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H.E. Abdulla Abdulalee AlHumaidan is a highly influential advocate and leader in the United Arab Emirates, known for his unwavering commitment to promoting inclusivity and empowerment. With a remarkable educational background and vast professional experience, he has become a driving force in championing the rights and well-being of individuals with determination.

After obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in General Management Information Systems from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi in 2009, Abdulla went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Abu Dhabi School of Management in 2017. With his solid academic foundation, he embarked on a career dedicated to effecting positive change.

His professional journey has been marked by numerous impactful roles, each contributing to his comprehensive understanding of organizational dynamics and societal needs.

His dedication to inclusivity and social progress is evident in his multifaceted involvement in various governmental and social organizations. As the Secretary-General of the Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination since 2017, I spearheaded initiatives to promote accessibility and empowerment for individuals with determination. Additionally, he is Deputy Vice-President of MENA at Rehabilitation International (RI) and the chairman of the organizing committee of the World Congress on Rehabilitation 2024 in Abu Dhabi.

H.E Abdulla Abdulalee AlHumaidan’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of passion and purpose. Through his relentless advocacy and visionary leadership, he continues to pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable society, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of individuals with determination and inspiring positive change on a global scale.

Regarded as China’s Helen Keller for her outspokenness on disability rights, Zhang Haidi is the chairperson of the China Disabled Persons Federation and the President of Rehabilitation International. Born in Jinan, Shandong Province, Zhang became a paraplegic at age five due to complications from polio. Unable to attend school, she educated herself to university level, learning several foreign languages including English, Japanese, German and Esperanto. Zhang started writing and translating in the 1980s, authoring her life story Beautiful English in both Chinese and English. as well as the novel, A Dream in Wheelchair. Zhang holds a Master in Philosophy from Jilin University.

Christoph Gutenbrunner is professor emeritus at Hannover Medical School and former head of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Besides his clinical work he is very active in academic teaching and research. His main scientific fields are clinical rehabilitation research, intervention mechanism as well as rehabilitation theories, services and systems. He has published around 420 scientific papers, 225 of them listed in PubMed.

At an international level, Christoph Gutenbrunner had multiple leading positions, e.g. Chair of the Professional Practice Committee of UEMS-PRM-Section, Chairman of ISPRM-WHO-Liaison Committee, President of the Baltic and North Sea Forum of PRM, President of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance, and Board Member of ESPRRM. He was president of ISPRM World Congress 2015 in Berlin (Germany). Currently, he is president elect of Rehabilitation International, Board Member of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine and International Officer of the German Society of PRM.

Christoph Gutenbrunner is Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and Senior Fellow of the European Board on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. He holds honorary membership of 5 scientific societies in the field.

Dr. Azman, the 17th President of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), took office for the term 2023–2025 upon the ISSA Elections during the World Social Security Forum (WSSF) 2022 in Marrakech. Morocco. As a social security practitioner, he aspires to ensure to make this world a better place where no one is left behind.

He started his career in 1993 as a young medical doctor, and in 2001 Dr. Azman became the first medical doctor employed by the Social Security Organisation (Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial – PERKESO) of Malaysia. He ascended the corporate ladder when he was promoted to Senior General Manager of Operations in 2007, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) in 2011, and finally as CEO of PERKESO in 2015.

Under his leadership, Dr. Azman initiated various innovations and reforms to enhance PERKESO’s social security protection, which includes the extension of PERKESO’s coverage from formal workers to other working populations, such as government contract workers, self-employed workers, foreign workers, domestic workers, and recently housewives. He was also instrumental in the introduction of the Employment Insurance System in Malaysia, which enabled strong linkages between social security and labour market interventions for vulnerable people.

Before being elected as ISSA President, he was an active member of the ISSA Bureau and Chairperson of the ISSA Technical Commission on Organization, Management, and Innovation for six years. He also held various other positions internationally, such as the President of the Asia Workers’ Compensation Association (AWCA), and a Board Member for International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) based in the United States.

Dr. Azman grew up in the state of Pahang, Malaysia and pursued his medical degree at the University of Malaya from 1987 to 1992 and specialized in Occupational Medicine at Royal College of Physicians, Ireland in 1997. He was conferred with a Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland in 2011. Currently, Dr. Azman is also an Adjunct Professor at two Malaysian universities: Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). His leadership, capability, and contributions are recognized locally and internationally, and in 2020, Dr. Azman became the first Malaysian to receive the Frances Perkins Award from the IAIABC.

