HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud appointed as first ever UN-Habitat Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States.
Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud, Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has been appointed as the first ever Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab States by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) during a press conference at the tenth session of the World Urban Forum.
In her role as Secretary General at Alwaleed Philanthropies, Princess Lamia leads an all-female team that is combatting inequalities and providing opportunities for those in need in the Middle East and around the world.
In addition to investing in programs and initiatives that build cross-cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women and young people. Alwaleed Philanthropies has established partnerships with global organizations in humanitarian issues, healthcare, development and civil society.
“I am extremely humbled to be appointed as the first ever Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab world on behalf of UN-Habitat. I very much hope that this appointment serves as inspiration for young people across the Arab region that there is no limitation on their aspirations.”
“My appointment comes as we celebrate 40 years of Alwaleed Philanthropies. If there is one thing that we have learnt from these four decades of experience, it is that every person has an important role to play when facing the world’s most pressing challenges. Overcoming a problem or transforming someone’s life can often be achieved by thinking differently and developing the simplest of solutions. It only takes one person to make a difference and as a Goodwill Ambassador I hope to inspire people across the Arab world to think about the role that they can play in helping to address the impact of rapid urbanization across our cities, communities and climate.”
Commenting on receiving the award, Princess Lamia.
Alwaleed Philanthropies (AP) has been working with UN-Habitat across a number of regional and global projects including:
- Working with disaster relief agencies such as Habitat for Humanity, International Medical Corp and the World Food Program to provide support to the victims of the Nepal Earthquake, along with a donation of USD $1M going towards affected families.
- Partnership with Misr El Kheir Foundation in Egypt to launch the Sutra Project, an initiative that aims to build 10,000 housing units for Egyptian families with the highest needs over the next ten years. Alwaleed Philanthropies is partnering with the Ministries of Housing, Urban Communities, Local Development and Social Welfare in Egypt to complete this project
- Undertook a three-year partnership to provide disaster relief to those that need it most across five different countries including Nepal, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Japan and most recently Sri Lanka. In total over 7,300 families have received vital support
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, the Princess 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. The Princess was also presented with National Council’s first-ever Philanthropic Leadership Award in Washington, DC, in recognition of her 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. also in the 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.
UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries supporting people in cities and human settlements for a better urban future. Working with governments and local partners, its high impact projects combine world-class expertise and local knowledge to deliver timely and targeted solutions. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes a dedicated Goal on cities, SDG 11 – to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
