Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – As one of the first Saudi women to be given permission to study law in the country, Sofana Dahlan comes equipped with Harvard and UNAOC credentials. With her roots in law and business, she is also the CEO and Founder of Tashkeil, a social enterprise that facilitates creative pioneers in the Middle East.



“My hope is to see the potential in everything that has potential in my country. My hope is that my country will provide opportunities for my two daughters to achieve their dreams,” she told Saudi Gazette.



Every year Tashkeil’s CSR division promotes an artist or designer. Last year the initiative supported the art of giving in collaboration with Artist Abdullah Qandeel and the Help Center in Jeddah. “Our CSR division, sukoon, organizes campaigns for social causes and the product falls into that frame of work,” Dahlan said.



In October, Tashkeil launched their Hope campaign in collaboration with Hope Earrings, Design Magazine, 77 Media, Reem Faisal Fashion, Eve Salon, Hala Al Harthy Style and Waleed Hambishi.



“Hope was based on the idea that we often encounter situations that prepare us to lose hope due to daily challenges faced by people in the region. From time to time, we encounter remarkable stories that trigger hope in our lives and enable us to follow our dreams. The mission of the campaign is to enable societal development and growth, through the advocacy of creative partnership in conjunction with civil alliance,” Dahlan said.



Discussing the idea behind the concept of Hope, Dahlan said it all started with Maaly Khashogji. “She approached Tashkeil in order to promote her designs of earrings ‘hope.’ It went beyond expectation, considering it is a social initiative, with 247 attendees. Maaly told me that the limited budget would actually restrain her from reaching out to many people.”



Dr. Waleed Fetaihi, Dr. Samia Alamoudi, Maha Fitaihi, Ahmad Fetaihi (owner of Fetaihi holding), Loay Naseem, Kholoud Attar and diplomatic missions were a few of the attendees on the guest list.



“I have been getting calls since the event asking if we can have it again. People from Kuwait called to have the initiative in Kuwait as well. We are thinking of carrying out the initiative in other cities.”



During the event, Maaly said Tashkeil offered to use their network and gather partners to support the campaign and promote hope earrings. She said she was initially doubtful and that she could have never imagined that people would actually support the idea.



Dahlan said laughter and smiles were the main theme during the event. “People were enjoying the delights by the sponsor Chocolat and a garden ambiance created by sponsor Abdul-Aziz alnoman.” Guests were invited to write and share their hopes and hang them on a tree (of hope). “People were sharing their hopes on the tree reading these hopes and that put on a big smile on my face.”



When asked what she plans to do with the tree of hope, she said: “We are hoping it will travel to each city for people to share their hopes.



We want the tree to be a symbol of positivity within the community to remind people that they should never give up in hope. We are reaching out for people in other cities to adopt the initiatives and encourage their communities to share hope.”