The lobby area, which was usually full, was quiet with the various sponsor stands manned by rather bored looking staff. One of them told Arab News that he was confident that things would pick up as the day progressed.
“It is too quiet, but this could be due to the fact that it is still early. However, there does not seem to be as many people as there were last year,” he said.
His prediction proved to be correct, as by 10:30 a.m. the lobby had started filling up, probably in anticipation of the imminent entrance of the forum’s keynote speaker, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Indeed, his entrance generated the buzz associated with previous events, only for this excitement to settle down into the more familiar hum again.
Mohammed, a Jordanian director at a major Saudi company, told Arab News he was disappointed by the relative lack of networking opportunities available for him.
“This year at the opening session, less than half of the chairs are full, and the only international figure we have managed to attract is Erdogan,” he said. “It’s just the same old, same old, every year. We need more innovation to attract more people.”
He noted that women again were kept separate from men using a not too subtle screen and said there was no need for it.
“In Islam, women were supposed to help men fight their battles. By all means keep men and women separate, but remove the screen, it’s not necessary.”
***
Erdogan, despite being the keynote speaker, kept his speech very safe and generally refused to push the boundaries like past participants such as Bill Clinton and Richard Branson. He touched on bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Turkey, his country’s growing success in the economic domain and the importance of staying focused on problems in the Middle East, particularly Palestine and Iraq. He, however, barely touched on more pressing events in the region.
There were two other interesting observations to note during the Erdogan speech, which was delivered in Turkish. First was the fact that only four languages were available for translation purposes, including English, Arabic, Turkish and Russian. None of the other major European or Asian languages were represented, evoking a sense of sympathy for the Far Eastern gentleman sitting next to Arab News, who clearly did not have a clue what the Turkish premier was saying. Secondly, there was a large number of Saudis sitting without headsets. It could not be verified, however, whether they could understand Turkish, or they simply did not want to collect a translation kit and preferred to sit there nodding and clapping their hands whenever appropriate.
***
The Saudi youth is very well represented at the forum, acting as stewards and stewardesses for the event. Unlike last year, their English was not as good, although their manners and general conduct could not be faulted. They told Arab News that the jobs were temporary and once finished, it was back to the reality of having to find a job or worrying about their studies.
Amer, a steward who is also a computer science graduate from King Abdulaziz University, said he had been looking for a job for two months and had only managed to secure one interview in this time.
“It is very hard to find a job nowadays. I have still not heard from the company I went for an interview with. I hope I find something soon.”
Sarah, an accounting and finance undergraduate at Effat University, said she was hoping to study abroad when she finished her current course in a year’s time.
“However, the mahram (male guardian) condition will be a difficult issue for me to overcome. Hopefully my father will help me insha-Allah.”
