On June 16, 2008 The Palestinian Businesswomen's Association; ASALA, held a reception at its new office in Al Bireh.  The reception began with guest speakers including the Governor of Ramallah and Al Bireh; Dr. Sa'eed Abu Ali.  He praised Asala's accomplishments since its establishment to date, and noted the positive impact Asala's work has had on families suffering from poverty. By supporting women, often the core of the family, Asala is also  families to improve quality of life. 

Executive Director of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics; Dr. Lu'ay Shabaneh, felt that Asala is an empowering force for Palestinian women who only represent 16% of the Palestinian labor force. Asala's projects and strong position in society will surely improve the role of women.  

Chairwoman of Asala's Board of Directors; Ms. Nisreen Hanbali, briefed the audience on Asala's accomplishments in the past years. Ms. Hanbali also commended Asala's new project; Irada, which will provide financial, marketing, and administrative training to Palestinian women throughout the West Bank in order to enable them to successfully establish or expand their income generating projects.

The Executive Director of Asala; Ms. Reem Abboushi, spoke briefly about Asala's mission, goals and accomplishments, reviewed Asala's statistics, welcomed the audience and thanked everyone for their constant support and encouragement-without which Asala would not be where it is today.