July 2020 | Page 8

WE Dania Jouni and Neveen Hussein — MBA Winners’ Journey As part of Zain Group’s WE program, in 2018 the company selected two women ambassadors to attend the prestigious ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and complete their MBAs, fully sponsored by Zain. Following weeks of interviews, projects, and tasks to determine who would be selected, Dania Jouni from touch Lebanon and Neveen Abdelkader from Zain Bahrain were chosen. “It has been the most amazing experience,” commented Dania and Neveen. formed, professional networking, meeting impressive professors from different fields, and being exposed to rich cultures. All this has literally changed our lives and prepared us for a diverse and progressive world. The WE program has given us both the opportunity to grow, learn, network, and represent Zain in the best way possible, highlighting the leadership of Zain Group in diversity and inclusion. We are proud Zainers and we will make Zain proud of us!” Neveen and Dania commented. Both successful candidates were extremely enthusiastic about being selected, having put their minds and hearts into the application process. “Impossible is nothing” Dania said. The two working mothers were determined to be awarded the scholarship. In October 2018, the pair travelled to Barcelona for the first time and met 42 other EMBA students who were drawn from 30 countries. “These beautiful people became our family,” Dania recalls. A year and a half later, their EMBA program was concluded with the two ladies presenting their final project and graduating. Travelling every month for 18 months and attending 12- hour classes while delivering on deadlines was Dania and Neveen’s reality while undertaking their studies. “The program has equipped us with new knowledge about corporate and entrepreneurial ecosystems, managing people, leadership, finance, corporate governance, and other topics that we will use not only in our professional careers, but also on a personal level,” Neveen said. Becoming the ambassadors and faces of ESADE for its external and internal media campaigns, Dania and Neveen were given the opportunity to present Zain and its work in gender diversity and inclusion, participating in a presentation at one of ESADE’s empowerment events. In addition to the modules that they attended at ES- ADE’s Barcelona and Madrid campuses, the two also travelled to Brazil, India, Boston, and Washington DC. “This remarkable journey was not only about education, it included much more such as the friendships we The WE program gave Dania Jouni and Neveen Hussein the opportunity to grow, learn, network, and represent Zain in the best way possible, highlighting the leadership of Zain Group in D&I 6