About Dr. Amal Al-Jowder and her previous experiences

Dr. Amal Abdel-Rahman Ali Al-Jowder is a
family medicine consultant but currently
non-practising, motivational speaker, social
activist and trainer in health promotion, quality
of life, personal development, leadership and
management. I am currently working part-time
as a Senior Health Promotion Expert at the
Investment and Technology Promotion Office
at the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) in Bahrain since 2016
and as a trainer at the Institute of Public
Administration since 2018. I hold a Bachelor of
Medicine from Al-Azhar University in 1980, a
Diploma in Family Medicine from the American
University of Beirut in 1985, a Master of Public
Health from the American Tulane University
in 1995, a Diploma in Healthcare Management
from the Royal Irish College in 1997,
and a Higher Civil Service Diploma from
the Institute of Public Administration 2011.
Practitioner and Coach Certificate in Neuro
Linguistic Programming from the Linguistic
Programming Institute Bounter Park and
California Institute of America 2004 and 2005 and
certified trainer from the British Academy 2004
and the Arab Board 2015 and Activate Koch from
CTI Institute in Dubai I held several positions in
the Bahraini Ministry of Health during my career,
the last of which was the Director of the Health
Promotion Department, and I retired in January
2016. My work was distinguished by creativity
and innovation. I was the first to establish the
concept of community partnership in the field
of health awareness at the Ministry of Health
in Sitra Health Center in 1988 by establishing
and heading an awareness committee Social
health withthe participation of the social center,
schools, clubs and the municipality in the Sitra
areaI was also the founder of smoking cessation
clinics in Bahrain, the founder of health-friendly
malls, the health research initiative through community communication channels, and the health screens
initiative in health centers.I have the honor to be the first
Arab woman to receive this award, as I received the award at
the United Nations Palace in Geneva. I gave a speech there
on this occasion at the seventh plenary session of the 62nd
General Assembly, and received an amount of $30,000 that
I donated to purchase a mobile health promotion unit. I was
honored by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of
the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the Order of Efficiency of the
First Class in 2011. For more than a quarter of a century, I have
trained many employees of state ministries and members
of NGOs and clubs in various topics related to health and
quality of life during my professional career, and I have a
rich career in social and sports volunteer work, as I was the
Secretary-General of the Bahrain Tennis Federation, and I
was able to form the first women’s team to participate in
the Arab Tennis Championship and win the bronze medal,
and a founding member and board member of a number of
social, professional, women’s and youth associations, and I
previously entered the battle The politician ran for the House
of Representatives in 2006 in competition with 6 men and
came in second place, i.e. surpassing 5 men in the number
of votes. Currently, I am a board member of the Bahrain
Society for Training and Human Resources Development
and a founding member of the Ebdaa from Home initiative.
I love reading, sports, and I love traveling to new places that
I have not visited before.
I have the honor to be among the personalities of the first
edition of the book Early Golden Era issued by the Ministry of
Youth and Sports Affairs, page 102, and I was ranked among
the most influential Bahraini women for 2019 by Max Media
magazine. I was also selected for the 2020-2021 edition of
the Gulf Guide who is who page 212 .

Amal’s main goals that she wants to achieve in 2021 and
beyond

What distinguishes my goals, which I set at the start of
each year, is that they include four key aspects for which I
have a duty.
According to the Prophet’s Hadith, peace and blessings be
upon him, “You have a duty to your Lord, a duty to your body,
and a duty to your family, so you should give each one its
rights.”
It is in line with the formation of the human being (body,
mind, heart, and soul). I will point you out with an example
of a goal on each side, bearing in mind that the duty for the
soul consists of several axes, namely the mind, personal
development, material income, the professional aspect, the
recreational aspect and the duty for the parents includes the
duty for the family and society

First: a duty for the body to sleep for 7 to 8 hours at night.
Second: a duty to oneself (brain)
2-1: Brain: practicing daily mental exercise like Sudoku
and other materials for at least a half an hour.
2-2: Personal development: reading 10 books a year.
2-3: Career: finishing the sale of the primary edition of
my book “Life Skills” and working on my second book.
2-4: Material income: 5% of the annual increase in income.
2-5: Leisure side: If circumstances allow, I will visit five
new countries that I have never visited before. I wrote
this goal in 2020, but unfortunately, I did not achieve it.
Inshalllah, I will be able to achieve it this year.
Third: A duty to the family (heart)
3-1: Preserving weekly family gatherings three times a
month at a minimum.
3-2: Participation in volunteer work for at least one
organization
Fourth: A duty to God (soul).
The whirlwind of meditation on the universe and
gratitude for God’s benefits for a couple of minutes a day.

The challenges that both developing and developed countries’ innovation and entrepreneurship systems face

Perhaps the finest project is the life of a supportive and stimulating environment for the innovation device at several levels. At the legislative level, a political dedication is constructed via the enactment of laws, rules, and policies that enable marketers to innovate and put into effect their initiatives with ease and to follow-up on the implementation of these laws. At the technological level, such as the provision of
infrastructure and communication networks, the
availability of computers and the use of modern
innovation technologies. In some developing countries,
the provision of incubators and the necessary financial
support may pose the challenge at the institutional
level of having human institutions and resources,
building and developing their capacity for innovation
and strengthening partnerships between institutions
supporting innovation.

Opportunities exist for both the innovation and entrepreneurial systems

Technological evolution and the transition to the digital
world. From digital training to digital health, fifth
generation, artificial intelligence and openness to
the worldwide market. Countries are not restricting
their products and services to their geographical
borders. Innovation is no longer limited to one area,
but available to all areas.

The best strategies for innovation that have been implemented to benefit from the upgrading of state classifications

It is well known that States are classified according to
theglobal index of 80 criteria, for example, institutional
work in the political environment, regulatory
environment, business environment, human resources,
research, education, infrastructure, technology,
market, investment, competition, knowledge, and
so on. Thus, the best strategies for upgrading the
classifications of states are to build public policies to
promote innovation, provide an enabling environment
for innovation, empower and develop individuals, and
strengthen responsibility and community partnerships.
Japan, for example, relies on performance techniques,
which rely on ordinary great and non-stop improvement,
at the same time as the USA is based on marketplace
strategies, which are awareness of advertising and
marketing and a way to deal with competition.
In my view, this requires a network partnership, because
it’s all responsibility. I mean, literally, everyone’s
responsibility. It starts at home, in the circle of relatives,
at the very age of their kids. Dad and mom need to
offer opportunities for their children to revel in many
areas, together with sports, drawing, or video games,
to find out their competencies and passions. Parents
must also encourage their children to ask questions and
seek answers and discover experiences. They are not
disturbed by their children’s experiences in dismantling
and restoring electronic devices, for example, which may mark the birth of an inventor.
And then there comes the role of the school, which is no less
important than the role of the parents. So the school must
move away from traditional educational curricula based on
conservation and the adoption of participatory interactive
education and curricula that encourage creativity, critical
thinking and problem solving with practical application.
Then there is the role of other parts, such as the Ministry
of Social Development, Youth and Civil Society Institutions.

From Dr. Amal’s perspective how can we strengthen and
empower innovative mindsets in any organization?

The organization must adopt values and mindsets that are
truly creative and innovative, not just a word or a book in
the list of values of the institution. It must translate these
values and mindsets into a reality of pension and practice
in order to create an institutional culture. It must adopt
flexible policies, move away from dictatorial management,
create dialogue and interaction between it and employees,
identify their problems, listen to their views and suggestions
for solving these problems, and not assume mandatory
rules of performance, but it leaves to them the choice of
achieving the goal.