Day: May 18, 2021

DUBAI, Expo 2020 Dubai has unveiled a series of curated itineraries for visitors available in a half-day, full-day or three-day formats to ensure unforgettable experiences for all when it opens its doors to the world on 1st October 2021.

The guided and self-guided journeys – the latter available through the Expo 2020 Mobile App – will highlight site-wide attractions appealing to families, couples, students, business travellers and everyone in between.

Sumathi Ramanathan, Vice President, Market Strategy & Sales, Expo 2020 Dubai, said, “Expo 2020 is for explorers, foodies and culture enthusiasts, for children and grandparents, for entrepreneurs, inventors and businesses travellers, for the casual tourist, and for the curious who want to experience the future – now. Our easy-to-access itineraries will enable every visitor to discover the game-changing innovations, world-class entertainment and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are relevant to them, ensuring everyone who walks through our doors has a safe experience that amazes, inspires and excites the senses.”

Expo Essentials will introduce the world in one place, and include innovations such as the world’s largest radio satellite capable of detecting signals from alien life and a 4D ‘bioprinter’ that can reproduce live cells, as well as world fusion music, choirs and orchestral performances, and cuisines from countries visitors may have never considered before.

The Expo for Families tour offers an exciting, interactive journey packed with fun, educational experiences for all ages, from a Beethoven-inspired robo-band to an encounter with a giant sharp-toothed fish; while Expo for Couples will appeal to those who want to discover the site’s most romantic offerings, including the magical Al Wasl Plaza, which will feature spectacular night-time light shows on its 360-degree projection surface.

The Expo Architecture and Design Journey will take visitors through some of Expo’s architectural marvels – from the falcon-shaped UAE Pavilion to self-sustaining buildings and pavilions that merge nature and architecture, while on the Expo for Foodies tour, guests can taste the future of food, discover a star chef, or sample a new cuisine while taking in a show.

Alternatively, take time out to explore human well-being on the Expo Health and Wellness Journey, ride a bike or attend a yoga class in Jubilee Park, nourish yourself with the latest superfoods and discover life-changing healthcare innovations.

Other itineraries include the Business and Entrepreneurship Journey, which explores how change-makers from around the world strategise to create a lasting impact, and the Expo Mobility Journey, showcasing next-gen innovations moving data, people and goods across the world, from how AI is changing the way we live, learn and play, to the future of air travel.

The Expo Energy Journey will allow visitors to discover vertical farms and stroll through net-zero energy pavilions, while on the Expo for Techies and Innovators tour, they will be able to explore artificial intelligence, space and augmented reality – with a break for lunch with robots.

Hosting an exceptional Expo while ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all participants is Expo’s highest priority. In the past five months, Expo 2020 has successfully welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to preview Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, and hosted the face-to-face gathering of hundreds of delegates from participating countries at the final International Participants Meeting at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai.

Those visiting both events experienced first-hand the far-reaching programme of precautionary measures adopted by Expo 2020 to ensure the safety of all visitors, participants and staff – working in close collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and Dubai Health Authority, and in line with the latest information and advice from the World Health Organisation.

These include the installation of thermal cameras and sanitisation stations across the site, mandatory face-mask wearing and the implementation of social-distancing regulations. Building on the UAE’s successful vaccination programme, Expo 2020 is also offering free COVID-19 vaccinations to all official participants and their staff.

The first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, Expo 2020 will run from 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022, inviting visitors from around the world to join the making of a new world, experiencing a six-month celebration of creativity, innovation, human progress and culture.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) held a press conference about the Green Hydrogen project, which will be inaugurated tomorrow, 19th May, 2021, at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, under the patronage and in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

Al Tayer said that the project, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce green hydrogen using solar energy, reflects wise leadership’s vision to promote creativity, innovation, the green economy and sustainable development.

He noted that DEWA’s approach is based on scientific foundations and pilot projects, including the green hydrogen pilot project, which will build national capabilities and competencies, and will promote the development of green hydrogen projects in the UAE.

