H.E. Huda Ibrahim Kanoo Kingdom of Bahrain

H.E. Huda Kanoo is a philanthropist dedicated to inspiring and enabling artists to innovate, generations to create, and communities to unite and prosper.

As the Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), H.E. Huda has been pioneering arts education and community arts in the UAE. In 1996, ADMAF was the first non-profit-making organisation in Abu Dhabi dedicated to the advancement of music, education, culture and creativity. Today, it reaches nearly 40,000 children, young people and adults through its annual programmes and the Abu Dhabi Festival, an annual event of world-class caliber, of which Huda is also the Founder & Artistic Director. Since 2004, the Festival has sought to broaden cultural understanding globally while inculcating a renewed passion and interest in the arts and heritage of the United Arab Emirates.

In 2005, she was the first woman from the GCC to speak at the World Forum on Music by the UNESCO-affiliated International Music Council. She was also the first Guest of Honour from the GCC to attend the Ludwig Van Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, Poland. In 2012, she became the first Arab woman to give a plenary speech at the Edinburgh International Culture Summit at the Scottish Parliament.

In addition to advocating music, arts, culture and creativity, H.E. Huda devotes her spare time to spearheading awareness initiatives for health and welfare issues close to her heart.

H.E. Huda sits on the International Advisory Board of the Edinburgh International Festival; the Applied Media Program Advisory Committee of Higher Colleges of Technology (Abu Dhabi Women’s College); and is also an Advisor to the Board of Directors of Ewa’a Shelters for Women & Children, an Abu Dhabi-based organisation that supports victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking.