October 26th, 2009
Unitas Communications has successfully managed and incubated the launch of an Annual Leaders Retreat dedicated to strengthening networks and leaders that promote greater Pan-European integration and greater social inclusion for minority groups within Europe.
Unitas Communications successfully co-ordinated this year’s event held in October 2009 at a leading European conference centre in Andalucía, Spain. Unitas Communications also secured the participants, delegates, speakers and also managed logistical preparations on behalf of The Concordia Forum. This remit also involved brokering a sponsorship deal and media training program with the United Nations ‘Alliance of Civilisations’.
Unitas Communications remit also included on site event management. All workshops were jointly administered by Unitas Communications and The United Nations Alliance of Civilisations.
Chaired by Unitas CEO Muddassar Ahmed; The Concordia Forum bought together 40, senior and emerging leaders from corporate, political, media and non-profit backgrounds.
Chief Operating Officer of Unitas Communications, Shiraz Ahmad said “Being non-ideological and non-profit, the Leader’s Retreat provides a platform for debate that strives to engender social change and collective responsibility”.
September 25th, 2009
Unitas Communications CEO, Muddassar Ahmed attended the M100 Sanussouci Colloquium held at Potsdam in September 2009. The M100 is a conference that annually brings together 100 of world’s leading Media figures –it has been dubbed by some as the Media ‘Davos’.
Participants this year included: Hans- Dietrich Genscher (German Foreign Minister) Anne Mcelvoy (Columnist-The Evening Standard UK) Sir Ronald Grierson (Co-Chair-The Blackstone Group) Peter Kellner (President-YouGov UK) Wadah Khanfar (CEO-Al-Jazeera Global) and Octavia Nasr (Editor CNN).
A full list of this year’s participants can be found
here.
Unitas Communications CEO, Muddassar Ahmed chaired the first session of the conference entitled ‘Mainstream media and diversity issues: Comparing approaches’.
The session focused on minority representation in mainstream media and compared mainstream media across Europe in addressing diversity issues. Other Panellists included Senior Executives from European Policy Centre, Panos Paris and WDR TV Germany.
August 24th, 2009
Unitas Communications CEO Muddassar Ahmed participated in the highly prestigious US State Dept IVLP Programme.
Previous UK IVLP Alumni include: Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and many leading UK Political, Corporate and Media Figures.
Over a 3 weeks period, in August 2009 Mr Ahmed was an official guest of the US government and held one to one meetings with over 100 Political, Media and Corporate figures in 5 Major US Cities, beginning with a week in Washington DC.
Muddassar Ahmed said ‘The IVLP visit was an incredibly useful experience, I have a much better understanding of how the US works and have also made some incredible friends and contacts. I am honoured to have been one of the 5 UK people picked annually for the individual IVLP visit’
More information on the IVLP Programme can be found
here.
June 8th, 2009
Unitas have provided media management and community engagement support for the launch of the Islamic Hotline - an Al Azhar University linked UK Islamic advice line. Part of Unitas’ remit has involved organising and facilitating consultations with key UK Muslim organisations including; the Islamic Society of Britain, City Circle, the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB), Muslim Youth Helpline, Young Muslims UK, Radical Middle Way and others.
Unitas successfully positioned the Islamic Hotline in both mainstream and niche ethnic media, including; a BBC Special report on the service in Cairo and UK, the Breakfast Show, the Guardian, Sky News, Times Online and ethnic media including: Al Arabiya, The Nation (UAE), Talk Islam, Euro Islam, Islam Online, Islamic News and many others.
Guest speakers at the launch included the Grand Mufti of Damascus - Sheikh Abdel Fattah El Bezem, Professor of Jurisprudence at Al Azhar University - Dr Rafaat Osman, Advisor on interfaith issues to leader of the Liberal Democrats – Fiyaz Mughal and Islamic Hotline spokesperson Abeer Almudaris. Unitas CEO, Muddassar Ahmed chaired proceedings.
Unitas CEO, Muddassar said ‘we are delighted to have helped the Islamic Hotline receive the positive media coverage they deserve and facilitated their interaction with the many Muslim community organisations that can compliment their work.’
March 23rd, 2009
Unitas Communications has successfully organised the prestigious 2009 League of Arab States day diplomatic reception.
With the Reception designed to commemorate the 64th year of the existence of the Arab League and held at a distinguished London venue, Unitas were able to bring together attendees from the political, corporate, media and academic spheres.
Attendees included, Shadow Conservative Minister for Women Baroness Morris of Bolton, Shadow Conservative Minister for International Development Lord Astor, Conservative Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons Shailash Vara MP, Tony Baldry MP, Labour MP John Grogan, Lord Hylton, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lammont, UK film Director Mike Leigh as well as media professionals from Forbes, Channel 4, Sky TV and the Guardian. The event also drew Ambassadorial guests from various European, Asian and African Nations.
Unitas CEO Muddassar Ahmed said, ‘Unitas are honoured to have built on the success of past Arab League Day receptions. This year’s reception has continued in the steps of previous years by bringing together an ever more extensive cross section of industry leaders supportive of the League of Arab States.’
February 18th, 2009
Unitas Communications has been appointed the official UK communications agency for Cairo based Islamic advisory service provider, El Hatef El Islami.