This will be in line with the model DEWA adopted in the projects of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in which DEWA started its first phase with a pilot project with a capacity of 13 megawatts. The total production capacity of the solar park’s operational phases is currently 1,013 megawatts. The projects currently under construction have a total capacity of 1,850 megawatts, with future phases to reach 5,000 megawatts by 2030.

“We have a clear approach for the energy sector in line witht the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. We are using the latest Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain to enhance energy efficiency and increase the happiness of all stakeholders including customers. The share of clean energy capacity in Dubai’s energy mix has increased to around 9 percent. This exceeds the percentage set in the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy to provide 7 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2020,” Al Tayer said.

Al Tayer noted that these efforts have contributed to Dubai’s success in reducing 22 percent of carbon emissions by 2019, surpassing its previous target of reducing 16 percent of carbon emissions by 2021.

“Thanks to the directives of the wise leadership, we are continuing to expand the use of clean energy. We currently have promising solar projects at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in addition to the hydroelectric power station in Hatta, as well as other projects under study to use wind energy,” he added.

During the conference, Al Tayer highlighted DEWA’s key achievements and the latest developments in its pioneering initiatives. DEWA has attracted around AED 40 billion in investments through the Independent Power Producer (IPP) and Independent Water Producer (IWPP) model that strengthens the partnership between the public and private sectors.

Al Tayer said that next July, DEWA will commission the 300-megawatt first stage of the fifth phase of the solar park, which will have a capacity of 900 megawatts using photovoltaic solar panels.

In September, DEWA will commission the world’s tallest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) tower at 262.44 metres and a capacity of 100 megawatts, in addition to 200 megawatts from parabolic trough. This is the largest single-site solar investment project of its kind in the world. It combines CSP and photovoltaic solar panels, with a capacity of 950 megawatts, with investments totalling AED 16 billion. This phase is characterised by the largest storage capacity in the world for 15 hours, which allows for around-the-clock energy production.

Al Tayer said that DEWA started the tunneling operations of the hydroelectric power station in Hatta. The progress in the 250-megawatt project is 22.84 percent.

“To keep pace with the continuous growth of Dubai, and as part of our commitment to creating proactive solutions to the challenges of the next 50 years, we continuously work to implement various projects to meet the growing demand for electricity and water in the Emirate. DEWA’s total production capacity is currently 12,900 megawatts of electricity and 490 million gallons of desalinated water per day,” he noted.

DEWA, through its subsidiary Etihad ESCO, retrofitted 7,197 buildings, including 4,878 villas in Dubai. It installed photovoltaic solar panels on 5,442 buildings, including 4,878 villas, bringing the total number of buildings that have been retrofitted and solar panels installed on them to 7,763.

“DEWA’s Jebel Ali Power Generation & Water Production Complex has been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the largest single-site natural gas power generation facility in the world with an electricity generation capacity of 9,547 megawatts, adding to DEWA’s record of global achievements,” concluded Al Tayer.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The Emirates Literature Foundation Tuesday released the full recording of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2021 session ‘Social Stereotypes – How the Digital World is Changing Your Reality’, featuring Egyptian writer Walaa Kamal, and social media influencer, Max of Arabia.

The session is available on the Foundation’s YouTube channel for free with English subtitles. The speakers highlight how social media can break stereotypes and promote a better understanding of the world, but only if it is used with caution.

The recording is the second in the digital series of recorded sessions to be released on the Emirates Literature Foundation YouTube channel.

The 13th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (29th January-13th February) hosted international authors, including Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Elif Shafak, Amin Maalouf and Lemn Sissay, Huda Hamed, Abdulaziz Baraka Sakin and many more.

Many sessions were inspired by the 2021 Festival theme, ‘Change the Story’, capturing the spirit of the current times through family fun, enlightening talks, fresh ideas and dynamic performances centred on books, art, science, current affairs, film and food.

