WFP
Tomorrow, some 120 vintage cars will begin a 6,000-kilometer Rally from Oberstaufen in Germany to Amman, which is organized by the UN World Food Program (WFP) and other partners to help raise awareness against the impact of hunger and poverty. The rally, which will cover 14 countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Greece, Syria, and Turkey, before ending in Amman, Jordan on May 11, is also organized by Sakhr Al-Fayez, who heads the non-governmental organization Mount Nebo Society under Jordan’s National Alliance Against Hunger and German journalist Welferd Gheer. The Oberstaufen Municipal Government, officials of the Jordanian government and celebrities from Jordan, will host the launch companies sponsoring the event and the media. The cars, which will use navigational systems and stay off the main highways, will meet on May 5 in Turkey before heading to Syria where they will start arriving on May 9. Vehicles will be sold at the end of the Rally and proceeds will support hungry poor in one of the Jordanian National Alliance’s activities in Jordan. A reception for the participants will be held on May12, with the support of Princess Basma bint Talal in Amman.
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank has announced its appointment as Depositary Bank for the Regulation S and Rule 144A Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) program of Depa Limited (Depa). Depa is a leading provider of interior contracting services in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. They operate principally in the luxury fit-out sector with a focus primarily on the hospitality, commercial and residential property developments as well as airport, retail, yacht, theming and specialist fit-out sectors. In addition, Depa provides manufactured products and procurement services, which are used in its in-house operations as well as provided to third parties. It has a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates in 15 countries through which Depa has successfully executed projects in over 20 countries. Akbar Poonawala, head of Global Equity Services (GES) at Deutsche Bank said, “Winning the depositary mandate for Depa’s GDR program represents significant recognition of Deutsche Bank’s superior customized client servicing capabilities from this prestigious company. We look forward to demonstrating our commitment to the region by working with Depa to enhance its GDR program within the international investor community.”
Orbit
Orbit Satellite TV & Radio Network announced yesterday the confirmed list of winners for the month of March of the year-long Orbit ‘Pinoy Milyonaryo’ raffle promotion. Filipino overseas workers Roberto dela Fuente of Eastern Province, Edward Alconcer of Central Province and Salem Dalupang of Western Province are each going to receive SR7,500 cash. All three are Filipino subscribers to Orbit’s Pinoy Plus entertainment service, programmed attractively toward Filipino expatriate workers as it hosts 17 entertainment channels including the international service of the Philippines No. 1 Terrestrial TV station, GMA PINOYTV.
MachiTech
Turkey’s MachiTech, its fourth machine and machinery equipment exhibition, ended at Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Center on Tuesday night. Adnan H. Mandurah, general manager of business sector and committees at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who was the chief guest, said: “These machines show that Turkey has made a remarkable progress in the manufacturing of machines and machinery equipment.” Abdul Khaliq Saeed, a businessman and member of the JCCI, said year after year Turkey has been making progress in machinery manufacturing and their exports. “I have been regularly visiting the country and seen the tremendous progress they are making in this department,” he said, adding that the Turkish manufacturers already have established a strong market for their goods across the Kingdom. Turkish Consul General Ahmet Yildiz said that aside from machines and machinery equipment for industrial use, Turkey has excelled in manufacturing equipment for textile and automobile parts and accessories. Most of the manufacturers are mid-size companies. Turkey’s exports to the Kingdom are around $1.03 billion and its imports from the Kingdom exceeds $2 billion, he said, adding that efforts were being made to further expand the bilateral trade. He said the Saudi-Turkish business councils in both countries were active and a Saudi business delegation on behalf of the council was expected to visit his country early next month.
ATM
With over 65 Saudi Arabian companies expected to sign up for Arabian Travel Market 2008 (ATM), the Kingdom’s exhibitors will stage the GCC’s second largest show participation, after the UAE, marking the country’s intent of significantly increasing its overall tourism proposition. Leading the Saudi contingent for ATM, which takes place at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Center from May 6-9, is the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (GCTA) and the Kingdom’s two private airlines, Sama and National Air Services (NAS). Joining the GCTA, NAS and Sama at this year’s show will be Hyatt International EAME Ltd., Elaf Group of Companies, Mamlakat Al-Asfar Travel & Tourism, Alrawada Investment for Real Estate Development and Unique Choice. “ATM allows us to showcase Saudi Arabia as a destination and offers an opportunity for participating tourism partners to see latest trends impacting our industry. The show also puts us in touch with key leaders in the travel and tourism industry,” said Dr. Fahad Al-Jarboa, assistant deputy secretary general for marketing, GCTA. ATM organizer, Reed Travel Exhibitions, believes that this year’s event, with its increased content and product offering, largest seminar program to date and global exhibitor base spanning over 60 countries, will have significant appeal to the Kingdom’s tourism industry as an important business and knowledge platform.
Qatar University
Qatar University has announced that it will use the Cerner Academic Education Solution (AES) to teach students enrolled in its pharmacy program how to work with an electronic medical record (EMR). This tool allows students to learn in an environment that mirrors the automated point-of-care setting in which they will one day work. Qatar University is Cerner’s first client in Qatar. “The mission of the pharmacy school is to prepare our students to provide optimal pharmaceutical care and to advance the science of pharmacy for Qatar, the Middle East and the world,” said Dr. Peter J. Jewesson, Qatar University Pharmacy Program professor and director. “The Cerner Academic Education Solution will help our students embrace healthcare information technology as part of their education and make it easier for them to transition from an academic to a professional setting.” The Cerner AES is the only full clinical information system adapted to support healthcare curricula and classroom instruction. This solution can be used in academic programs that teach nursing, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and health information management. The Cerner AES supports instructors in the development of data-driven teaching cases for online presentation and instruction, supported by evidence and clinical outcomes. HealthCare Education Institutions can use the Cerner AES to simulate patient scenarios through case studies to support curricula objectives, teaching and learning.
NCB/Fortune Promoseven
NCB and Fortune Promoseven-Jeddah organized a comprehensive training course for NCB’s marketing sections managers in Jeddah recently. The course included identifying the latest global technologies, especially those witnessed in the Kingdom in printing, advertising media, production fundamentals, materials, color separation, advertising signs and many other techniques of the industry. Also included were field visits to renowned suppliers, where the industry specialists enriched the marketing mangers with valuable information about the mechanics of job handling and answered their inquiries about the entire operations and production phases. The course program witnessed a workshop in which certificates were given to participants. Amer Siddiki, NCB’s head of customer marketing and communication, said: “The course comes as an embodiment to NCB’s policy for human resource development.”