FOSTERING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUCCESSFUL POLICIES FOR IN-DEPTH TRANSFORMATIONS 7 May 2021 | 12:00-14:00 (CEST) ZOOM on line platform - Registration link BIOGRAPHIES Omayma Achour, President, Jossour Forum des Femmes marocaines In 2014, Omayma Achour was elected president of the Jossour Forum Association of Moroccan Women with consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a key association of the women's movement in Morocco which defends the promotion of equality and the empowerment of women. In 2014, she was elected to the Control Commission of the Socialist Youth International (IUSY). She was Adviser in the Cabinet of the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training from 2009 to 2012, and Head of the Partnerships Department in the Cooperation Division at the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (2014- 2019). She started her volunteer work at the age of 18 through AIESEC, an international youth platform leading several projects in the MENA region on youth development, women's rights, leadership, social responsibility, the promotion of equality and social justice. Dr. Omayma Achour is a young Professor of Law at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences Agdal. She holds a doctorate in legal sciences from Mohammed V- Agdal-Rabat University on the subject of pension reform. Leila Belkhiria Jaber, President, Chambre nationale des Femmes Cheffes d’Entreprises (CNFCE) Leila Belkhiria Jaber has been president of the CNFCE since 2017. She is also a member of the National Council for Social Dialogue and of the Board of Directors of the Federation of National Associations of Businesswomen for the Common Market of East and Southern Africa (COMFWB). She is CEO and co-founder of the STELFAIR TUNISIA group operating in the ICT sector since 1996. She was awarded the title of Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008, Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in the ICT sector in 2015, Woman of the Decade Business & Leadership in 2019. The President of the Tunisian Republic decorated her in 2019 as “Commander of the Republic”. She holds a license in marketing from the Higher Institute of Management of Tunis, a postgraduate degree in international trade law from the Faculty of Legal Sciences Tunis II and an MBA in Communication & Leadership from Dale Carnegie Training. Organised by FOSTERING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUCCESSFUL POLICIES FOR IN-DEPTH TRANSFORMATIONS Hala Bugaighis, Co-founder, Jusoor Center for Studies and Development Ms. Hala Bugaighis is a Libyan business lawyer with 15 years of experience in commercial law, petroleum law and international commercial agreements. She is highly regarded for her combination of strategic thinking and solution creation. Hala has a strong academic background in Libyan Law with sound understanding of international business laws. Hala through her private companies has been contracted as a consultant to many international major companies and Libyan private and public entities where she worked in her capacity as a business lawyer and on projects for developing organizations, capacity building, governance advisory services, and executive recruitment. She has strong entrepreneurial skills and heavily advocates promoting women inclusion in workforce and in business. Hala was recently nominated a UN Women Champion for Women Economic Empowerment. Carlos Conde, Head of the Middle East and Africa Division, Global Relations Secretariat, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mr. Carlos Conde is Head of the Middle East and Africa Division in the Global Relations Secretariat of the OECD. On this capacity, he leads the implementation of the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Investment for Development. The Initiative promotes policy dialogue on governance, investment and private sector development between MENA and OECD countries. During this period the MENA Initiative has introduced the process of OECD peer reviewing in the MENA region, and extensively promoted country programmes of reform in the MENA region with a particular focus on Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan. Between 2007 and 2014, he led the MENA-OECD Governance Programme in the Public Governance Directorate of the OECD and supported the OECD work on public governance in Latin America. Before joining the OECD in 2007, Mr. Conde was associate professor of political science and public policy at the University of Granada in Spain. In this position, Mr. Conde led several projects of academic co-operation, research and network building between Arab and European universities. Mr. Conde had visiting positions at Harvard University (1995-96) and Al Akhawayn University of Morocco, where he lectured between 2001 and 2003. Mr. Conde holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid. 2 FOSTERING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUCCESSFUL POLICIES FOR IN-DEPTH TRANSFORMATIONS Senén Florensa, President of the Executive Committee, European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) A diplomat and ambassador, Senén Florensa is currently President of the Executive Committee of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). He was previously Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to UN and the International Organisations in Vienna (2018-2020) and Consul General of Spain in Rome from 2017 to 2018. From 2006 to 2017, he was Director General and then Executive President of European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). Author or director of a long list of books and articles on Euro-Mediterranean and international affairs, he has been President of the World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies WOCMES in 2009, Secretary for International and European Affairs of the Generalitat of Catalonia and Member of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992. During his diplomatic career, he notably served as General Director of the Institute for Cooperation with the Arab World, the Mediterranean and Developing Countries (ICMAMPD) of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (1996-2000), and as Spanish Ambassador to Tunisia (2000-2004). Cristina Gallach Figueras, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Government of Spain Cristina Gallach was previously the High Commissioner of the Government of Spain for the 2030 Agenda (July 2018-January 2020). Between September 2017 and July 2018, she was Head of the Equal Opportunities Office of the Council of the EU in Brussels (September 2017-July 2018). Previously, Cristina Gallach was Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General (April 2017-June 2017), and Head of Department for Public Information, Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations for Communications and Public Information (February 2015-April 2017). She was also Head of Public Relations and Spokesperson for the Council of the EU (2010-2014), Spokesperson for the Government of Spain during the Rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU (January 2010-June 2010), and Head of Division, Spokesperson and Director of Communications to the High Representative of the European Union, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). She also worked as the European correspondent for the Spanish News Agency EFE in Brussels (1992- 1996), in Moscow (1990-1992), and as editor for "El Periódico de Cataluña" (1986-1990). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Sciences from the Autónoma University of Barcelona. She also obtained a master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University in New York. 3 FOSTERING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUCCESSFUL POLICIES FOR IN-DEPTH TRANSFORMATIONS Fairouz Habache, President, Women in Business of Algeria (WIBA) Currently responsible for national and international programmes at CMESA Consulting & SCALY Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, in Sétif, Ms. Habache completed post-graduate studies in Civil Engineering, option methods, planning and site organisation. Entrepreneur in construction from 2006 to date, she was a former senior executive at ENPC Sétif in the studies and projects department. Fairouz Habache has more than 18 years of experience in the building industry. In 2008, Fairouz joined the Association of Algerian Managers and Entrepreneurs (AME), which enabled her to join women's entrepreneurship networks such as the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs, MENA Businesswomen Network, and networks of women from the Mediterranean. These experiences prompted Fairouz Habache to create in January 2016 with other Algerian women the “WIBA Community” (Women in Business Algeria), a community of women entrepreneurs, artisans, project leaders, state executives and of scientific research. Fairouz Habache participated in 2020-2021 with She Trades, The Internationl Trade Center (ITC) and SIS (Swedish Institute for Standards) in the development of the ISO IWA 34 Standard on global definitions related to female entrepreneurship and since November 2020 is Certified mentor to the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Nasser Kamel, Secretary General, Union for the Mediterranean A career diplomat for the Egyptian government, Nasser Kamel held the position of Ambassador of Egypt to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018. He was also Ambassador to France in the period 2006-2012, during which he took part in the drafting of the Joint Declaration of the