Highly regarded for her humanitarian work and philanthropic efforts to advance sustainable and inclusive development for the most vulnerable, HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud was recently selected as the first-ever regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab States by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The organisation that works in over 90 countries to support people in cities and human settlements for a better urban future appointed the Saudi royal, who is the Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies (AP), during a press conference at the tenth session of the World Urban Forum.
As Goodwill Ambassador for Arab States, Princess Lamia will work hard to 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.
While receiving the award, Princess Lamia said she was humbled and hoped the appointment “serves as an inspiration for young people across the Arab region that there is no limitation on their aspirations.” She added thinking outside the box and coming up with easy solutions can help with problem solving or turning someone’s life around. Princess Lamia, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at AP too, also said, “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.”
Chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin
Princess Lamia’s Impressive List of Achievements
Princess Lamia reached a milestone last year as well when UNICEF appointed her as the first Middle Eastern and non-government leader to join the Generation Unlimited Champion Committee to provide successful futures. She was also the first Saudi to join the UN Women as a Global Champion for gender data equality.
The humanitarian who served as Executive Manager of Media & Communication at AP before becoming Secretary General in 2016 has a lot of accolades under her belt. In 2017, Princess Lamia received an honorary medal from the Vice President of Laos in recognition of her philanthropic efforts in the country. And that same year she won the Achievement in Philanthropies Award at the Arab Women of the Year Awards held in London. The royal also received the first of its kind Change Maker Award at the Aid & Trade Conference in the same city in recognition of her humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. In another feat in Washington, DC, Princess Lamia earned National Council’s first-ever Philanthropic Leadership Award “in recognition of her efforts to contribute to a more compassionate, tolerant and accepting world.” While honouring women leaders and executives in Dubai, the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute granted Princess Lamia the Woman Leader in Community Development Excellence Award. The philanthropist was also granted the Baden Powell Fellowship pin by the World Scout Foundation (WSF) in recognition of AP’s contributions to the WSF’s support of youth around the world.
