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Mr. Amir Dossal,
Chairman of the Global Partnerships Forum was privileged to
host a Luncheon In Honor of Baroness Valerie Amos, United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator. Guests included leaders of
international organizations, businesses, civil society, and
the United Nations.
The Luncheon
commenced with the guests introducing themselves and giving
some insights into their connection to the important work of
Baroness Amos and the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Mr. Dossal welcomed
everyone to the Luncheon and spoke of the great impact that
Baroness Amos has had throughout the world. At the end of
his words recognition, he summarized the Baroness’s many
contributions to humanity by presenting her with a gift and
giving her the title of World’s Savior.
Baroness Amos
thanked both Mr. Amir Dossal and Mrs. Tas Dossal for
organizing the event and took the opportunity to enlighten
those in attendance on why the work of OCHA is so important
and necessary. She spoke of the dire need that many people
around the world are experiencing, citing a specific example
of the 2 million people who have been displaced from Iraq
since just the beginning of the year. She urged those in
attendance to join her in her commitment to helping people
who have experienced such crisis.
The event provided a
great platform to highlight the incredible efforts of the
United Nations, specifically Baroness Amos and OCHA. The
attendees left engaged and motivated to find their own ways
to contribute to the mission.
Valerie Amos
is the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator. Ms. Amos brings extensive
knowledge and experience to the position.
She was most recently the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Australia.
She has been a long time campaigner and advocate on human
rights, social justice and equality issues. She is a former
Secretary of State for International Development in the
British Government and was also President of the Privy
Council and
Leader of the House of Lords.
Born in Guyana, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology
and a Master of Arts in cultural studies as well as honorary
doctorates from eleven UK and one US University. She was
awarded the order of the Voltaby the Government of Ghana and
has also been honored by the Government of Benin. She was
also recognized by the Smithsonian Museum for African Art
for her work on the continent.
Amir Dossal
Amir
Dossal is Founder and Chairman of the Global Partnerships
Forum, an international platform working to address economic
and social challenges, through partnerships, which he
established in October 2010.
Amir is Co-Founder of the
Pearl Initiative, a CEO-led program, promoting
transparency and accountability in the Middle East. In 2013,
he was appointed Co-Chair of the Sustainable Oceans
Alliance, a global initiative to focus the need for healthy
oceans in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Amir is
also Commissioner of the
Broadband Commission for Digital Development and Special
Representative of the Secretary-General of the
International Telecommunication Union for Global
Partnerships. In May 2014, President Tommy Remengesau, Jr.
appointed Amir as his Special Representative of Palau for
Global Partnerships.
He is a 25-year veteran of the United Nations, and was the
UN’s Chief Liaison for Partnerships. As Executive Director
of the UN Office for Partnerships, he managed the $1 billion
gift by media mogul Ted Turner; and forged strategic
alliances to address the Millennium Development Goals.
In 2005, Amir was asked to establish and manage the UN
Democracy Fund, whose core mission was to strengthen
institutions around the world, and enhance democratic
governance in new restored democracies. In 2006, he was
asked by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set-up the
Peacebuilding Support Office at the United Nations, to
assist post-conflict countries in bridging the gap between
peace, security and economic development. Over the years,
Amir has worked on a number of peace, security and human
rights-related activities and humanitarian programmes across
the globe. These efforts threaded together the leadership
role of international organizations, multilateral and
bilateral institutions, linking them with non-state actors,
with a view to encouraging innovative collaboration. This
included supporting concrete projects such as women’s
empowerment, the role of parliament and media in democracy,
the innovative use of technology in economic and social
development programmes, etc. From 1993 to 1997, Amir served
as the Chief of Finance Management in the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, where he oversaw finances for 24
peacekeeping operations worldwide (annual budget of $3
billion). During his tenure, he set-up a sophisticated
military asset management system, to increase transparency
and accountability.
Amir Dossal works globally across all sectors, including
Education, Environment, Finance, Health, Media, Technology,
as well as Peace, Security and Human Rights. Over the
years, he has built numerous alliances between governments,
multilateral agencies, business groups, foundations and
civil society, including the Arab Foundations Forum, BCIU,
Chambers of Commerce, CECP, Commonwealth Business Council,
European Foundation Centre, Foreign Policy Association, IDP
Foundation, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England &
Wales, Jewish Children’s Museum, NEPAD, Rockefeller Brothers
Fund, United Nations Associations, USCIB, US Department of
State, World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists.
When spearheading the UN's engagement with industry, Amir
developed working relationships with leading companies,
including BASF, BT, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical,
Ericsson, Google, GSK, HSBC, Microsoft, Nestle, Novartis,
Pfizer, DSM, Standard Chartered Bank, Vodafone, and Walmart.
Amir has championed partnerships with high-profile
personalities on humanitarian causes, including The Countess
Sondes, Cherie Blair, Geena Davis, Francine LeFrak, Petra
Němcová, Julia Ormond, Joan Rivers, Russell Simmons, June
Sarpong, Inge Solheim, Joss Stone, Christy Turlington Burns,
Ali Velshi, among others.
Amir has worked with sustained commitment toward an
overarching vision of uniting public and private energies
for social progress. By nature a social innovator, his work
is an endeavor to bond the power of the private sector,
government, and civil society; in order that together, they
may better serve the greater good.
In December 2010, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of
Monaco, appointed Amir Dossal as Ambassador for “Peace and
Sport.” In October 2010, he received the Humanitarian Award
from the UN Association of New York, for his accomplishments
in Partnerships to End Poverty and World Hunger. In
February 2011, Amir was appointed Special Envoy to the World
Youth Peace Summit.
Amir is a UK Chartered Accountant (FCA) from Deloitte,
Haskins & Sells, London. He has lived and worked in Asia,
the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, and North America. Amir
regularly undertakes speaking engagements and frequently
serves as a moderator for high-level panels for the UN
system and other international organizations, engaging Heads
of States and Ministers.
He also serves on the board of several non-profits,
including
CITYarts,
Global Social Compliance Programme, and the
Humpty Dumpty Institute. In addition, Amir is a
founding member of the
DSM Sustainability Advisory Board, Strategic Advisor to
the
DNA Summit, and Advisor to
Ideapod, a new social media platform for ideas.
Amir is married to Tas, and they have one son, Zecki
The Global Partnerships Forum
(GPF)
The Global Partnerships Forum serves as a
platform for building innovative partnerships and alliances,
through knowledge sharing. It brings together leaders from
across sectors to address global challenges, and fosters
economic growth to help achieve greater prosperity around
the world, by moving beyond aid to economic empowerment.
The Global Partnerships Forum provides an
enabling environment to collaborate with policy makers,
business leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors,
and thought leaders from across sectors– to encourage
investments that also promote social good.
We provide
lessons learned, best practice and information on projects
that can have sustainable social impact.
www.partnerships.org
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