Impact Leaders Roundtable: Year of Community Edition

Community is Power: How to Work with Your Communities to Unlock Collective Potential Across Governments and Businesses

As part of the UAE’s Year of Community 2025, this special edition of our Impact Leaders Roundtable event series, hosted by ATÖLYE Dubai, explores how cross-sector collaboration between government, the private sector, and communities can unlock the full potential of individuals and institutions to drive inclusive, sustainable growth. While “community” may take many forms—citizens, customers, collaborators—this dialogue is grounded in the shared belief that inclusive, participatory relationships form the backbone of resilient societies and thriving systems.

Anchored in the Year of Community’s “Grow” pillar, the session focuses on how strategic partnerships can develop capabilities, nurture talent, and foster innovation in areas such as entrepreneurship, public service, and social development. By bridging sectors and centering community voices, we’ll examine how community-powered transformation leads to smarter policies, more responsive services, and stronger business and societal outcomes that endure beyond any single initiative.

Together, we’ll explore what it takes to move beyond transactional engagement toward building a social infrastructure that enables resilience, opportunity, and shared success—hand in hand.

Speakers:

Victoria Bowden

Group Director of Community Investment, DP World

Victoria Bowden is the Group Director of Community Investment at DP World, based in the Group Sustainability Head Office. She is responsible for managing and growing global sustainability partnerships and ensuring DP World delivers positive social impact in the communities it serves.

Victoria brings over a decade of experience in the development sector, including roles with UNHCR, the IKEA Foundation, and WWF, where she managed and developed strategic partnerships in areas such as education, climate change, illegal wildlife trade, gender equality, and WASH. In her current role, she is also focused on developing the Just Transition strategy and approach for DP World.

Victoria holds a BSc in Environmental Science, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and an MA in Development Education and Global Learning from UCL, with a focus on the role of the private sector in social development.

Malakeh El Haj

Vice President of Knowledge and Innovation, Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation

Malakeh El Haj is an experienced education sector leader with over 18 years shaping frameworks to enhance the employability of graduates entering the workforce. She brings deep expertise in strategy development and organizational growth, working with partners to drive systemic impact and strengthen market positioning.

Prior to joining the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, Malakeh was Director of Strategy Development and Implementation at Laureate International Universities, served on the corporate executive team of Laureate Vocational Saudi Arabia, and was Head of Performance & Planning at Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority.

She holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA from the American University of Beirut, and is a certified EFQM organizational assessor from the European Foundation for Quality Management.

Moderated by

Frederico Vallina

Head of Service Design & Community Lab, ATÖLYE