ENVISIONING REFORM: THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF SAUDI ARABIA'S TRANSFORMATION AGENDA
A Conversation with HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud
With:
HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud
Vice-President for Planning and Development
General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia
Moderated by:
Bina Hussein
Associate Director
Global Energy Center
Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the Vision 2030 plan, the Kingdom has seen developments that would have been difficult to imagine a few years ago – women entered soccer stadiums for the first time in Riyadh and Jeddah, international performers have headlined at concerts and street festivals, and King Salman announced that Saudi women can seek drivers’ licenses in summer 2018.
HRH Princess Reema has been a key figure in the Crown Prince’s program of socioeconomic change in her role as the Vice-President for Development and Planning at the Saudi General Sports Authority. Vision 2030 aims to more actively engage Saudi youth and women as key stakeholders in the economy, with the understanding that excluding large swaths of the population leaves crucial gaps in the workforce.
As a social entrepreneur, a former CEO, and an activist for women’s inclusion, HRH Princess Reema has organized two Guinness World Record holding events in Jeddah to raise awareness for breast cancer (the largest-ever gatherings of women in Saudi Arabia), led the first all-female Saudi team to Everest Base Camp in 2012, founded Alf Khair, a social enterprise to provide structured curriculum focusing on professional guidance and career management for Saudi women, and, most recently, served as CEO of Alfa International, a leading luxury retail corporation. She also sits on Uber’s Public Policy Advisory Board and the Advisory Council of TEDx.
This timely discussion will focus on the broader socioeconomic transformation taking place in the Kingdom as part of Vision 2030, with a specific focus on social impact, community engagement, and improving quality of life.
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