DUBAI, 27 May — Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum is to host the world’s biggest technology celebration, with a two-day summit and “Oscars-style” awards event, at which former US President Bill Clinton will be the guest of honor.
Amr Dabbagh, chairman of STARS 2001, announced that the STARS event will be held between Oct. 13-14, 2001 in Dubai. It will be the largest technology event and celebration in world history and will become an annual event.
Dabbagh likened the location of STARS as the “Gates of our ‘Net Supercorridor,” extending from the business and cultural world of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, to the home metropolis of Palm Island.
Each feature some of the world’s most intelligent buildings and are populated by the artists, scientists, architects, musicians, filmmakers, engineers and companies driving the evolution of the new world of tomorrow.
“Since IBM developed the PC 20 years ago, the world has rapidly arrived at a point where our business and personal lives seem to travel faster even than our own thoughts,” Dabbagh said. “With the royal summit, we hope to give the world a chance to draw breath — to look at what we have all achieved so far, and where we are going, with new possibilities represented in our ambitions for the world of tomorrow.”
Accepting the invitation to Dubai, Clinton said, “I am pleased to address this summit that will bring together governments, artists and other interested people to a single event to celebrate the impact of technology on all our lives over the last 20 years.”
Preceding GITEX, the world’s third largest IT show staged annually in Dubai, STARS coincides with two historic IT milestones: 20 years since IBM invented the PC and the first anniversary of Dubai Internet City.
“The event will encompass a two-day summit, ‘Navigators, Dreamers & Architects of the Internet City 1981-2001’ and the world’s first PC Magazine ‘Heart and Soul’ awards, recognizing individual and company contributions to the wide-ranging effects of technology in the arts and sciences,” said Dabbagh.
Representing the Government of Dubai, Sultan Ahmad ibn Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and Chairman of Palm Island, extended his vision of STARS uniting the many facets of Dubai Crown Prince’s dream for the future of Dubai and its place in the hearts of the Arabian people and the world.
Speaking at the press conference announcing STARS 2001 ibn Sulayem said, “This event reflects a common theme of rapid progress shared between Dubai and the evolution of technology. Both have continued to surprise us with their development, since not only has Dubai been one of the fastest cities in the world to build up its world class infrastructure in such a short period of time, the speed in which it has embraced the movement toward the electronic age has also been impressive. Furthermore the growth of Dubai’s tourist industry has shown a similarly rapid growth and no greater example shows this more effectively than the innovative Palm Island project, which has come to reflect a new and unique concept in tourism.
“This event is unique because it is the first time such awards will be presented. It also represents a great opportunity for Dubai to create a platform that will generate an open-thinking forum for innovative and groundbreaking ideas and concepts regarding the future of the world’s information technology. Creativity is the basis of all the arts, but it is also a fundamental component for the development of all technology. STARS will provide the foundation for this emerging synergy.”
“Under the official patronage of the Dubai crown prince, STARS unites us all in a vision of our place in the world and its future,” ibn Sulayem concluded.
STARS 2001 is being run in partnership with Ziff Davis Media, celebrating the 20th birthday of PC Magazine, and will include government heads and leaders of the global IT community.
Summit themes will address innovation, industrial competitiveness, scientific and technological development, human welfare, and the impact of global strategic alliances on the high-tech industry.
Concluding the summit with the PC Magazine ‘Heart and Soul’ awards ceremony on Oct. 14, 2001, Hardware, software, Internet and business innovations over the past 20 years will be recognized, joined by new awards that herald the way in which technology has impacted our lives through music, film, literature, architecture, fashion and science.
The unique judging panel, and guests of STARS, to be announced shortly, unite the qualities of the Oscars with the global Internet community.
A list of 260 nominations covering 20 categories has been distributed to international academic, media and industry authorities. The winners will be chosen by more than 200 million people online.
STARS is being organized by Amr Dabbagh’s Media Group — Dabbagh Information Technology — DIT, the exclusive Middle East partner of Ziff Davis, New York and the Pan-Arab publishers of PC Magazine in English and Arabic, the official publications for the event.
