How do I book Waris Dirie to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Waris Dirie for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Waris Dirie, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Waris Dirie or any other speaker of your choice.

What are the speaker fees for Waris Dirie

Speaking fees for Waris Dirie, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Waris Dirie are available upon request for live events and available upon request for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Waris Dirie, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Waris Dirie speak about?

Waris Dirie is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Art, Authors, Black Heritage, Black History Month, Modeling, Non-Profit, Social Activism, Women, Women's Health, Women's Rights

Who is Waris Dirie's agent?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Waris Dirie for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Waris Dirie for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker's or celebrity's engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event's completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Waris Dirie or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you're looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you're in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Waris Dirie | Speaking Fee

Waris Dirie Biography

Waris Dirie was born into a nomad family living in the Somali desert near the border to Ethiopia in 1965. At the tender age of five, she was forced to undergo the inhuman procedure of female genital mutilation. This horrible tradition is still practiced in many countries around the world today – by both by Moslems and Christians. According to records kept by the United Nations more than 8000 girls become victims of this heinous crime every day.

At the age of 13, after being forced to marry a man who was old enough to be her grandfather, Waris fled her homeland. After a daring escape and many tribulations, she arrived in London and initially found employment as a housemaid and later at a McDonald’s.

At the age of 18 she was discovered by one of Britain’s leading fashion photographers, Terence Donovan, who thought she would be the perfect model. She quickly became an international celebrity.

She was given a part in a James Bond epic, the blockbuster “The Living Daylights,” starring Timothy Dalton as 007.

In 1996 the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, appointed Waris Dirie a UN Special Ambassador for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation.

She has traveled the world extensively for the UN, participated in numerous conferences on the subject, met with national leaders, Nobel Prize-winners, international stars, gaining support for this important issue as well as generating large donations for the UN.

Waris Dirie has received many prestigious prizes and awards for her work and books, such as the “Women’s World Award” by President Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2007 the French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented her with the “Chévalier de la Légion d’Honneur.” The World Demographic Association nominated her as the first woman for the ‘Prix de la Gènèration’ and the Martin Buber Foundation nominated her as the first woman for the Martin Buber Gold Medal.

In 1997 Harper Collins published Waris Dirie’s biography, “Desert Flower.” The book quickly became an international bestseller. It has now been published in 65 licensed editions, was No. 1 on the bestseller lists in many countries (in Germany, for example, the book stayed in the Top Ten list of best-selling books published in the magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ for a total of 120 weeks) and has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. She has also written "Desert Dawn," "Desert Children" and "Letter to My Mother."

In 2002 she founded her own foundation, called the Waris Dirie Foundation to support her work as a campaigner against FGM. In 2010, the foundation was re-named Desert Flower Foundation to reflect the broader approach to addressing Female Genital Mutilation though economic projects in Africa.

Currently, the organization has international headquarters in Vienna, Austria and has regional offices in Berlin, Basel, Montreux, Amsterdam, Monaco, Barcelona, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Poland. The official languages are English, German, French and Spanish. The foundation’s team is made up of men and women committed to gender equality, human rights and all of them share Waris Dirie’s ideal: Ending Female Genital Mutilation.

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Waris Dirie and other top speakers and celebrities.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 01/11/2024.

Waris Dirie Videos

Waris Dirie interview for the BBC Hardtalk Extra London - YouTube

See All Videos »

Waris Dirie Books

Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

FAQs on booking Waris Dirie

How do I book Waris Dirie to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Waris Dirie for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Waris Dirie, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Waris Dirie or any other speaker of your choice.
What are the speaker fees for Waris Dirie

Speaking fees for Waris Dirie, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Waris Dirie are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Waris Dirie, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
What topics does Waris Dirie speak about?

Waris Dirie is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Art, Authors, Black Heritage, Black History Month, Modeling, Non-Profit, Social Activism, Women, Women's Health, Women's Rights.
Where does Waris Dirie travel from?

Waris Dirie generally travels from an undisclosed location, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
Who is Waris Dirie’s agent?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Waris Dirie for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Waris Dirie for your next private or corporate function.
What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Waris Dirie or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Waris Dirie is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Waris Dirie for your event is available upon request. Waris Dirie generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Angela Davis, Nkechi Taifa, Elaine Welteroth, Fatima Siad and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Waris Dirie for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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