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The NOORA Diaries: What NOORA’s members have done in 2025

A photo from Aurora50's NOORA women's network (with logo) from a meet-up on 9 January 2025. The workshop focused on social capital and two male allies were invited to attend. In this photo, the group of 35 women gathers for a staged group photo.
Suzanne Locke 5 February 2025
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Welcome to the NOORA diaries.

NOORA – Aurora50’s dynamic network connecting and empowering corporate women across the GCC – offers its members a unique experience.

Throughout their year-long membership, NOORA members gather at least every two months for enriching workshops, networking opportunities and discussions.

This blog post will serve as a window into their journey, a rolling diary capturing the highlights, insights and inspiring moments from each NOORA gathering. Join us throughout the year.

You can find out more about joining NOORA, with a corporate package or as an individual, at aurora50.com/noora.

NOORA social capital workshop, 9 January 2025

A transformative day of learning, inspiration and connection, this time in collaboration with our knowledge partner and workshop host Hult International Business School in Dubai.
 
The day was packed with thought-provoking discussions, including a powerful session by Professor Dame Heather McGregor, Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University, Dubai on the importance of social capital – how building meaningful relationships and leveraging networks can shape careers and foster success.
 
Namrata Kamath, dean of HULT University Dubai, led an engaging workshop on mastering communication, offering practical strategies for navigating difficult conversations with confidence and clarity, challenging members to practice and show their voice on the spot.
 
We were also honoured to have two male managers, Sergey Akhmetov, EVP Midstream from EGA, and Ben Lindley, Vice President of EK Airport Services from Emirates Group, joining us as male allies, bringing fresh perspectives and contributing to our conversations on inclusivity, growth and women empowerment.
 
Find out more about male allyship in our blog post

LinkedIn webinar, 16 January

Aurora50’s content strategist, Suzanne Locke, gave a one-hour session on using LinkedIn to manage your professional brand, with tips and tricks to grow your reputation, network, connectiond and career, to answer the question we commonly ask NOORA members: How are you presenting yourself online – and does it matter?

You can find out more in the blog post she’s written on LinkedIn tips and tricks.

Screenshot from Aurora50's NOORA webinar on LinkedIn - Growing your personal brand online, showing speaker Suzanne Locke in corner, Aurora50 NOORA logo and logos for NOORA's founding partners, Accenture, EGA, Emirates Group, ENOC and TAQA.

Informal desert meet-up by Year 1 NOORA members, 27 January

It is several months since the 2023/24 cohort of NOORA left but its members remain deeply connected and supportive of each other. This footage, taken by NOORA leader Tijana Pejak Krizanovic, is from an informal desert gathering the women themselves organised.

It is a testament to their commitment, and shows how powerful it is when women build, nurture and treasure their professional relationships.

Thank you all for exceeding our expectations – you are the inspiration that drives us to push our efforts even further. A special shout-out to Fawzia Al Hashemi, from The Emirates Group, for continually stepping up since the first NOORA workshop in September 2023, and organising monthly meet-ups for the community.

We can’t wait to see which new and inspiring stories will be created after the second NOORA year. NOORA is more than just a network – it’s a movement.

Coming up in 2025 for NOORA members

Find out more about NOORA at aurora50.com/noora – we offer corporate packages and individual places for corporate GCC women. There are at least six face-to-face meet-ups per year.

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