Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub is a world-renowned cardiac surgeon known for his innovative surgical techniques completely transformed the field of heart transplantation. He was knighted for his services to medicine and surgery by the British government, awarded the Grand Order of the Nile, and received the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II, among other honours.

Being a founder of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation in Egypt and the Chain of Hope charity in the UK, Professor Yacoub has saved the lives of thousands of people, particularly children. He has also established heart centres in Mozambique and Ethiopia, and is currently building one in Kigali, Rwanda.

This year, he has been bestowed with the prestigious 2024 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity for his unwavering commitment to healing hearts and fostering unity on a global scale.

Executive Committee Member of the International Publishers Association

Ahmed Rashad is a seasoned professional in the publishing industry with over 17 years of experience. 

As the CEO of “Al-Dar Al-Masriah Al-Lubnaniah” and the Arab House for Books, along with the libraries of the “Al-Dar Al-Masriah Al-Lubnaniah”, Ahmed has played a significant role in the literary landscape. 

Notably, he served as the former Vice President of the Arab Forum for Children's Book Publishers under the Sharjah Book Authority since November 2021. He is currently a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Publishers Association representing the Arab and African regions. 

Ahmed Rashad is also an integral part of the professional programme team for the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024.

Dr Omar Al Falasi graduated from the faculty of medicine and health sciences in UAE in 2006. During his medical school years, he had the opportunity to undertake several electives, one of which was in Canada at London Ontario University Hospital. He completed his internship training at Al Ain, UAE in TAWAM University Hospital (Affiliation with Johns Hopkins), followed by 6 months in the cardiology department at the same hospital. 

He was accepted into the cardiology residency program in France at the University of Montpellier 1, where he had the chance to work with the electrophysiology team. He spent the final year of his residency in the cardiac electrophysiology lab and finished his residency in 2013. 

He then started a two-year fellowship in cardiac EP, focusing on both pacing and ablation techniques. He completed his EP training with a second fellowship at Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. 

Returning to UAE in 2017 with over 1000 device implantation procedures and more than 700 ablations, he assumed the position of a consultant cardiac electrophysiologist, joining the Cardiology team at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City. 

In October 2019, he was appointed as the chair of the Cardiac Institute at the same hospital. 

Since November 2020, he has been at Sheikh Shakhboot Medical City (in association with Mayo Clinic), serving as the director of Cardiac Electrophysiology. In July 2022, he joined Rashid Hospital as a consultant cardiac electrophysiologist, a position he continues to hold.