The Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture titled “A Vision for the Rising Arab Generation,” organised by the American University in Cairo (AUC), will be held on Monday 12 March from 6 to 9pm in Moataz El-Alfi Hall, AUC New Cairo. The speaker is Lubna S. Olayan, the CEO and deputy chairman of Olayan Financing Company. In 2004, Olayan became the first woman to join the board of a publicly listed Saudi company when she was elected to the board of directors of Saudi Hollandi Bank (now Alawwal Bank), where she currently serves as vice chair. Olayan will discuss the increase in youth demographics, the social impact of the refugee crisis, economic issues and how these topics affect and lead to problems with access to education, brain drain and lack of female participation. She will also look into the different ways to overcome these obstacles through investing in sustainable growth initiatives, female empowerment and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. The lecture is part of the Nadia Younes Memorial Fund, which was established in honour and memory of Nadia Younes, who was tragically killed in the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, while she was serving as chief of staff to Sérgio Vieira de Mello. In addition to the annual series, the fund has helped establish the Nadia Younes Conference Room, which serves Cairo International Model United Nations members, and the Nadia Younes Award for Public and Humanitarian Service. The Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture invites renowned international figures in the fields of politics, international relations and humanitarian affairs to speak at AUC. Speakers have included Kofi Annan (2005), former secretary-general of the United Nations; Dr. Bernard Kouchner (2006), former foreign minister of France and co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières; Mary Robinson (2007), former president of Ireland and the first female to assume that post; Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland (2012), former prime minister of Norway, former director-general of the World Health Organization and founder of the sustainability movement; Nabil Elaraby (2013), secretary-general of the League of Arab States; Nabil Fahmy (2014), Egypt's former foreign minister and dean of AUC's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Michael Møller, UN under-secretary-general (2015); in addition to many other prominent speakers and global leaders.
