The Miss Universe Bahrain organisation has announced the formation of its first council. Made up of experts from various fields, the group will be responsible for selecting the next Miss Universe Bahrain and grooming them for the global Miss Universe competition.
Headed by national director Josh Yugen, the chief executive of Yugen Group, the council also includes Miss Universe Bahrain 2022 Evlin Khalifa, who has been named head of culture. Celebrity favourite fashion designer Furne One, whose Amato label is headquartered in Dubai, will be the creative director, while Filipina actress and beauty queen Kylie Verzosa, who won Miss International in 2016, will be the head of empowerment.
Other council members include Filipino TV personality Raymond Gutierrez as fashion director, entrepreneur Lorenzo Vega as head of innovation, TV producer Joey Abacan as senior executive consultant and filmmaker Brillante Mendoza as artistic director.
As head of culture, Khalifa's responsibilities will include ensuring the organisation and contestants respect and uphold the traditions and culture of Bahrain.
"We are happy to keep the traditions and culture of the region while constantly innovating the pageantry scene in the Middle East," Yugen told The National.
Miss Universe is one of the longest-running and most-watched beauty competitions in the world; it is broadcast in 165 countries and seen by more than half a billion people annually.
Scroll through the gallery below for more pictures from the Miss Universe 2022 competition
Miss Universe Bahrain has successfully sent two delegates to the global competition, starting with Miss Universe Bahrain 2021, Manar Nadeem Deyani, who became the first beauty queen to represent Bahrain.
Deyani made waves at the event, held in Israel, when she walked in the swimsuit competition in a fully covered flowing activewear outfit.
Khalifa, who beat more than 300 applicants to win the Miss Universe Bahrain 2022 title, also made a striking appearance at the Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans in February. Although she did not make it to the semi-finals, she was praised for her powerful statement about representation during the swimsuit round when she made an appearance in a pink burkini.
Khalifa, 24, customised her cape with the message: "Arab Women should be represented. Muslim women can also become Miss Universe".
She also had the word "equality" written in Arabic on it.
Scroll through the gallery below for more pictures from Evlin Khalifa's Miss Universe journey
“I am so thankful to all of the new members of the Miss Universe Bahrain council, my friends and colleagues in the industry for lending us their time and expertise in making this franchise a phenomenal success,” said Yugen.
Yugen, whose company also owns the Miss Universe Pakistan franchise, had earlier revealed the next Miss Universe Bahrain would be a reality-show-style competition split into several episodes and broadcast online.
Production is set to begin in July, with the first episode to be broadcast in August.
Organisers said they were looking for "the most passionate girl from Bahrain who could defy the odds and has the fire to summon the universe".
Applicants need to be between 18 and 28 years of age, and have an advocacy and "inspirational story of empowerment and resilience". And, for the first time in 71 years, their marital status will not matter — applicants can be single, married, divorced or mothers.
The Miss Universe Organisation made the historic decision to no longer limit the contest to single women last year, saying it was a move to evolve with the times.
Applications are still being accepted for Miss Universe Bahrain 2023.
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
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Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
India squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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