Join us for 'In conversation with Dr Ahmad Ma'ali', where the CEO of St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group (SJEHG), Dr Ahmad Ma'ali KStJ will be talking to award-winning BBC journalist, writer and broadcaster, Samira Ahmed. 

Hosted in collaboration with three of our most valued supporter groups — the Guild of St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital, iYouth, and the Guild of Young Freemen — this special evening at the beautiful Apothecaries' Hall, London, offers a unique opportunity to hear first-hand about the vital work of SJEHG, with a particular focus on the Hospital’s response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Guests will also enjoy drinks and canapés in the historic surroundings of the City of London’s oldest surviving livery company hall.

Ticket price includes two complimentary drinks on arrival, canapés, and a seat in the Great Hall for the conversation. All proceeds from the event will go towards SJEHG's sight-saving work in the Holy Land.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES:

Dr Ahmad Ma'ali

Dr Ahmad Ma’ali joined the SJEHG family in 1990 as a student nurse, successfully completing his secondment at Greenwich University in 1996 followed by a six-month postgraduate specialist ophthalmic nursing course at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital. In 1999, he was certified with a Nurse Tutor Diploma by the Bolton Institute. Thereafter, he returned to Jerusalem where he assumed the role as clinic Charge Nurse for one year, and in 2000 took responsibility for course leadership at the Sir Stephen Miller School of Nursing. He was also responsible for infection control, acted as clinical services coordinator, and gained a master’s degree in public health management at Al Quds University in 2003. In May 2009, Dr Ma’ali made SJEHG history as the first Palestinian Nursing Director. In 2017, he attained a PhD in Advanced Nursing Practice at De Montfort University and, after 10 years as Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, building relations with staff, students and patients, he was appointed as an interim Joint CEO with Peter Khoury in September 2017. In May 2019 Dr Ma'ali became our first Palestinian CEO.

Samira Ahmed

Award-winning journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed presents the BBC’s flagship arts show, Front Row on Radio 4; and also scrutinises BBC journalism and editorial decision making on Newswatch on BBC1. In 2023, she made headlines around the world for uncovering the earliest complete concert recording of the Beatles performing in the UK, at Stowe School in 1963 and helped secure its acquisition by the British Library for the nation. She was named British Broadcasting Press Guild audio presenter of the year in 2020, the same year she won a landmark sex discrimination employment tribunal against the BBC for equal pay on Newswatch. Her acclaimed three-part BBC4 documentary series Art of Persia (2020) was one of the first major Western tv series to be filmed in Iran for 40 years. She was previously a news anchor and correspondent for Channel 4 News, where she won the Stonewall Broadcast of the Year award for her film about the so-called “corrective” rape of lesbian women in South Africa; and for BBC News, where she covered the OJ Simpson case while LA Correspondent. Samira is a trustee of the Centre for Women’s Justice and an honorary fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.