Queen Rania Al Abdullah

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah (formerly Rania Al-Yassin) was born in Kuwait on August 31, 1970 to a notable Jordanian family of Palestinian origin.

She completed her primary and secondary education in Kuwait and, in 1991, obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.

After graduating, Queen Rania returned to Jordan and pursued a career in banking, followed by a brief career in the field of Information Technology.

His Majesty King Abdullah bin Al Hussein (then Prince) married Queen Rania on June 10, 1993. They have four children: HRH Prince Hussein, HRH Princess Iman, HRH Princess Salma, and HRH Prince Hashem.

Since her marriage to then Prince Abdullah, Queen Rania has channeled her energies behind initiatives that improve the livelihood of various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond.

In Jordan, Queen Rania’s activities encompass issues such as education, health, children, youth, women, tourism and the environment, among others. Her Majesty has a special interest in:  improving the quality of family life, including protecting children from violence and supporting Early Childhood Development; promoting excellence, creativity and innovation in education; and developing income-generating projects and advancing best practices in the field of microfinance. She has also been particularly vocal about the importance of cross cultural and interfaith dialogue to foster greater understanding, tolerance and acceptance across the world.

Education: Queen Rania launched “Madrasati” (“My School”) in April 2008, a public-private school adoption initiative aimed at refurbishing Jordan’s public schools. She also launched the Queen Rania Al Abdullah Award for Excellence in Education, the Innovative Teachers’ Network (ITN), the Children’s Museum of Jordan and INJAZ.

Family: Queen Rania established the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) in 1995, which is a Jordanian NGO whose vision is to empower society, especially women and children, and in turn, improve the quality of life to secure a better future for all Jordanians. Since then, JRF has launched several programs such as: the Child Safety Program, Dar Al-Aman, the Queen Rania Family and Child Center, Jordan River Designs, Wadi Al-Rayan, and Bani Hamida. Queen Rania has also served as President of the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA). She is also on the Board of Directors for Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA).

Cross-cultural dialogue: In March 2008, Queen Rania launched her own YouTube channel to dispel stereotypes about the Arab and Muslim worlds. She also campaigned for a greater understanding between cultures in such high profile forums as the Jeddah Economic Forum, the Sorbonne, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Skoll Foundation in the UK.

Working internationally: Queen Rania has worked with many international organizations and forums such as: UNICEF, International Youth Foundation, World Economic Forum, Forum of Young Global Leaders, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Hans Christian Andersen abc-Foundation, United Nations Foundation, Arab Women Labor Affairs Committee of the Arab Labor Organization, Operation Smile and Arab International Women’s Forum.

Queen Rania has received 3 honorary doctorates, and has written two stories, “The King’s Gift” and “Eternal Beauty”.

She is fluent in Arabic and English.

For more on Queen Rania, please visit her official website at www.queenrania.jo.

Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio

Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio is a Portuguese lawyer, politician, and former President of the Republic.

He started his political career as college student of the Law School of the University of Lisbon: in that period he was involved in the student contestation against the fascist regime and, between 1960 and 1961, was leader of the Lisbon students union. Following his graduation in 1961, he started a notable career as a lawyer, often involved in the defence of many political prisoners.

After the Carnation Revolution of 1974, Sampaio funded the MES (Portuguese acronym for Social Left Movement), but abandoned this political project soon after. In 1978 he joined the Socialist Party, where he remains to present day.

His first election in the Portuguese National Parliament was in 1979. Between this year and 1984, he was a member of the European Commission for Human Rights, where he developed important work on these topics. In 1996, Jorge Sampaio won the elections and became President of the Republic, a position in which he was confirmed for a second term in 2001 (until March 2006). As President, his actions were mainly focused on education, social issues, human rights for all and European and international affairs.

In May 2006 he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis. His task is to work to reach the Millennium Development Goal of beginning to reverse the incidence of the disease by 2015.

In April 2007, he was appointed as the High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, a UN initiative aimed at crossing cultural and religion divides between communities.

For more information about the Alliance of Civilizations please consult http://www.unaoc.org/