The Festival was held with the support of Founding Partners Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The two-fold Middle East Tourism Investment Summit will include an in-person summit, to be held in Dubai on Wednesday, 19th May, 2021 at the ATM Global Stage, followed by a virtual summit on 27th May.

Organised by the International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) in partnership with ATM, the event will be themed ‘Invest-Rebuild-Restart the tourism industry in the Middle East’.

The Middle East is standing out as the region offering the most exciting tourism prospects following the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns that have been successfully rolled out.

Taleb Rifai, Chairman of ITIC and former Secretary-General of UNWTO, stated, “We are delighted to host in partnership with ATM our face-to-face Tourism Investment Summit after 18 months and to regroup industry leaders to discuss the investment opportunities, challenges, issues and the way forward for the future.”

Ibrahim Ayoub, ITIC’s Group CEO, expressed his confidence that the vaccination campaigns will contribute to the rapid restart of international flights.

“Dubai has already set the example of the successful reopening of its airspace and country to foreign visitors. We expect that other countries especially in the Middle East which have properly managed the Covid-19 pandemic, to follow”, he added. “Their resilience needs to be commended.”

These two ITIC summits aim at providing industry leaders with the latest trends and opportunities, so that they can position themselves among the first movers to reap the advantages of the post-COVID-19 recovery in the Middle East region.

Industry decision-makers, such as Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports; Nicolas Mayer, Global Tourism Leader of PWC; Scott Livermore, Chief Economist of Oxford Economics, Middle East; Nayef Al-Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan; Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman Sharjah Investment and Development Authority; Raki Phillips, CEO Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General, Ajman Tourism Development Department; among others, will share their much sought-after insights during the in-person summit.

The summit will be moderated by Sameer Hashmi of BBC World News and Manus Cranny of Bloomberg.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, After holding it in digital format in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF) will be staged for the 8th time at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 24 to 26.

As a co-located event of the 20th edition of Airport Show, the world’s largest airport industry B2B event, the much-anticipated aviation industry gathering will see 50-plus speakers addressing the participants, both physically and virtually.

Talking virtually will be Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and Major General Khalifa Ibrahim Al Saleis, CEO of Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA), that was set up in 2016 to provide Dubai with the highest levels of safety and security.

The collocated show will take place across 12,000 square metres of exhibition space with participants expected from at least 90 countries despite global travel restrictions as global aviation moves back to normalcy. Other co-located events include ATC Forum and Airport Security along with new conferences focusing on Airport Passengers’ Experience and Airport Digital Transformation.

Taking place under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, this will be the largest hybrid gathering of airport industry players after the COVID-19 pandemic extensively impacted the entire aviation industry.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibitions Director at Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of the Airport Show, said GALF-2021 will help airports and other aviation industry players in understanding and preparing for enhancing safety, widening ef?ciency and improving profitability.

Participating from the Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports whose members operate 1933 airports in 183 countries, will be Stefano Baronci, Director General at Asia-Pacific, Dimitri Coll, Vice President of Airport Customer Experience, and Gary Leung, Manager for Security and Facilitation at Asia-Pacific.

For the first time since the UAE became the fourth Arab country to normalise relations with Israel, senior officials from Israel Airports Authority will participate at the event, as well as conduct a workshop titled ‘Preparing for the Cybersecurity Challenge’ exclusively for attendees.

Amongst the confirmed speakers highlighting the challenges and future technologies in Air Traffic Control are Ismail Al Balooshi, Assistant Director-General Aviation Safety Affairs at GCAA; David Shomar, Vice President of Civil Security at SAAB: Ryyan Waddah Tarabzoni, CEO of Saudi Air Navigation; Jan Klas, CEO of ANS Czech Republic; Yahya Abdalla AlHammadi, CEO, GAL ANS and Andrew P. Fiamingo, COO, Indra.

With a strong digital element added to the conference this year, several North American aviation experts will also be able to join their peers on the stage for the first time at the conference, giving it the largest global speakers line-up ever.

Source: Emirates News Agency