Under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance of the UAE and President of Zayed University.
Dr. Michael Allen is Assistant Provost for Faculty Affairs and Research at Zayed University, having previously served for five years as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has also held positions at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), the University of California at Berkeley, Brigham Young University, and the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada). He has extensive experience in international education, and has traveled widely both for his own research and to build programs and partnerships between universities. Trained as a historian, Dr. Allen received his Ph.D.
Dr. Akef Ahmad Al Zoubi is former Minister of Agriculture of Jordan. He served as Minister of Agriculture between 2013 and 2016. During that time, he was also chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Credit Corporation; the Board of Directors of the Jordanian Cooperative Association; and the Board of the National Center of the Agricultural Scientific Research and Extension. From 2010 to 2011 Dr. Al Zoubi served as Deputy of the Head of the Jordanian Alliance against Hunger and Food Insecurity, and Head of the Executive Committee of the Alliance.
Mr. Ould Ahmed MS, a national of Mauritania, holds a B.A. in Economics from the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences, Tunis, a Master’s degree in Economic Sciences (Development Economics) from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France, and an International Degree in Public Administration from the National School of Administration (ENA), Paris, France. Mr. Ould Ahmed MS started his professional career in 1985 with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Mauritania.
Dr. Majid Sultan Al Qassimi qualified as a doctor of veterinary medicine at Saint Istvan University in Budapest, Hungary. He has worked as a veterinarian in the field of environment and conservation at public institutions across the UAE. He made a transition to administration as Director of Terrestrial Biodiversity in 2013 at the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD). Taking on a larger mandate and leadership role, he has been part of the team that opened up the protected areas of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to the public.
Mr. Mohammad Jamal Al-Saati is Director of Country Programs Department (Asia Region) and Acting Director of Country Programs Department (Arab Region) at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Since joining IsDB in 1998, Mr. Al-Saati has held several key positions, including Deputy Director of Country Operations Department (MENA Region), and Director of Operations Policy and Services Department. Before joining IsDB, Mr.
Dr. Ismahane Elouafi has been consistently ranked amongst the 20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World by CEO Middle East Magazine. She is a visionary leader and strategic thinker, highly adept as a transformational groundbreaker, delivering comprehensive stakeholder engagement as a change management champion, motivator, and relationship builder.With global experience in not-for- profit research organizations and government agencies, she is multi-lingual with proficiency in the Arabic, English, French, and Spanish languages.Dr.
