International Business, Academic & Political Leaders Focus on Opportunities for Arab Businesswomen in a Global Economy.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 2003

Instituto de Empresa and Arab International Women's Forum Host Conference To Exchange Practical Business and Cultural Knowledge, Contacts and Strategies for Establishing New Role for Arab Women

The international conference to address and promote opportunities facing Arab women in the global business community, organized by top European business school Instituto de Empresa (IE) and the Arab International Women's Forum (AIWF), will bring business, academic and political leaders from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, the United States and Latin America to the IE campus in Madrid on June 30 and July 1.

The conference, entitled Arab Women in the 21st Century: A Global Business Opportunity, was designed to foster intimate and engaging discussions in order for presenters and participants to:

-- analyze challenges and opportunities facing women in Islamic

countries

-- exchange business practices and knowledge, including how to do

business with various cultures

-- develop business relationships across the globe

-- establish the new role of women in a global economy and

promote greater appreciation of women as agents of economic

change

-- leverage the Internet for business development, education and

training

The conference will include, among others, presentations by Ana Palacio, foreign affairs minister, Spain; H.H. Sheikha Hind al Khalifa, deputy minister for social affairs, Bahrain; Nora Al Sweidi, director general, General Women's Union, United Arab Emirates; Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, chairman Arab International Women's Forum, United Kingdom; Ragdha Kurdi, director, Hayat Pharmaceutical Industries, Jordan; Layla Al Khayat, world president, FCEM (Femmes Chefs D'Entreprises Mondiales), Tunisia; Annisa Essam El-din Hassouna, assistant general manager, Misr-Iran International Bank, Egypt; and Maria Eugenia Giron, CEO, Carrera y Carrera, Spain.

Participating members of the academic world include Lisa Anderson, dean, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, United States; Susan Vinnicombe, director, Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders, Cranfield University, United Kingdom; Dr. Rafia Obaid Ghubash, president of Arabian Gulf University, Bahrian; Connie Cardenas, director, Women's Department at the University of the Andes, Colombia; and Lucy Marcus, CEO, Marcus Venture Consulting, U.K. and chair, World Economic Forum's Global Leader for Tomorrow Task Force on Building Women Leaders. The event will also be attended by outstanding figures from the Arab and Latin American political stages, including H.E. Noemi Sanin, ambassador of Colombia, Spain and former presidential candidate, and Graciela Fernandez Meijide, former social affairs minister, Argentina.

About Instituto de Empresa

Instituto de Empresa is an international business school oriented to providing top-level training for executives and entrepreneurs. The school offers an extensive portfolio of master's degree programs (full-time), executive master's degrees (part-time) and executive education programs, designed to equip participants with the management tools and competences that make for a successful business organization. The markedly entrepreneurial and global slant of Instituto de Empresa programs, together with a firm commitment to new technologies and applied research projects, provides a valid response that meets the needs of today's business community.

About Arab International Women's Forum

The Arab International Women's Forum (AIWF), a non-profit organisation based in London, brings together the growing numbers of influential business and professional women and women community leaders in the 22 Arab countries together with their counterparts in the UK, Europe and worldwide. Launched in 2001 with the motto "Building Bridges, Building Business", AIWF provides a unique network opportunity where women can build their knowledge, develop their business and career potential and promote their respective organisations through activities.