Emirates Press

DUBAI, Dubai’s business events sector and broader economy are poised to benefit from another year of successful bidding activity led by Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau.

Collaborating with stakeholders across the public and private sectors, DBE has captured 120 events for the year 2021 and beyond.

These events, a combination of conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes, feature almost 70,000 key opinion leaders, scientists, government officials and other experts, which put Dubai at the heart of global conversations on the recovery of critical sectors and professions, innovation and economic growth.

The robust performance, achieved despite continued disruption to the global business events sector, is mainly attributable to the worldwide recognition of Dubai’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubai provided a viable and attractive alternative for hosting many events held over the past 15 months and is now in the pipeline after organisers’ original plans elsewhere could not come to fruition.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said, “Driven by the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the city’s handling of the pandemic and rapid economic recovery continue to be recognised by the global business community. In addition to seeing Dubai become a hub of choice for businesses, associations and talent across sectors and professions, the city is standing out as a preferred destination for events of all sizes. “

He added, “The past two years’ experience has only served to underline the importance of in-person business events and what they can offer to organisers, participants, sponsors, exhibitors, and their wider networks. We, therefore, continue to explore all opportunities to host business events in Dubai and work with stakeholders in the city to provide meeting planners with a safe, impactful platform for knowledge sharing, networking and creating lasting legacies.”

Among the significant events won in 2021 were the 27th International Council of Museums General Conference in 2025. Dubai Business Events collaborated with the UAE’s chapter of ICOM (ICOM-UAE), Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Dubai Municipality to win the bid for the event.

Other key events included the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition (2022), Asian Congress in Pediatric Nephrology (2023), and the Congress of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (2024).

Meanwhile, the city’s pipeline of corporate meetings and incentive travel programmes also continued to grow, with the addition of McDonald’s Russia Convention, AIA Star Convention and Oriflame Anniversary Gold Conference, all taking place in 2022.

The additions to the pipeline come amid a growing focus on the business events sector in Dubai, underlined by the formation of the Department of Economy and Tourism. One of the key priorities for the department is to capture 400 global economic events annually by 2025.

In 2021, Dubai Business Events maintained a strong calendar of promotional activities worldwide through sales missions in key target markets, participation in major industry roadshows, including IBTM World and IMEX America, and inbound study missions.

This year, DBE will lead nine sales missions across four continents, showcasing the city in traditional strongholds such as India, Europe and China and markets where it sees strong opportunities for growth, including Israel and Latin America. Groups worldwide will also continue to be hosted on study missions to explore the city, while stakeholders at all major trade shows will once again join DBE.

Source: Emirates News Agency

SHARJAH, With 11 design-led cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary crafts collaborations, 14 new collection launches and 10 programmes initiated during 2021, UAE-based Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, an affiliate of NAMA Women Advancement, has made a powerful statement on national and international platforms with its exceptional creative work, and unearthed new opportunities for Emirati craftswomen to develop and preserve local crafts in a sustainable and economically viable manner.

The Emirati artisans’ works have been made accessible to an audience of more than 15,000 individuals and crafts enthusiasts who participated in Irthi’s local and internationally organised events during 2021.

Irthi’s ongoing efforts in revitalising crafts and take the indigenous handmaking heritage of the MENASEA and Central Asia regions into the future has paved the way for the creation of an innovation ecosystem where the infusion of a modern spirit and design interventions are expanding the traditional crafts vocabulary. Through social development programmes, vocational training, and collaborations with designers from different cultures and artistic backgrounds, Irthi continues to provide a fresh narrative for women and empowers its artisans to tap into contemporary global markets.

Reem BinKaram, Director of NAMA, said, “Under the guidance and vision of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah, and chairperson of NAMA, Irthi has stepped up efforts in bringing Emirati crafts to the world stage to help preserve and protect our heritage crafts for future generations. The artistic and design-led collaborative explorations led by Irthi have seen the introduction of novel materials and techniques that are today enriching the artisanal heritage of Sharjah and the UAE and taking the exceptional craft traditions of Emirati artisans in exciting new directions.”

She added, “The future of craft is determined by its ability to embrace the shifting needs of contemporary culture and throughout 2021, Irthi has adapted to the needs of the global market and a digital-savvy generation to foster innovative pathways that support sustainability, employment, and craft and cultural preservation. The synergy between designers and artisans are creating new audiences for traditional craft practices while the multi-pronged approach of our crafts documentation is further filling the gaps in knowledge and making heritage crafts accessible to the present and future generations.”

2022 began on a very promising note for Irthi which was announced as an entity with legal personality and full capacity to carry out the legal actions necessary to achieve its goals and exercise its competencies, with its financial, administrative, and technical independence.

A legacy of achievements in 2021 Irthi left a firm imprint on the international design scene throughout 2021 with new collection launches at Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai; the unveiling of fashion and jewellery collections on the global digital portal ‘Elevenish’; collaboration with London-based fashion brand QASIMI; and partnering on a handcrafted urban installation project with Beirut-based architecture and design studio, T SAKHI, amongst others.

