An evening gathering with Dr Thoraya Obaid and Forward Thinking Fellows, 28 July 2025

On Monday 28 July, we hosted a gathering with Dr Thoraya Obaid, former Executive Director of the UN Population Fund and Under-Secretary General of the UN, and members from our Fellows Programme.

The session allowed the Fellows to hear insights and advice from Dr Obaid’s career. Her experience as the first Saudi woman to lead a UN agency, and the obstacles she faced in the process, particularly resonated with participants, many of whom are in the early stages of their own careers. She discussed how the emphasis on education in her upbringing challenged perceptions of Islamic values as being fundamentally opposed to modern progressive values. On her role at the UN, she underscored the importance of engaging local actors to develop locally-led solutions, incorporating human rights into societal cultures, and maintaining integrity and moral principles across all aspects of work, including inter-organisational relationships.

The Fellows posed insightful questions, including on how to navigate the challenges of a prevailing ‘Clash of Civilisations’ narrative that puts different cultures at odds with one another; how to engage others with fundamentally different perspectives; and how to ensure women are included in efforts to address salient challenges such as climate change.