IMPACT

“I represent myself before the world represents me. We need to make sure that women believe in themselves first. Then they will be able to represent themselves. We need to see women who believe in themselves and do their thing. This is important for younger women.”

The XP Music Futures Day Program IMPACT sessions focused on enabling change and growth in the MENA music scene. The panels and workshops concentrated on educating the next generation of music industry professionals on equitable leadership and awareness. Local and international speakers encouraged women to take positions of power; industry specialists to promote intersectionality; artists to practice wellness; promoters to foster safety in nightlife spaces. Speakers urged their audience to strengthen their international knowledge exchange. Details relayed in the IMPACT sessions helped define and give a better understanding of music ecosystems, sustainability, equality, diversity, and social equity—key points to help assist and shape the MENA’s scene and policy reform.

“I think there are multiple forms of communication that you can use to set up structures to implement safety. So sometimes in the city, we actually work with the car guards to say, ‘hey, please make sure’... Or even bouncers, ‘Please make sure that people get to their Uber’s safely. And then we also speak to the people at the door. Or we delegate our own team members to say, ‘Hey, when someone comes to the venue, we’re not allowed to do this... Not allowed to do that, specifically being, ‘please make sure people feel safe.’ Make sure there’s no discrimination. We also would like to have people who align with us and our values regarding discrimination in making women feel safe because we are more vulnerable. And something that we touched on is that when we liaise or talk to venue owners, we have to ensure that they align with what we do. Sincerely for us, it lies in communicating our values, taking care of the people within our spaces, and making sure that it is known that this is a non-discriminatory space for us to exist in and have fun.”

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Moderators: Abdulaziz Alrabiah

Speakers: HH Prince Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Saud (Saham), Dr. Alhanoof Aldebasi, Hesham Alarifi, Habib Achour