About H.E. Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa

A leading figure in the Arab culture and art scenes, HE Shaikha Mai has spearheaded national efforts to develop the cultural infrastructure in the Kingdom of Bahrain for heritage conservation and the growth of sustainable tourism. The president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Shikha Mai is the foremost public expert in the field, holding the unique portfolios of the Ministry for Culture & Information and the Ministry of Culture.

As the founder of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research and Chair of its Board of Trustees since 2002, she works actively to preseve the traditional architecture of Bahrain. Major achievement include the 2005 and 2012 inscriptions of the Bahrain Fort and Pearling: Testimony of an Island Economy as UNESCO World Heritage Sities; founding the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage; the first laureate of the Colbert Prize for Creativity and Heritage in 2010; the Social Creativity Award by the Arab Thought Foundation; the Arab Women of the Year Award (2015); Watch Award (2015) by World Monuments Funds; the Legion d’Honneur, the Moroccan Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Grand Officer) and the Order of the Italian Star and the First Class Order of Merit from HM King Hamad of Bahrain. Bahrain was awarded Silver Pavilion Architecure Award, Expo Milan 2015 and HE Shaikha Mai became Special Ambassador of the International Year of Sustaibabilty for Development, 2017-19 from the World Tourism Oganization. She is also a renowned local historian with seven publications.