//Skip to content

‘Climate Change Is the Next ISIS’: Meet the World Economic Forum’s First Iraqi Female Board Member

November 11, 2019
Basima Abdulrahman (photo by Harem Ali)

“I decided to do my master’s because I didn’t like my job, I thought, I want to leave this job, but I don’t know what to do, so master’s it is! Even the topic of my master’s thesis I didn’t pick because I didn’t know what to do,” Iraqi entrepreneur and green architect Basima Abdulrahman recounts. Fast forward three years and Abdulrahman seems to have picked up a few things along the way. She now knows how to pioneer sustainable architecture in Iraq through her startup, KESK Green Building Consulting; how to co-chair the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland; and how to shatter the glass ceiling and walk the corridors of global power by becoming the first Iraqi woman and youngest member on the Foundation Board of the Global Shapers Community alongside Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab. Most importantly, however, Abdulrahman knows how to fire up the imagination of the aspiring entrepreneurs and change makers who flocked to Sahl Hasheesh for the 2nd edition of the Vested Summit, the world’s first conscious tech summit, where she spoke about her incredible journey…


Hi guest,

You've read all of your free articles.
Subscribe now to support independent journalism and to enjoy:


Unlimited access to all our articles

Exclusive events and offers

First access to new premium newsletters

Ability to comment on articles

Full user profile