Dr. Wafa Khalfan Al-Ali is one of the leading women’s voices in Gulf media and community engagement since the early 2000s—a writer and media professional who has combined field journalism with academic expertise and a clear leadership vision. She has worked across multiple sectors in the Gulf and the United Kingdom and possesses extensive experience in academic and administrative governance through her current and past memberships in various international and local boards, committees, and councils. She draws on this experience to help institutions build more sustainable and equitable visions and policies in the fields of media, culture, and society. In recognition of her role in cultural diplomacy, she was named among the “40 Under 40” by the Middle East Policy Council in 2024. Dr. Khalfan holds a PhD in Media and Cultural Policy from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and is a proud alumna of the American University of Sharjah, 9th cohort.
Dr. Wafa Khalfan Al-Ali is widely regarded as one of the pioneering native Emirati millennial women whose voice helped shape cultural and media landscape well before the digital age. Born in the mid-1980s and raised during the era of the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, she comes from a generation that bridged tradition and modernity — when women often concealed their identities behind pen names, yet she chose to publish and speak in her real name, asserting her presence in a world not yet ready for it.
Her creative journey began in 1997 when she won the silver medal at the Arab Children’s Forum for short story writing and earned prizes in painting, later presenting children’s programs on local television. By 2005, she had joined the Emirates Women Writers Association as one of its youngest members, becoming the youngest opinion columnist in Marami magazine and a technology editor at Bint Al Khaleej. Around the same time, she published her prose collection Letters to the Snowmen (Arabic).
After excelling in the scientific stream in secondary school, she enrolled at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Mass Communication. Between 2008 and 2016, she built a versatile career spanning journalism, radio and TV production, corporate communication, campaign management, and event leadership, while serving as a board member of the Emirates Society for Consumer Protection and launching her own media and marketing venture. For over a decade, she was an active participant and master of ceremonies at major cultural and literary events in Sharjah (2005–2015) and coordinated numerous awareness, cultural, and research initiatives—including serving as curator for Sharjah’s first ever TEDx event.
She later moved to the United Kingdom to pursue her doctorate at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Cultural Policy Research, becoming its first Emirati graduate in 2021. Since 2016, she has held a range of academic positions encompassing teaching, research supervision, and the chairing of international conference sessions. She is currently an active member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), contributing to its research networks and scholarly committees.