emirates7 - "Philanthropy and doing good is in our DNA, it's Zakat," said H.R.H. Princess Lamia Bint Majed AlSaud, at a session titled ‘The End of Media's Philanthropic Whiplash’ at BRIDGE Summit 2025 on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
Princess Lamia is the Secretary General and a Board Member of Alwaleed Philanthropies, a Saudi Arabian NGO. Alwaleed Philanthropies is dedicated to empowering women and youth, strengthening communities, providing disaster relief, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and advancing a healthier, more sustainable environment.“This community, the foundation that I'm working in, works in 190 countries. One of its main areas is empowering women and youth,” she said. HRH Princess Lamia is also a Board Member of BRIDGE Alliance.
Princess Lamia who is one of the region’s most influential media leaders said the media has a huge role to play in empowering and uplifting women. “I get inspired by people that I see every day. And it shapes you as a person. So media and philanthropy are not very far from each other because media… creates awareness on what this community needs.”
Speaking on how philanthropy should engage in storytelling to awareness, she said, “I believe we play the role of the guardian to keep reminding people.” She cited the examples of Syria previously, Palestine and Myanmar where the media is not as proactive as earlier in telling stories, saying NGOs and the NPs should keep reminding the media so they continue to support those in need.
“Explaining how they decide which project to support, H.R.H. Princess Lamia said, “We work in almost every country around the world. So there's a formula. We go through it in every project, because at the end of the day, we believe there is no hit and run in philanthropy. So you need to stay with this community [a] minimum of three years… if you want to have an impact on this community.”
“At Alwaleed Philanthropies we believe in the power of partnerships; for each project we must have a governmental entity on ground to make sure that this is going to be sustainable, it's not going to vanish and end whenever we're out. And there is a local NGO to make sure that this satisfies the need of the community. So this is how we ensure that this will have the positive reflection or impact on the community that we aimed for when we approved the project,” she said.
Alwaleed Philanthropies supports global health, partnering with organizations like UNICEF and Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) to provide life-saving vaccines, including measles shots, in developing nations.
Specific campaigns by the NGO in Laos are often part of broader regional efforts with UNICEF, WHO, and the Lao government to eradicate measles and rubella, and Princess Lamia gave an example of how awareness led to a positive impact in Laos where there was vaccine resistance due to certain assumptions.
The small country has a population of six million with many dialects and more than 200 mountains; approximately 80% of its total land area is mountainous, presenting a unique challenge. “I wanted to travel and observe firsthand how the vaccine was being administered. It was the middle of the six-month rainy season, and I needed to be certain that the doses would remain safe throughout their journey up the mountain, so I went to inspect the cooling system myself.
When I arrived, I discovered that the real issue was not with the vaccine at all. The community held a belief that pregnant women should eat only sticky rice, soy sauce, spices, and salt. As a result, children were severely undernourished, stunted in growth, small in size, with even their brain development reduced by nearly half compared to the average.
Because I had conducted this research and witnessed the situation directly, we were able to design awareness efforts and better understand how to support this community. Moments like these remind me that media is not just a tool, it is a guide. It helps us see what is truly happening and shapes the way we respond.”
Princess Lamia said philanthropy has always defined the people of this region. “Philanthropy and doing good in this part of the world is in our DNA, it's Zakat. It's a amount of money that you have to pay for others for them to be better. And we have a belief as much as you pay, as much you will get. So I would honestly say we have no benefit, but to do good. And I think the biggest philanthropic entities in the Middle East are out of big businessmen and family businesses. Because this is, it's Islam. This is, when you pay, you get.
Princess Lamia is the Secretary General and a Board Member of Alwaleed Philanthropies, a Saudi Arabian NGO. Alwaleed Philanthropies is dedicated to empowering women and youth, strengthening communities, providing disaster relief, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and advancing a healthier, more sustainable environment.“This community, the foundation that I'm working in, works in 190 countries. One of its main areas is empowering women and youth,” she said. HRH Princess Lamia is also a Board Member of BRIDGE Alliance.
Princess Lamia who is one of the region’s most influential media leaders said the media has a huge role to play in empowering and uplifting women. “I get inspired by people that I see every day. And it shapes you as a person. So media and philanthropy are not very far from each other because media… creates awareness on what this community needs.”
Speaking on how philanthropy should engage in storytelling to awareness, she said, “I believe we play the role of the guardian to keep reminding people.” She cited the examples of Syria previously, Palestine and Myanmar where the media is not as proactive as earlier in telling stories, saying NGOs and the NPs should keep reminding the media so they continue to support those in need.
“Explaining how they decide which project to support, H.R.H. Princess Lamia said, “We work in almost every country around the world. So there's a formula. We go through it in every project, because at the end of the day, we believe there is no hit and run in philanthropy. So you need to stay with this community [a] minimum of three years… if you want to have an impact on this community.”
“At Alwaleed Philanthropies we believe in the power of partnerships; for each project we must have a governmental entity on ground to make sure that this is going to be sustainable, it's not going to vanish and end whenever we're out. And there is a local NGO to make sure that this satisfies the need of the community. So this is how we ensure that this will have the positive reflection or impact on the community that we aimed for when we approved the project,” she said.
Alwaleed Philanthropies supports global health, partnering with organizations like UNICEF and Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) to provide life-saving vaccines, including measles shots, in developing nations.
Specific campaigns by the NGO in Laos are often part of broader regional efforts with UNICEF, WHO, and the Lao government to eradicate measles and rubella, and Princess Lamia gave an example of how awareness led to a positive impact in Laos where there was vaccine resistance due to certain assumptions.
The small country has a population of six million with many dialects and more than 200 mountains; approximately 80% of its total land area is mountainous, presenting a unique challenge. “I wanted to travel and observe firsthand how the vaccine was being administered. It was the middle of the six-month rainy season, and I needed to be certain that the doses would remain safe throughout their journey up the mountain, so I went to inspect the cooling system myself.
When I arrived, I discovered that the real issue was not with the vaccine at all. The community held a belief that pregnant women should eat only sticky rice, soy sauce, spices, and salt. As a result, children were severely undernourished, stunted in growth, small in size, with even their brain development reduced by nearly half compared to the average.
Because I had conducted this research and witnessed the situation directly, we were able to design awareness efforts and better understand how to support this community. Moments like these remind me that media is not just a tool, it is a guide. It helps us see what is truly happening and shapes the way we respond.”
Princess Lamia said philanthropy has always defined the people of this region. “Philanthropy and doing good in this part of the world is in our DNA, it's Zakat. It's a amount of money that you have to pay for others for them to be better. And we have a belief as much as you pay, as much you will get. So I would honestly say we have no benefit, but to do good. And I think the biggest philanthropic entities in the Middle East are out of big businessmen and family businesses. Because this is, it's Islam. This is, when you pay, you get.