balance through hiking trips indulged with various training activities. Hala established 'Journey Through Change' in 2011 to positively impact peoples’ lives by taking them out of their comfort zone, expanding their intellectual boundaries and indulging them in various activities.

Media personnel Nicolla Hewitt has nearly 30 years experience, having worked for global companies including ABC, CBS, NBC and Yahoo. For the past 12 years Hewitt has been involved in philanthropic endeavors with an emphasis on the Middle East.

Hewitt has served as an advisor to HRH the Prince of Wales for his 'Turquoise Mountain' foundation for the preservation of Islamic art and economic empowerment in Afghanistan; Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite; and the Vital Voices Global Partnership founded by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which helps women in over 130 countries around the world.

The panel discussion ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ — which is the highlight of the summit — will explore the significance of the topic in today’s context. ‘Think Global, Act Local' was first used in the context of environmental challenges, but has taken on much wider meaning and use in recent years. The discussion will dwell on how we can invigorate the message and build common purpose amongst stakeholders – citizens, communities, elected representatives, businesses, civil servants – to achieve the impacts that are needed in cities across sectors, wilayats and governorates in Oman.

A session on ‘Young Circle’ will recognise and discuss the contributions of exceptional youngsters to the society as a whole. The panel discussion will focus on empowering young people and enabling them to have a better understanding of success. The session will encourage youth to identify their own natural gifts and talents to achieve success.

The summit has a lot of entertainment lined up including performances by Singer Waad Khalifa, Standup Comedian Nour Al Mahrouqi, DJ Muzdi Al Alawi and Muscat Pearls.

Announcing details of the summit, Zameel Ameen, director for Experiment Events said, “Response from last year’s Oman Women’s Summit attendees was so inspiringly positive that we are back with the second year with a stronger itinerary. The summit includes international speakers from multiple sectors and panel discussions on diverse constituencies. These accomplished professionals will offer their unique perspectives on various topics and share how their strategic vision has positively impacted others. We promise that it will be a motivating and energising experience. We are proud to host this event and believe that this initiative will help to create new opportunities for women to reach their greatest potential.”

Said Al Shanfari, CEO of Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, official venue partners of the event, said, “We are delighted to welcome back the Oman Women Summit to the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre. Our partnership with Experiment Events came from one of OCEC’s core values which is social responsibility and giving back to the community. This event was a great success last year and we wish the team the very best this year.”

The ‘by invitation only’ event will be held at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on 17 October. The hashtag for the summit is #Oman4Her and the event can be followed on all social media platforms. #Oman4Her hashtag signifies that the country stands with its women in support and encouragement.

For the last three years, Experiment Events has organised a unique annual flagship event – Entrepreneurs’ Conclave – bringing young Omani entrepreneurs together with successful mentors. Amongst many other platforms of a similar nature, the firm is actively engaged with various industries and sectors including oil and gas, education, aviation, an innovative automation system Fortune 500 Company.

Experiment Events is well known for delivering memorable engagements across the MENA Region - executing a broad range of high-powered platforms and concepts centered on driving value into each brand and business. The team’s commitment to creativity is rooted in a proficient understanding of the market and experience-based stakeholder engagement and is accustomed to delivering the highest caliber of concept and corporate events.

Registration is now open with limited seats - www.omanwomensummit.com