Ambitious Syrian woman wins World Silver Medal for Changemakers 

Feryal Al-Salim, an ambitious Syrian woman from the province of  Sweida , has won the silver medal in the Global Competition for Women Change Makers, which was organized by the Changemakers Establishment on the sidelines of the International Conference for Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership, held recently in Jordan. 

Feryal, who is the Director of Al-Salam Development and Training Center and Chairperson of the Board of “Mahabba and Wafa” (Amity and Loyalty) Association in Sweida, told a SANA reporter that she was nominated alongside 140 other Arab women with distinguished activities, initiatives and creative works to enter the competition. She rose to the second level which included 60 women and where she gained the highest voting rate through social media and  that qualified her for the third level alongside 30 other Arab participants, including five Syrian women. 

She went on to say that in the finals of the competition she won the silver medal of leading women for this year for adopting several works and initiatives in which she proved that Syrian women are distinguished despite all difficulties and circumstances. 

Feryal urged all Syrian women to further prove themselves through seeking knowledge and good work that serves humanity. 

Encouraged by her husband, family and community Feryal succeeded in establishing Al-Salam Development and Training Center in 2016 as a development project that provides training courses on vocations and human resources development to help the Syrian youth enter the job market. In 2020, in cooperation with some charity parties and expatriates, she established the “Mahaba and Wafa” association with the aim of supporting children and the elderly. 

Feryal also carried out several humanitarian initiatives that served individuals in her society and held free courses to establish small businesses for rural women in Sweida and now she is looking forward to expanding this initiative to cover all parts of Syria. 

Besides her development and humanitarian activities, Feryal wrote several literary articles in some Arab newspapers and won a literary competition.

Hamda Mustafa