HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud, secretary general of Alwaleed Philanthropies, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, has been appointed as the first ever Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab States by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) during a press conference at the 10th session of the World Urban Forum.

UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries, supporting people in cities and human settlements for a better urban future.

Highly regarded for her humanitarian work and philanthropic efforts to advance sustainable and inclusive development for the most vulnerable, HRH Princess Lamia as Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States will advocate for sustainable urbanisation, helping UN-Habitat to address urban challenges in Arab states and advance sustainable urbanisation as a driver of development and peace.

In her role as secretary general at Alwaleed Philanthropies, HRH 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 and assist those affected by disasters, Alwaleed Philanthropies has established partnerships with global organisations in humanitarian issues, healthcare, development and civil society.

Commenting on receiving the award, HRH Princess Lamia said: “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 urbanisation across our cities, communities and climate.”

Alwaleed Philanthropies 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 Programme to provide support to the victims of the Nepal Earthquake, along with a donation of $1 million 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. - TradeArabia News Service