Dr. Adil is a UAE-national family medicine consultant physician who works at Mediclinic Parkview hospital in Dubai. He has given over 300 lectures and webinars in 3 years to different government and private sectors in the UAE. Additionally, the doctor hosts and presents the largest Arabic health show on social media program in the UAE on UAEBARQ with over 2.5 million followers. The doctor is a regular guest on national and international TV and radio shows and has won multiple awards for their work, including the Bahrain Award for Voluntary Work and the Sharjah Award for Voluntary Work. Graduated from the UAE Government Executive Leadership Program from the Prime Minister’s Office, the doctor holds a postgraduate master’s level certification in SQIL. Completed medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the doctor holds a postgraduate board certification in Family Medicine. The doctor also holds an Executive Master’s in Healthcare Management and a postgraduate Diploma in Public Sector Innovation from the University of Cambridge. Additionally, serving as an Advisory and Decision Committee Member at Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund.

Dr. Annette Tabbara LL.M. is Director-General at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. She studied law in Hamburg, Halifax and Augsburg. Dr. Tabbara earned a Master of Laws in Canada and did a doctorate in constitutional media law. She passed her second German state examination at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court Hamburg.

She held various positions at the ministry, up to head of division responsible for basic issues of social policy. From 2015 until 2018, Dr. Annette Tabbara served at the Federal Chancellery, heading the task force of the Independent Commissioner and the office of the State Minister for Migration, Integration and Refugees. She then became State Secretary and Representative of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg with responsibility for Hamburg’s relations with the Federation, the European Union and other countries. In late 2019, she joined the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs again, where she has since been the head of the Directorate-General responsible for the participation of persons with disabilities, social compensation and social assistance. This means that she has technical responsibility for the bulk of tax-financed federal social law.

Gabriela Michetti was born on May 28th, 1965, in Laprida, a small town in Buenos Aires province. She entered politics along the 2001 crisis, always accompanying Mauricio Macri, a mentor and great friend.

She graduated in Political Sciences and International Affairs at Del Salvador University. Also, she was awarded Medal of Honor in the Master’s in Business Management and Integration (UCES).

In 1994, aged 29 years old, she was in a car crash that resulted in a spinal cord injury. Since then, she has been in a wheelchair. After the accident, however, she resumed her work even more tirelessly.

She was advisor to the Undersecretariats of Foreign Trade and Industry and later held technical positions in the National Ministry of Economy. When she was 36 years old, she was appointed Director in charge of International Commercial Negotiations and a few years later, Component Coordinator of the Strengthening of Trade Policy Project.

During the 2001 crisis, she decided to actively participate in politics and was involved in the creation of the political party led by Mauricio Macri. She run as first candidate for city policymaker in Buenos Aires City, and became chair of the block.

Between 2003 and 2007, she was a city lawmaker for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and succeeded in the enactment of significant legislation for further transparency and justice, such as the Purchase and Hiring Act, and the amendment to Access to Information acts.

In 2007, she was elected Deputy Mayor of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires by PRO, becoming the first female Deputy Mayor to hold executive office.

Between 2009 and 2013, she was a Congresswoman representing Buenos Aires City. She was Chair of Mercosur Committee and Deputy Chair of the Social Action & Public Health Committee.

Between 2013 and 2015 she was a Senator for Buenos Aires City and chaired the block for PRO.

Between December 2015 and December 2019, she was Vice President of the Argentine Republic, and from her position, she was Chair of the Senate and accompanied the executive functions of the President. Amongst her most outstanding actions, the creation of the National Disability Agency, the valuing of the craft industry, and over forty trips in official visits heading the economic and State mission in the leading countries around the world stand out.

Today, Gabriela is one of the women with the largest track-record and more elective office held in the history of Argentine politics; she is 59 years old, has a 31-year-old son, and since December 2019 she has been considered a national and international referent for consultation by political leader, organizations and referents from the private sector.

Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani OBE is President & Founder of the Arab International Women’s Forum, and is recognised in Arab and international government, private sector and NGO circles as a high-impact change agent focussed on women’s leadership and youth empowerment, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, food and water security, education and the Future of Work, working for progress, inclusion, peace, and prosperity in the Arab region and internationally.

Haifa founded the Arab International Women’s Forum in London in 2001 as a development organisation committed to supporting women’s leadership in social and economic growth in the MENA region and internationally and creating equality of opportunity for all. Haifa served as the Chair of AIWF for 20 years and under her leadership, AIWF has become one of the world’s most respected development organisations for the economic empowerment of women and young people, working at the highest levels with a global network of corporate, institutional and global advocacy partners to advance momentum for women’s leadership in all sectors and spheres. She was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in King Charles’ New Year 2024 Honours List in recognition of her services to Women, Young People and to Cultural Relations between the UK and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Haifa is a development economist, an alumna of the American University of Beirut and read for a Diploma in Economic Development at Oxford University. In January 2017, Haifa Al Kaylani became a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University as one of 46 global leaders selected for an intensive, multi-disciplinary program and yearlong Fellowship to research and address significant social problems, undertaking the Fellowship through 2017 to carry forward on a global level the mission to which she has devoted over three decades of her life – the empowerment and advancement of Arab women and youth through job creation, entrepreneurship, education, and economic empowerment, in the MENA region and internationally. The key outcome of her Fellowship has been a sustainable agriculture project currently being piloted in Jordan for which Haifa has secured World Bank funding.

