L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011 announced

Dubai | 07/12/2011

L’Officiel Middle East, the region’s leading luxury fashion magazine for Arab women, has announced this year’s L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011 to pay tribute to inspirational Arab women in Dubai. The prestigious event celebrates achievements of remarkable women who have excelled in the arts, business, fashion and charity and pays homage to their contributions to the community. Previous winners include renowned Emirati film director Nayla Al Khaja, successful business woman Ingie Chalhoub and Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Supported by the Dubai Ladies Club, this year’s awards ceremony will be held on 13th December 2011 at the glamorous Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi.

Led by L’Officiel Middle East editor Nadine El Chaer, the selected panel of judges includes Dubai’s own leading business women; Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director, Dubai Ladies Club; Shamsa Saleh, CEO, Dubai Women’s Establishment; Sarah Belhasa, Owner, Studio 8 and Dr Manahel Thabet, CEO, Al Salasa Trading. Highly influential members of the community, the judges have demonstrated achievements and success in their own fields and based on their merits, they were selected to become the official judges of this year’s panel.

‘As a past recipient of an award as well as being a part of this year’s judging panel, it is a pleasure to witness the consistent growth of the L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards as a prominent event on Dubai’s annual calendar that celebrates the achievements of gifted Arab women, showcasing and profiling success in business as well as the valuable contribution they continue to make to corporate and community life. Dubai Ladies Club is delighted to provide their support and partnership for a third consecutive year and look forward to another exciting evening. We hope that the stories of this year’s winners will act as an inspiration to others.” said Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director, Dubai Ladies Club


The L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011 is sponsored by Mercedes Benz, a world-class automobile brand in the UAE, showcasing its pledge to honor Arab excellence amongst the women in the Emirates. “Mercedes Benz greatly values the contribution of women and the enrichment of the society at large. We are pleased to support the L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011and we strongly support women in attaining their true potential” said Wassim Derbi, Marketing Manager Mercedes Benz.

Other sponsors to this year’s award include Al Aan TV, Dubai Ladies Club, Carrera y Carrera, La Reine, Cleopatra’s Spa and the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi.

“Carrera y Carrera and L’Officiel magazine both epitomize effortless style, innate sophistication and contemporary glamour, constantly showcasing and highlighting the best of the fashion industry and bringing to the fore trendsetting new designs as well as established favorites. It is this synergy that makes our partnership seamless and why Carrera y Carrera is thrilled be part of these exciting Awards’’ said Emily Yan, Senior Brand Manager at Damas.

Grace and Garbo have been appointed as the official PR agency of the event. L’Officiel decided on this agency due to them being an energetic and creative boutique communications agency, and with their fresh and tailored approach they are proven to secure results every time, they are the perfect partner.

Grace and Garbo, Rahma Himid shares her reaction to be the appointed PR agency for the L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011,“We are extremely pleased and honoured to represent the L’Officiel Arab Woman Awards Dubai 2011. The awards are a much anticipated event every year and L’Officiel is such a pillar in the media landscape here in the Middle East. We are excited to use our Grace and Garbo talents to support the awards and are proud to be the official PR support for the event.’’

The winners will be announced at the glamourous awards ceremony on 13th December 2011.

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The Judges
Sarah Belhasa is one of the most influential women in Dubai’s fashion industry. Her boutique Studio 8 is an international multi-brand boutique based in Dubai, UAE. Bringing together some of the most respected names in design from Asia and the Middle East. Sarah Belhasa is also a member of the Dubai Fashion Week board and she has embarked on a career in fashion while working as Vice President for the Saif Belhasa Group.

Dr Manahel Thabet is the youngest and only Arab with a degree of PhD in Financial Engineering, her thesis has been involved in the Financial Engineering society research. She is one of the rare Arab women to have entered the field of quantum mathematics, and currently her research has been adopted by several American universities for development purposes. In December 2010, Dr. Thabet was awarded L’Officiel Women of the Year, Inspiration Women of the Year award at the L’Officiel Women of the Year Awards 2010. Dr. Thabet is an active member of many distinguished organizations such as MENSA, Young Arab Leaders and the International Association of Financial Engineers. She is also a Columnist and an Economic Researcher in many leading financial publication.

Shamsa Saleh is the CEO at The Dubai Women Establishment. She has been with the institution since 2008 as Director - Strategic Planning & Corporate Development responsible for project development and management, before getting promoted to her current role as CEO.

Muna Bin Kalli is the Executive Director of the Dubai Ladies Club, a member of Dubai Women Establishment. She is also the official spokesperson for all initiatives and projects founded by and under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE. In this role, she has represented Her Highness’s message at international events.

With a bachelor degree in journalism, Nadine El Chaer, group editor of L’Officiel Middle East and Ahlan! Arabia has a diverse journalistic background spanning a variety of roles in the media industry. Nadine is a member of the “Women Journalists without Borders” an organization which seeks to contribute to the care of human rights in general and women’s rights and private press in particular.