Athar Festival launches Maheerah Network for women-empowerment
Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity has announced the launch of the Maheerah Network, an initiative, powered by Publicis Groupe, that aims to become a year-round platform dedicated to enabling, inspiring, and nurturing women in the creative marketing and communications industry in the Kingdom.
Over the next three years, the Maheerah Network is designed to be a long-term enabler for women in every stage of their career. The first of its kind for women in creative marcomms in Saudi Arabia, the initiative aims to establish an industry standard for leadership, empowerment, and continuous development.
'Saudi Arabia continues to make significant strides in women's empowerment and is firmly on track to achieving its Vision 2030 goals,' said Mohamed Al Ayed, Vice Chairman of Athar Festival and CEO of TRACCS. 'As the Kingdom's foremost creative marketing event, Athar Festival recognises its responsibility in advancing the participation and leadership of women in the industry. The launch of Maheerah Network is a result of our continued commitment to this endeavour,' he said.
The network will consist of three core pillars: Maheerah Network, Maheerah Programme, and Maheerah Alumni.
'When we partnered with Athar Festival to bring Maheerah to life two years ago, we didn't anticipate the depth of response, or the powerful community that would grow from it,' said Bassel Kakish, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey. 'It quickly became clear that we were meeting a real need for women living and working in Saudi Arabia's marketing communications industry — a space to learn, connect, and thrive.'
Through online and offline events, access to exclusive insights, and learning opportunities such as webinars and networking meetups, the Maheerah Network aims to build early confidence, capability, and community.
The second pillar, the Maheerah Programme, is a high-level learning and development track for women in senior roles from across the industry. With its third iteration taking place during Athar Festival 2025 later this year in October, it will feature curated workshops, leadership coaching, and executive-level training designed to equip participants with the tools to step into strategic and leadership roles within the creative sector.
Building on that, the Maheerah Alumni pillar creates an enduring network for graduates of past editions of the Maheerah Programme. Alumni will continue to benefit from tailored professional growth experiences including webinars, mentorship with industry leaders, and in-person gatherings. Leading by example across organisations such as NEOM, Nestle, STA, and more, members represent a growing cross-section of sectors including marketing, advertising, PR, and technology.
'In a market where the industry is already thriving, Maheerah has become a platform to further unlock the talent, ambition and leadership potential of women across the Kingdom,' Kakish said. Now in its third year, the program has evolved into a year-round network, and we have shared ambitions to grow it into one of the strongest communities of women in Saudi Arabia, supporting and enabling the next generation of leaders in our industry,' he said.
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