Haifa was the only Arab Commissioner to serve on the International Labour Organization’s Global Commission on the Future of Work (2017-2019). As an ILO Commissioner, Haifa contributed to the flagship report of the ILO published in January 2019, Work for a brighter future, which articulated the ILO framework for mitigating future of work challenges. She brings a wide range of skills and experience to her personal mission of encouraging greater cultural understanding and sustainable economic growth and reform, supporting a strong role for women and young leaders at the heart of that process.

Haifa holds senior roles in several cultural, educational, non-governmental UK, MENA and international organisations. She is a Board Member of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce in London, which works to advance trade relations and cultural cohesion between the Arab world and the United Kingdom and for which Haifa has worked tirelessly to promote trade between the MENA region and the UK. She has served as a Livery Member of the Worshipful Company of World Traders for many years and has been admitted to the Freedom of the City of London.

Haifa is also a Member of The Stimson East West Council on Track II Diplomacy, a Global Advisory Committee Member of QS, a member of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Director’s Advisory Council and a longstanding Harvard Women’s Leadership Board (WLB) Member, having been a member of the Harvard WLB for 20 years and a member of the WLB Executive Committee. In 2023, Haifa was appointed to the Board of Medurable, a Paris-based non-profit of Water Champions committed to advocating for peace and sustainable development.

Haifa is also an Advisory Board Member of the Global Thinkers Forum, a former Director of the East-West Institute in New York, former Advisory Board Member of the Imperial College Business School, and also served as an Advisory Board Member of the London Middle East Institute at the SOAS University of London. Haifa served in 2012 on The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance chaired by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was also the first Honorary Member of the Euro Mediterranean Association for Cooperation and Development (2012).

The many awards and honours that Haifa has received during her voluntary service career speak to the high regard in which she is held. These rewards also recognise the significance of the contributions that she has made over the years and continues to make to advance women and young people in the UK and in the Arab World. She remains an eloquent and compelling champion for many good causes, ensuring that women’s voices are heard, their contributions are recognised, and their priorities are addressed.

Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano is the Secretary General of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). He was elected in December 2018 based on his intention to strengthen ISSA knowledge, networking and promotion of social security.

Mr Caetano heads a programme of activities centred on promoting excellence in social security administration. During his tenure, the ISSA Guidelines have been further developed, the focus on innovation has been enhanced, knowledge is built and shared through publications, the ISSA databases on social security are being extended, a new Master’s degree has been established, and online events now complement the existing regional and global events. Furthermore, the ISSA has built an even wider membership base, and strengthened its cooperation with international partners.

Prior to his election as Secretary General, Mr Caetano served as the Secretary for Social Security of the Government of Brazil, with the responsibility for designing, monitoring and developing a responsive and sustainable social security system in the country. He holds PhD degree in economics from the Catholic University of Brasília and has extensive academic and managerial experience in social security.

Between July 1998 and August 2005, he was the Coordinator for Actuarial Work, Accounting and Technical Studies of the Ministry of Social Security in Brazil. After six years as a Senior Researcher on social security at Brazil’s prestigious Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), he became the Coordinator for Social Security, Assistance, Demography, Inequality and Poverty in IPEA between 2012 and 2016. He then served as Secretary of Social Security in Brazil from May 2016 to December 2018.

Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano has longstanding experience in the areas of pensions, demography, social security coverage, inequality and poverty, having published extensively on social security in several Brazilian books and journals, as well as in the USA, Switzerland, Portugal, Chile and Mexico. He has been a Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and is an international editorial advisor for the Journal of Social Policy published by Cambridge University Press.

Ms. Lampinen has been involved with developing education, employment and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities for over 20 years. She has published and studied areas of supported employment, employment policies of people with disabilities including vocational rehabilitation services and special education and inclusion in education. Though her work has mainly been within Finland, she has over 20 years of expertise in international networking in for example European Supported Employment and Rehabilitation International where she currently holds a position as the chair of Policy and Services commission. Ms. Lampinen currently works as a Development Manger at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland in social services and rehabilitation degrees.

Dr. Ramadan AlBlooshi, a determined advocate for excellence, recently assumed the role of Senior Advisor to the Director General at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). His extensive background includes serving as Chief Regulatory Officer at Dubai Healthcare City Authority and leading the Health Regulation Department at DHA. With a focus on clinical governance, he has shaped healthcare standards across Dubai. Dr. AlBlooshi’s expertise spans regulatory affairs, clinical practice, and strategic leadership. Academically, he holds an MBA from Zayed University and a Science degree in gastroenterology from Queen Mary University. A participant in leadership development programs, he exemplifies dedication to advancing healthcare and inspiring future leaders.