Manal Kelig

Biography

Dr. Manal Kelig is the Executive Director - ATTA MENA region and the Co-Founder of GWE companies. Manal has a wide range of experience as a historian, speaker and a serial entrepreneur. Manal started her career in 1992 as an Egyptologist/guide and pursued a Master’s Degree in Modern History. Through her work she realized that there was a huge misconception and stereotyping about the status of women in the Middles East and Islamic countries. This encouraged her to choose the Public& Political role of women in Egypt during the 19th century as the subject of her thesis. Her research & job got her active in key issues as women & gender and bridging cultural gaps between West & East. As Manal’s career blossomed, she was still very unsatisfied of how the different tourism industry players were not mindful of the harm caused by mass tourism to the cultural and natural heritage of the MENA region. In 2005 & 2007 she co-founded two companies for Sustainable Travel to MENA region. Manal’s diversified and extensive skills led her to consult for many leading development organizations on sustainable tourism development, and cultural heritage preservation. In 2011 Manal co-founded Hope Foundation for community development with the vision of creating effecting positive change in the world through alleviating suffering and empowering grass root communities. Along the years, Manal became passionate about connecting with talented people of different backgrounds and assisting them to act on their ideas. In 2013 Manal started TEDxCairoWomen, a platform for sharing ideas worth spreading, with a focus on the empowerment of women through digital story telling. Manal’s ultimate goal is to expand the reach and impact of her diversified work to raise awareness of the full potential of the Tourism industry where all players recognize opportunities and responsibilities alike, and leave a positive mark on the society in which they operate and ensure its sustainability.