Abu Dhabi, 9 February 2020 –Her Royal Highness, Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, a leading philanthropist and the Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, appointed as UN-Habitat Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States, during a press conference at the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum being held from 8 to 13 February in Abu Dhabi.
In a move that is likely to upscale the image of the UN agency in charge of cities in the Arab States, HRH Princess Lamia was named at an event held at WUF10. Highly regarded for her humanitarian work and philanthropic work to advance sustainable and inclusive development for the most vulnerable, HRH in her role as Goodwill Ambassador will advocate for sustainable urbanization, helping UN-Habitat to address urban challenges in Arab states and advance sustainable urbanization as a driver of development and peace.
“UN-Habitat is delighted to welcome HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud in her new role as Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States. As a humanitarian activist, her engagement with UN-Habitat will support our efforts on accessible and affordable housing, recovery and reconstruction, and building back better. We look forward to her support to drive action on sustainable and inclusive urban development in cities across the region,” said UN-Habitat Regional Director for Arab States, Mr Erfan Ali.
Commenting on the appointment, HRH Princess Lamia, Secretary-General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, said: ”I am greatly honoured to have been appointed as the first ever UN-Habitat Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab world. Using the experience and lessons we have learned through our work over four decades, we will continue to face the world’s most pressing challenges with unwavering dedication, commitment, and intelligence to help countries and stakeholders address issues around urbanization and its implications on societies, economies and environments. We promise to continue building bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant and accepting future along with our key partners.”
About Her Royal Highness Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud Al Saud
Her Royal Highness Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud Al Saud is the Secretary General and member of the Board of Trustees at Alwaleed Philanthropies. Princess Lamia was appointed Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies in April 2016, having previously served as Executive Manager of Media & Communication at the foundation. In 2017, Her Royal Highness received an honorary medal from the Vice President of Laos in recognition of her philanthropic efforts in the country. That same year, Princess Lamia was announced winner of the Achievement in Philanthropies Award at the Arab Women of the Year 2017, held in London.
Princess Lamia received the first of its kind “Change Maker Award” at the Aid & Trade Conference in London in recognition of her humanitarian and philanthropic efforts worldwide. Her Royal Highness was also presented with National Council’s first-ever Philanthropic Leadership Award to HRH in Washington, DC, “in recognition of HRH’s efforts to contribute to a more compassionate, tolerant, and accepting world.”
In 2018, Princess Lamia was awarded the “Woman Leader in Community Development Excellence Award” which was given by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute honoring women leaders and executives in Dubai, UAE. In March 2018, Princess Lamia was honored with the Baden Powell Fellowship pin by the World Scout Foundation in recognition of AP’s contributions to the WSF’s support of youth around the world. The Princess was also appointed as the first Saudi to join the UN Women as a “Global Champion” for gender data equality.
In 2019, Princess Lamia was appointed by UNICEF as the first Middle Eastern and Non-government leader to join the “Generation Unlimited Champion committee” to provide successful futures for 1.8 billion young people across the world.
In a TV interview, HRH Princes Lamia said she had been inspired by what she termed an honour to work with UN-Habitat. “It's an honour to be the GWA of UN-Habitat. We have a lot of experience in this domain in developing communities. Working with UN-Habitat will add knowledge and experience to work. We would like to duplicate this in our projects in Saudi Arabia. We will use UN-Habitat’s expertise with our projects there,” she said