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Between presentations at the recent conference on "Arab Women and BusinessManagement," IWSAW staffer Myriam Sfair conducted impromptu interviews with most of the presenters and some of the audience members. We present here some of the interesting voices and viewpoints that Myriam recorded. The comments of the conference participants contain valuable insights into Arab woman's role in management, the nature of the challenges she confronts, the future requirements for her continued success and progress in the professional world, and observations based on hard-won personal experience.

Lina Dannaoui and Nisrine Mansour were interviewed by IWSAW staffer Myriam Sfeir for this issue of Al-Raida on Civil Society in their capacity as young professional women heading Non -Governmental Organizations.

Women's Activism and Participation in Lebanon was the subject of a round table discussion held at the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World last October. The participants were Lina Abou Habib, Iqbal Doughan, Linda Matar, Mona Khalaf, Zoya Rouhana, and Dima Dabbous-Sensenig. The moderator was Marguerite Helou.

The role of higher education in the empowerment of Arab women was the subject of a round table discussion held at the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World in January 2006. The participants Lara A, Evette G., Yasmine D., Rania G., Dahlia K.S., Maysa H., Zeina M., Josiane M., Myriam S., Marie Jose T. and Rana W. represented several of the major universities in Lebanon. The moderators were Dr. Dima Dabbous- Sensenig and Dr. Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss. Due to space constraints, the following are excerpts from the twohour discussion.

Hala takes my brother to school everyday. She also works on the petrol station my family frequents. The two unconventional jobs she holds prompted me to interview her for this issue of Al-Raida. Her husband was present during the interview, so I had a chance to hear what he had to say.

Interview with the First Female Film Distributor in Lebanon, Dima AI-Jundi

Report: Film Festivals

"A Capable Woman is Fought all the Way" - An interview with Dr. Zeina Saba

Anita Farah Nassar has been affiliated with the Lebanese American University (LAU) since 1965, and throughout those 37 years, she has served LAU diligently. After graduating from the Beirut College for Women (currently LAU) in 1969 with a Bachelor degree, she worked at the nursery school then later joined the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) as Program Coordinator and was later promoted to Program Officer. She also received her Masters degree from this same institution after it became a full-fledged university. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of IWSAW. Given that this issue of Al-Raida investigates the role of higher education in empowering Arab women, here is what Nassar had to say about her university years.

Arda Ekmekji is an Armenian Lebanese scholar living in Beirut. Born in Jerusalem, Ekmekji lived in Jordan until 1968 after which she came to Lebanon to enroll in the American University of Beirut (AUB). She holds a BA in Ancient History and an MA in Archaeology from the AUB. She also has a Ph.D. in Archeology from the University of Paris I (Sorbonne). Ekmekji served as a faculty member at AUB for around two decades teaching Cultural Studies, Ancient Religions and Civilizations as well as Archaeology. She then moved to Haigazian University in 1997. She began as Director of the Faculty of Humanities and since 1998 has served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Haigazian University.

I met Dr. Salma Khan, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and President of the CEDAW Forum ,around mid October. She was invited by UNICEF and the Lebanese University to attend a workshop, held in Beirut, whose aim was the incorporation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) into the curriculum of Law Schools .

Interview with Eileen Kuttab

If she truly wants to. the Lebanese woman is able to work alongside her male partner in any field. The Lebanese woman has a role these days in theParliament, and hope she'll also have an increasing role in the ministries.