Transparency, trust, collaboration, and climate change, were among the key talking points at the Arab Foundations Forum’s (AFF) annual meeting in Cairo. Over three days, leaders from the region’s foundations and nonprofits, as well as local and global experts, academics, and representatives from international NGOs, discussed the challenges and opportunities for the sector and share best practice and solutions.
The event at the American University in Cairo was AFF’s first in-person meeting since 2017 and brought together some 130 delegates from 12 different countries.
“It was fantastic to have everyone together to discuss the important challenges facing our sector regionally and to look at ways we can collaborate for a better future,” Naila Farouky, AFF CEO, told Philanthropy Age. “I was encouraged by the depth and focus during the meeting, and happy that we were able to host several women-led panels,” she added.
Stating the importance of collaboration in a keynote speech delivered to the event via a recorded video link, Emirati philanthropist Badr Jafar said: “Many of our challenges are interconnected, so our solutions must also be interconnected through multi-step, multi-stakeholder interventions.”
“The more transparent we are as philanthropists, the more we can share data and evidence regarding the impact of our philanthropic work and the more trust we can build, the more impact we will have,” he said, adding: “Without quality data, our networks are blind. Without evidence, philanthropists and their foundations cannot make fully informed decisions.”
