Forging partnerships and engaging men in conversations around gender equality, the Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD) at Middlesex University Dubai joined hands with SAP Next-Gen and Dubai Blockchain Centre to launch the global UN Women HeforShe Dialogue Series in the region. The inaugural event was held on 25 May 2019 at ‘Office of the Future’, the world’s first 3D printed office at the Dubai Future Foundation.
The Majlis style event welcomed HeforShe advocates and champions from the region to encourage and empower men to become active participants of the gender disparity conversations. These included Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Lead at Procter & Gamble, Sameer Sortour, CEO of SquareCircle Global and representatives from the Gender Balance Council, Ministry of Community Development and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
“SAP Next-Gen is very excited to have successfully launched the HeforShe Dialogue Series in Dubai in partnership with Middlesex University Dubai and Dubai Blockchain Center. We would like to encourage men and boys to take up this mantle and advocate for gender balance by 2030. The goal of these meetups is to build a cross-sector, inclusive platform that addresses gender balance, inclusive leadership, and diversity management,” commented Wissam Kadi, Global Director of SAP Next-Gen Labs.
“Dubai Blockchain Center is pleased to launch the HeforShe Dialogue Series initiative to promote inclusiveness and reach gender balance. Engaging in this gender dialogue with our stakeholders is extremely important for us,“ shared Dr Marwan Zarouni, CEO of Dubai Blockchain Center.
HeforShe Dialogue Series by UN Women aims to engage men, women, boys and girls of all ages to participate in gender dialogues and stand in solidarity with women to create a united front to fight inequality. Identifies champions to drive conversations at their respective workplaces and in the community. More than 2,000,000 people have pledged their support and committed to HeforShe on heforshe.org.
“The HeforShe Dialogue Series initiative creates a space where both men and women can discuss gender-related issues that affect their lives. We look forward to creating more spaces in the future to keep the dialogue active,” shared Dr Belisa Marochi, Head of the Institute of Sustainable Development at Middlesex University Dubai.
The Institute of Sustainable Development at Middlesex University Dubai fosters the advancement of the sustainable development goals in the university, community and global practices. Creating awareness and providing solutions for Sustainable Development Goal #5 Gender Equality is one of the missions of the Institute.
To know more about the initiative, please visit https://www.mdx.ac.ae/isd/institute-of-sustainable-development—registration