CAIRO: King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) was a sponsor of Ashoka's Arab World Social Innovation Forum (AWSIF) round table on Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship held at the Cairo Marriott Hotel on May 15. The Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship round table is a part of AWSIF, which began May 14 with an award ceremony honoring leaders in social entrepreneurship, a celebration of new initiatives in social entrepreneurship, the induction of Ashoka's new Arab World Fellows. The second day of AWSIF included round tables on Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Developing a Social Investment, and Market-Based Solutions. AWSIF will serve as the occasion for innovative leaders and decision-makers from the private sector, civil society, and international institutions around the globe to advance the agenda of social innovation in the Arab world. The Forum will leverage Ashoka's longstanding support and pioneering of social entrepreneurship to connect guests to the latest high-impact social initiatives and partnerships, making the event a reference for social innovation and change in the Arab World. AWSIF will result in concrete partnerships and policy recommendations, and will generate funds to foster social entrepreneurship in the Arab region through the election of 5 social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Arab World Fellows. AWSIF will also serve as a follow-up to U.S. President Obama's Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, which was held on April 26-27 in Washington, D.C. As an Arab-driven initiative, AWSIF will gather like-minded individuals from all sectors, thus promoting a common ground for discussion and action, and represent a unified Arab voice towards entrepreneurship, innovation, and social change. Distinguished guests and honorees include Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding; Hani Masri, Founder of Tomorrow's Youth Organization and Co-Founder of Palestine Note; Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and Advisor to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; Peder Wallenberg, Founder of Carpe Vitam International; and Naseer Shamma, acclaimed Iraqi musician and Founder of the 1 Million Petals Initiative. Organizations represented will include: Silatech, Gallup, Google, Zouk Ventures, the Brookings Institution, the Hilti Foundation, Injaz, the American University in Cairo, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ace and Company, the Act on 8 Foundation, the White House, Tomorrow's Youth Organization, Synergos, Microsoft, Baraka Consulting, Baron Advisors/Global Capital Management, Lingfield AB, the Cherie Blair Foundation, USAID, Ashoka Arab World, the Dubai School of Government, the American Chamber of Commerce (Egypt), the Bank of Alexandria, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, and Eva Pharma. KAFD was established by a Royal Decree in 2001 as a non-governmental organization, which strives to achieve social and economic development in all governorates in Jordan. Since 2001, the fund has been contributing to programs designed to empower targeted segments of the community, especially the youth, building their leadership capacity and fostering their talent and creativity. The fund manages the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (www.KAAYIA.org). The Award strives to promote social innovation through celebrating and supporting Arab youth who are active citizens in their communities. Ashoka
