Sunday 19 / May / 2024
If you’ve lived in Oman for a while and are actively involved in social events, then it is unlikely to not have come across the name of Rym Aoudia. Raised in Austria and the United States, Aoudia came to Oman as a teenager and has had a major impact on the many lives she has touched over the years.
She was also appointed the first female president of Knowledge Oman, a local forum that aims to connect communities with knowledge and opportunities of growth by empowering social innovation.
Aoudia is one of the few people that have realised that if you have multiple talents and are looking to make a career out of them, you don’t really have to give up other skills and interests that you have. Only if you choose to and are prepared to live all the 8,760 hours in a year, can you actually do everything that Aoudia is currently doing.
“I am an entrepreneur, trainer, TV news anchor, and actively engaged in community development and volunteer impact. My involvement in capacity building includes developing and leading sessions in youth empowerment, personal development, values-based transformation, creativity and innovation, and entrepreneurship.”
At a very young age, Aoudia learnt to use her creativity to express her thoughts through writing. She even engaged in community building to help make a difference and give something back to the society she lived in, which she has continued to do throughout her life.
“Projects included launching a children’s cultural initiative named Atfaaluna, which served children from different countries through its online platform in three different languages (English, Arabic, French), forming a team that was based across four different countries to showcase children’s creativity and provided relevant information to families and specialists for learning and networking. I also co-founded the Khayaali project in Oman with Priyanka Sacheti Mehta through a series of events that promoted local artists and talent benefiting nationals and residents of the country looking for a creative space to engage and grow.”
Although Aoudia has her own definition of success and achievement, which is far beyond the trivial dictionary definition, there are numerous laurels that she has rightfully earned.
“Being recognised with a Community Leadership Award, being part of the core team of the National SME Symposium, stepping up to be a TV news anchor on Oman TV and hosting my own radio show for Oman English FM, starting up grassroots community initiatives, starting my own business, speaking at local and international conferences and being a part of conversations that steer change and progress, and continuing to seek growth, learning and new possibilities that make a positive difference,” said Aoudia while recounting some of the laurels she has earned.
She has always believed in supporting and pushing other women to explore their strengths and talent and believes in them. “At a professional level, I support women in undertaking leadership roles, paving leadership opportunities at Knowledge Oman, supported the launch of a national women platform called SmartWoman that featured expertise of woman across various disciplines that would help them learn and grow with one another, and took part in facilitating women-specific initiatives on women-led SMEs, encouraging women participation in the private sector, and women’s development.”
Aoudia is an inspiration to many women in Oman and across the region, who has proved time and again that with the right amount of will, determination, and desire there is a lot that you can do in a lifetime.
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