JEDDAH, 15 November 2007 — The 1st Middle East Knowledge Economy Conference will be held here on Jan. 12-13 with the support of Makkah Gov. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
The conference at the Jeddah Hilton will be followed by a two-day workshop on Jan. 14-15, which is likely to be held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
“Toward a Knowledge Economy” is the theme of the conference, Abdullah Al-Subyani, founder and president of the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association (AKEA) told Arab News yesterday.
AKEA is organizing the forum jointly with Al-Aghar Group think tank and JCCI.
The conference theme is aimed at introducing, promoting and highlighting ways of building a viable and vibrant knowledge-based economy in the region.
The conference objectives, according to Al-Subyani, include introducing the knowledge-based economy (KBE) in the Arab world, creating awareness of the KBE, learning how individuals and enterprises can prepare for the knowledge economy, and networking entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts to discover new ways for improving and shaping innovation and entrepreneurship in selected industries.
These include education, hydrocarbon, power and water, environment, health care and life sciences, information and communication technologies, and real estate and tourism industries.
Speakers at the event include, among thers, Debra Amidon of the US, Leif Edvinsson of the New Club of Paris, Sweden, Ron Manual, CEO of the US-based Integration Capital Inc., Patrick Sullivan of the US-based ICM Group, Jean-Eric Aubert, senior advisor at the World Bank Institute, Dr. Tengku Mohamed Azzman Shariffadeen of Malaysia and Oliver Schwabe of Germany.
The conference program is designed to engage all participants in addressing the challenges facing the development of knowledge-based economy and identifying ways to grow it.