Approved by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University in 2001, El Hatef El Islami uses world renowned Islamic scholars from Al Azhar University - the most respected seat of learning in the Sunni Islamic World, as part of their telephone advisory services.
Unitas services will involve a complete UK Communications and PR strategy for the UK launch of El Hatef’s call service - the Islamic Hotline. Unitas’ remit will encompass media positioning, community engagement strategies and strategic brand positioning.
Unitas CEO Muddassar Ahmed said ‘we are delighted to be providing an integrated Public Relations campaign on behalf of El Hatef El Islami. There is a great need for credible Islamic advisory services in the UK and Unitas will endeavour to fill this void by promoting the work of El Hatef El Islami.’
Chairman of El Hatef El Islami Mr. Cherif Abdel Meguid added ‘we are happy that Unitas will be working closely with our Cairo team led by Mrs. Abeer Almudaris, Official Spokesperson & Liaison Officer of El Hatef, for the success and launch of such an important service that caters for the Muslim Community in the UK.’
February 13th, 2009
Unitas Communications have been appointed official providers of PR to Fair Knowledge - the UK’s first cineforum geared towards Muslim women.
Unitas will provide Fair Knowledge with PR support, strategic positioning and consulting services.
As part of the London International Documentary Festival, the Cineforum will hold its first major event at the Royal Society of Arts in London on 30th March 2009. Unitas will provide PR support for the event which will be a blend of a film festival and conference, with documentary screenings, art exhibitions, speakers, media and leadership workshops and mentoring.
Unitas CEO, Muddassar Ahmed said “Fair Knowledge epitomise a progressive and growing social movement and we, as Unitas, are pleased to be part of that emerging dynamic within the UK’s Muslim community.”
Cineforum MD Jobeda Ali said “We believe that marginalised voices, once mainstreamed, have a
particular capacity for creating deep and lasting social change. Unitas is the best placed agency in this sector to help us harmonise the minority and mainstream worlds.”
January 18th, 2009
Unitas Communications has won an annual Public Affairs contract with the Arab League following a four-way shortlist.
Services will focus on reputation management and Public Affairs support.
Arab League Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Dr Adel Babesail said ‘ the Arab League have long required the services of a professional PR agency that understands its uniques needs and here in the UK - Unitas are perfectly positioned to play that role.’
Unitas Communications CEO, Muddassar Ahmed said ‘We are delighted to be working for the Arab League. Ensuring accurate communication between a body that represents the interests of 22 Middle Eastern States and their key stakeholder groups in the UK is exactly the type of service provision that Unitas were designed to deliver.’
Included in the brief is PR support for the annual Arab League day event in London during March of this year. Unitas will also manage a UK Parliamentary delegation to the League of Arab States Head Quarters in Cairo.
December 16th, 2008
Unitas Communications announces the appointment of the former leader of the British Muslim Forum (BMF), Zareen Roohi Ahmed as a member of the Unitas team. Zareen was the first female Chief Executive of a major UK Muslim organisation. Following 7/7 she led on the critical agenda of tackling extremism, building community confidence and promoting inter-cultural and faith relations. She established numerous projects across the country, developed various strategies and trained many people (including central & local governments both at home & globally) to work effectively in this field. She went on to become a senior partner at Waterhouse Consulting Group, where she headed the Muslim Communities & Counter-Extremism Division. Prior to this Zareen was National Operations Director at the Experience Corps and has held various senior executive roles.
Muddassar Ahmed, Chief Executive of Unitas Communications said: ” We are delighted that Zareen has chosen to join our team, She is a highly respected figure both in the UK and across the world in her field and
we anticipate her to provide Unitas with invaluable expertise on matters such as preventing violent extremism, capacity building Muslim communities and promoting intercultural and faith community
relations”.
Zareen Roohi Ahmed said, “I am delighted to come on board with Unitas Communications, a firm that is arguably the leading UK Company of its kind in acting as an interface between institutions in Western and
Muslim countries and cultures. I look forward to continue working closely with public authorities in policy development and tackling some of the major issues facing our society”.
The mother of two is a keen painter and her PhD in Islamic Studies research focuses on the position of Muslim Women in Britain.
October 28th, 2008
Unitas communications successfully managed Government and Political relations, public affairs support and media management for this year’s Global Peace and Unity and the Excel centre in London, helping maintain its position as one of the the largest event of its kind in Europe with over 30,000 visitors.
This year’s GPU Event was a resounding success, featuring a plethora of prominent and diverse guest speakers, ranging from the Nick Clegg MP (Leader of the Liberal Democrats), Stephen Timms MP (Financial Secretary to the Treasury), Shahid Malik MP (Minister for International Development), Tony McNulty MP (Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform), Simon Hughes MP, Bill Rammell MP (Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) to former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, Tony Benn, Chair of the Hindu Forum UK Ramesh Kalliday & Jermaine Jackson (Celebrity Big Brother Star), amongst many more.
Britain’s Muslim Community were able to celebrate the achievements of the past year with a host of award ceremonies including those for the Model Mosque competition and the Islamic education awards.
CEO of Unitas communications said: ‘I would like to congratulate all those involved in organising this event, especially the Unitas team, who worked hard to ensure the event had the correct political profile despite the misguided attempts of a minority of misinformed commentators to dissuade leading politicians, activists and community leaders from attending’.
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