Speakers

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  Abdulla Al Shehhi Abrahamic Family House, Acting Executive Director
  

  Abdulla Al Shehhi

  Abrahamic Family House, Acting Executive Director

  Acting Executive Director of Abrahamic Family House, overseeing its ambition to foster peaceful coexistence for generations to come. Alongside key stakeholders, he enables communities to thrive, facilitating interfaith dialogue and ensuring welcoming and informative visitor experiences.
  Abdulla’s career has been devoted to developing spaces for gathering and cultural enrichment. After starting with the Special Projects Team at Abu Dhabi City Municipality, he managed the development of landmark public projects at Miral, including Wahat Al Karama and Qasr Al Watan.
  Reflecting his passion for transformational public spaces, Abdulla holds an MSc in Urban Planning from New York’s Columbia University.

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  Archbishop Christophe Zakhia EL KASSIS Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates aka Ambassador of the Holy See
  

  Archbishop Christophe Zakhia EL KASSIS

  Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates aka Ambassador of the Holy See

  A Lebanese Catholic Archbishop, diplomat, and Maronite archbishop. He currently serves as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates. He is holding a doctorate in both civil Law and church Law. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2000, and has served in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Indonesia, the Sudan and Turkey and at the Foreign Relations office of the Secretariat of State in the Holy See. On 2018 Pope Francis appointed him as Titular Archbishop of Rusellae and named him Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan. He received his episcopal consecration in St. Peter Basilica on 19 January 2019. On 3 January 2023, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed him as the first resident Apostolic Nuncio to the UAE. On 3 March he arrived in Abu Dhabi and started his mission. On 16 August he presented his Credential Letters to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Qasr Al Watan.

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  H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the Holy See
  

  H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash

  Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the Holy See

  H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash was appointed Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on April 2023, and UAE Ambassador to the Holy See on May 24, 2022. Previously, he held the post of Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs since October 2019. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H.E. oversees the UAE’s relations with Central America and Caribbean region countries. H.E. was appointed Ambassador of the UAE to France on November 24, 2017 and Ambassador to the Russian Federation in 2008. H.E. began his career in the UAE Mission to the United Nations.

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  Rabbi David Rosen Abrahamic Family House, Special Advisor for Interfaith And Jewish Affairs
  

  Rabbi David Rosen

  Abrahamic Family House, Special Advisor for Interfaith And Jewish Affairs

  Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, has served for more than twenty years as the International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, and taken leave to serve as Special Advisor for Interfaith and Jewish Affairs to the Abrahamic Family House.
  Among his many honorary positions, Rosen is an international president of Religions for Peace, the world interfaith body; and is a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Interfaith commission.
  Awards that he has received for his interfaith work include a Papal knighthood and a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) from the late Queen Elizabeth II.