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Thunderbird professor speaks at women's leadership conference in Dubai Thunderbird Professor Mary Sully de Luque joined women from around the world in Dubai this week for a conference organized by Zayed University to educate female students on their roles in leadership across the globe. The 2008 Women as Global Leaders conference was held March 10-12.

Sulley de Luque along with Dr. Amy Boren and Rachel Clapp Smith, both from the University of Nebraska, hosted a session on “Think Globally, Act Locally: Economic Reform through Developing Leadership Talent in Women Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan,” Their research explores the use of cross-cultural mentoring programs to provide technical and social support for female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. The paper and presentation was based on research involving fellows from Thunderbird’s Project Artemis, a business skills training program for women in Afghanistan.

Project Artemis, which began in 2005, brings classes of 15 Afghan women entrepreneurs to Thunderbird for two weeks of intensive business training. Through Artemis, the women receive entrepreneurial training, coaching, mentoring and access to resources, so they can help rebuild their ravaged nation by starting small businesses in their homeland.

The presentation by Sully de Luque discussed the experiences and difficulties of 10 female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and their Western mentors, who are experienced businesswomen. During their Artemis program, the Afghan women met with European and American businesswomen who then served as their mentors. The mentoring relationship was designed to provide the Afghan women support in the technical, emotional, and social aspects of building a business.

The conference in Dubai is primarily a student leadership conference and draws participants from more than 85 countries and all sectors including education, government, and nongovernmental organizations. Since many Muslim women cannot attend mixed conferences, this biennial conference for women is widely attended, according to Sully de Luque. The theme of this year’s conference was “Learning Leadership” and focused on women’s emergent and current leadership roles across the globe as well as the practice of educating students for and about leadership.

Other speakers included Jane Fonda, actress and activist; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Carol Bellamy, former head of UNICEF, CEO of World Learning, and president of the School for International Training; Anousheh Ansari, first female private space explorer, chairperson and co-founder of Prodea Systems Inc.; Helen Thomas, journalist and author; and Mary Sue Coleman, president, University of Michigan.

Representatives from the U.A.E. at the conference included His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University; H. E. Reem Al-Hashimy, U.A.E. Minister of State; H.E. Nayla René Moawad, Minister of Social Affairs, Lebanon; and H.E. Najla Mohammed Al Awar, Secretary General for the U.A.E. Cabinet