Dr. Naif Al Mutawa

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is the creator of THE 99-the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. Dr. Al-Mutawa's children's books are now used in schools throughout the Arab World. His quest for tolerance and global understanding led him to create THE 99. THE 99, has received positive attention from the international media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, Wired, Elle, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Recently, Forbes named THE 99 as one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe. About The Talk Dr.Naif Al Mutawa will adress the TEDx Dubai audience with a talk called : From Mecca to Metropolis. Dr. Al-Mutawa has had extensive clinical experience working with former prisoners of war in Kuwait as well as at the Survivors of Political Torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York. He has seen first hand the cancer that intolerance can bring to any society. His direct contact with the horrors of prisons and with people tortured because of their religious and political beliefs, led to his writing a timeless children’s tale that won a UNESCO prize for literature in the service of tolerance. He is also the recipient of The Festival Internacional de Humour e Quadrinhos Comics Award presented at Cartoons & Comics Festival in Brazil, The Ecademy Award from Columbia University School of Business, The Eliot-Pearson Award for Excellence in Children's Media from Tufts University, The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations “ Marketplace of Ideas” Award and ‘The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Award’, 2009 presented at the World Economic Forum on The Middle East, Dead Sea, Jordan.