Karen Wazen
Karen Wazen

About Karen
Karen Wazen has been supporting UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency since 2020.
Wife, mother and international style icon, Karen Wazen is redefining the modern Arab working mother. In just three short years, Karen has amassed a global audience of over 4 million, appeared on multiple magazine covers, cameoed in a Hollywood blockbuster and launched her own successful eyewear company.
Entrepreneur Magazine named her ‘Influencer of the Year’ 2019, and although her work takes her all over the world.
Karen shares her life and journey as an entrepreneur with a delicate and positive intimacy reflecting her style and personality. Karen uses her platform to not only represent the Middle East at events such as international fashion weeks and Cannes Film Festival with the likes of Cartier, Dior or Fendi, but she is also known to highlight major causes and humanitarian issues with UNHCR, visiting refugee camps and spreading awareness. Karen visited two settlements in the North of Lebanon and in the Beka’a region. Over the last 2 years, she supported UNHCR’s winter campaigns, Ramadan campaigns, and championed the Made51 product launch in the UAE wherein she interviewed Sir Richard Branson.
Karen’s voice and ability to inspire has been a powerful tool in advocating for refugees.
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About Karen
Karen Wazen started a very personal, fashion and lifestyle blog in 2016 – and has since grown to become one of the most influential people on the Middle East's social media landscape today, with a global audience of over 13 million. Passionate about making a difference with her work, she uses her reach to highlight humanitarian issues on behalf of the UNHCR.
Her career highlights include being the first Middle Eastern ambassador for an Italian luxury brand, and the first regional ambassador for a major French beauty house.
She founded Karen Wazen Eyewear in 2018 and it became an overnight success. Her eyewear is now an international fashion brand. Karen also co-founded the investment management company KE Partners, and has ventured into investing in other brands and start-ups that she believes in.
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Past highlights of Karen’s support
She has been supporting UNHCR since 2018. Her first visit was to settlements in the North of Lebanon, where she met with Syrian refugees. From then on, Karen continued to support all of UNHCR’s regional and global flagship campaigns, including the global Ramadan campaign, winterization campaign, all emergency appeals (Sudan floods, Bangladesh monsoon, Beirut blast, Yemen famine, Earthquake appeal, etc.) using her social platforms and lending her voice to the refugee cause.
In Ramadan of 2019, Karen visited settlements in Bekaa, Lebanon, where she fundraised directly from the field, appealing to audiences to donate ahead of the Eid Al Fitr occasion. Karen then supported the launch of the Made51 product line at Virgin Megastores by interviewing Sir Richard Branson and promoting the Made51 shop across all her platforms. Karen supported other UNHCR offline events: the Abu Dhabi Dream Ball, the Global Citizen Forum, and UNHCR’s International Women’s Day event in the UAE.
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Recent advocacy and campaigns
In 2022 and 2023, Karen visited Lebanon, supporting the advocacy work around the cohesion of the host and refugee community, as well as spotlighting UNHCR’s contribution to the host community. In January 2023, Karen hosted a salon-style, closed-circle fundraising dinner in her home to raise funds for UNHCR’s winterization campaign.
In August 2023, Karen revisited Lebanon, where she joined Lebanese and refugee children at the centre during psychosocial support sessions. She also visited Made 51 artisan women at a Lebanese artisan house while they embroidered and sewed pouches and decorative items and shared their individual stories.
Karen's work as a Goodwilll Ambassador
News and highlights
Find the latest news and key highlights about Karen's work as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.