DCU honours champion of diversity and inclusion, H.E. Dr Amal Al Qubaisi
Dublin City University has paid tribute to H.E. Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Chairperson and Speaker, Federal National Council, UAE, conferring her with an honorary doctorate of Philosophy on Thursday, June 21st 2018.
Dr Al Qubaisi was recognised for her efforts in championing diversity and inclusion in the Arab world.
In 2015, Dr Qubaisi made history when she was elected Speaker of the FNC, becoming the first woman in the Arab world to hold such office.
Delivering the citation, Prof. Dorothy Kenny of DCU's School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (SALIS), said: “By any standards, the career of H.E. Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, President and Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, has been exceptional. It is impossible to summarise her achievements without reaching for superlatives, and constantly re-using words such as “first” and “only”. Dr Al Qubaisi has made history on several occasions, but more importantly, she has used her position not only to defend the rights of her fellow human beings, and to promote tolerance, respect and dialogue, but also to challenge other leaders to do likewise."
Prof. Kenny added: "To say that Dr Al Qubaisi has blazed a trail for women parliamentarians in the Arab world is an understatement, but her influence extends well beyond the Arab world. In December 2016, she presided over the first Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament in Abu Dhabi. The Declaration issued at the end of the summit bears her hallmark, making strong commitments on causes that she had already worked tirelessly to promote through her work on the UAE’s Federal National Council. Such causes include the placing of democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development, addressing climate change, achieving gender equality, fighting against discrimination and violence against women and girls, and empowering young people."
In accepting her award, Dr Amal Al Qubaisi said: “Challenges sometimes define who we are. The greater those challenges, the greater the achievements. Tolerance, inclusion, accepting others and co-existence - these are all based on respect.”
Dr Amal described the opening of DCU's Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion (formally established on the same day as her honorary conferring ceremony) as "a huge step forward, especially in an academic arena. She added: “Being available as a role model in this way and setting an example that others will follow is so important.”
Addressing the conferring ceremony, Prof. Brian MacCraith commented: "If there's one word which captures what Dr Amal stands for, it is 'tolerance' - an increasingly rare attribute in a world of coarsening values, xenophobia and rampant populism. Dr Amal, you have embodied active tolerance and, through that, you serve as a critically important role model, especially for our students, and you represent the values that we wish to instil in them in our mission to transform lives and societies."