Manal Kelig
Manal S. Kelig is one of three co- founders of Gateway To Egypt (GWE) for Travel Marketing in the Middle East & Great Wonders of Egypt for sustainable travel to Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East. She received her B.A. in Egyptology & Tourism in 1992 from the Faculty of Tourism & Hotel Management Helwan University of Cairo. Upon graduation she pursued a career as an Egyptologist and guide, and also worked on a Masters Degree in Modern History. However, through her work she realized that there was a huge misconception, misunderstanding and stereotyping about the status of women in the Middle East and Islamic countries. This encouraged her to change course and chose instead to study the Public & Political role of women in Egypt during the 19th century, which became the subject of her thesis. Her research got her quite involved in various issues of women and the community on the national and international scale. Manal prefers to categorize her research and community work under community development support rather than feminist support. Later on, her academic and professional interests expanded to a higher international scale and it involved bridging the cultural gap between the Western & Middle Eastern civilizations.
Since the operation of GWE in 2005, her work in the field of tourism along with her community development interests brought to her attention another urgent issue, which is the preservation of the cultural heritage of Egypt whether ancient or Modern. Since then, Manal and her partners became dedicated to operating only responsible travel to Egypt and the Middle East, and developing programs that foster a culture of peace between the travelers and the locals. Their latest project is launching an initiative known as egyptcharity.org which will collect information on as many of the NGOs, voluntourism and related initiatives in Egypt as possible to be available for all travelers.
In the past five years, Manal has conducted voluntary work with United Nations organizations, earned her PHD degree, and pursued more studies in the field of Peace & Conflict studies. Manal is a regular speaker in different events related to the travel industry and History & Politics of the Middle East.