The Irthi Series was launched at Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai with two curated contemporary handmade collections of uniquely designed yet functional objects and marked an important new chapter in Irthi’s efforts to safeguard the region’s crafts legacy. The Zenobia Collection drop – in collaboration with Levantine designer, Nada Debs, integrated the worlds of Talli and Marquetry while the Thaya Collection drop – created in collaboration with Bahraini and Emirati designers and a Pakistan-based artistic collective – offered a contemporary interpretation of Safeefah (weaved palm fronds).

The curated ‘Zenobia Collection’ drop was also the subject of a panel discussion hosted at The Arts Club Dubai where experts commended Irthi’s efforts in initiating a dialogue between two crafts from two different worlds.

The third cohort of 10 Emirati designers trained under ‘Azyame’ – Irthi’s flagship fashion entrepreneurship programme, have set off on exciting entrepreneurial journeys with the unveiling of their fashion and jewellery collections inspired by Emirati crafts on ‘Elevenish’, an international e-commerce site.

Irthis’s efforts in supporting local crafts and artisans in the MENASA region led to its selection as collaborative partner for London-based QASIMI’s SS22 collection which featured the unique Emirati crafts of Safeefah and Faroukha (a handwoven tassel).

The ‘Sayr Yaay’ pattern of Safeefah also inspired the 2,000 scented handcrafted pouches made in recycled felt by 37 Emirati artisans for the urban installation project designed and curated by Beirut-based T SAKHI that was unveiled at the 5th edition of The European Cultural Centre that opened in parallel with the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Irthi’s bold vision to open dialogue, share skills and explore new alternatives, has led to collaboration opportunities with several multi-sectoral entities, expanding the scope for networking and embracing new knowledge.

Irthi teamed up with luxury Italian jewellery brand, Bulgari, in a panel session to discuss the significance of curating and documenting cultural heritage, while it offered a distinct take on Safeefah and Talli for the Irthi x Cartier Ramadan 2021 Collection that featured handcrafted baskets and the Misbah (prayer beads).

Four bespoke creations celebrating indigenous craft heritage and produced by Emirati craftswomen at Irthi’s Bidwa Social Development Programme have been acquired by the House of Artisans as part of its permanent collections housed at Abu Dhabi’s historic Qasr Al Hosn.

The Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai set the stage for four stimulating discussions hosted by Irthi to sustain and advance the craft, textile and design industries in the UAE, and formed the backdrop for the unveiling of research findings initiated by the Council.

At ‘The Art of Weaving Connections’ roundtable, Irthi highlighted the need for the creation of a collective global framework to ensure fair trade and wages for artisan communities everywhere. The session saw the participation of Reem Bin Karam, Director of NAMA (representing the UAE), Maywand Jabarkhyl, CEO and Board Member of the Fatima Bint Mohamed Initiative (FBMI), Sheikha Bibi Duaij AlJaber Al Sabah from Kuwait, and Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of Crafts Council, UK.

‘The Cultural Power of Sustainability’ explored Irthi’s advanced palm fibre research and the development of a biodegradable palm textile prototype and launched two publications– one, which focused on Irthi’s date palm research and the second, a collaborative venture with the Alchemy of Dyeing that documents natural and sustainable recipes for dyeing palm leaves.

Highlighting the importance of documenting the UAE’s signature perfume traditions including old recipes, mixing techniques, and ingredients, Irthi launched The Future Essence at ‘Connections Through Culture’. The bi-lingual publication also outlines the ongoing multimedia and design-led projects being implemented by Irthi in collaboration with American University of Sharjah.

At the session titled, ‘Crafting the Future’, Irthi launched Hiraf – an iPad game targeting the tech-savvy younger generation and is designed to master the complex weaving techniques of Talli and Safeefah. ‘Hiraf’ was developed in collaboration with Netherlands-based Opera Amsterdam, Studio Louter and Studio Shosho.

Irthi has broadened the creative and professional horizons of 13 young female Emirati artisans with the skills of 12 types and techniques of Jordanian and Palestinian embroidery at a 12-month artisanal training programme held in collaboration with Jordan-based Saru Fashion label.

Through a series of hands-on artistic workshops led by Irthi’s Hirfati Youth Programme at the Dubai Design Week’s vibrant Making Space, young participants gained an introduction into traditional Emirati as well as modern sustainable crafts. The crafts were inspired by the cultural revitalisation projects undertaken by Irthi’s Design Labs and Crafts Dialogue initiatives.

A 360-degree interactive ‘Virtual Experience’ on Irthi’s website is showcasing a curated selection of the new and yet-to-be-released collections that are modelled three-dimensionally and set against the backdrop of Sharjah’s magnificent desert landscape to reflect the landscape from which these crafts have emerged.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Expo 2020 Dubai has ended its Global Goals Week on Saturday with a promise to keep driving efforts to address the world’s biggest challenges.

“It is up to each and every one of us, individually and collectively, to turn this engagement into partnerships and investments that tangibly improve people’s lives everywhere,” Amina J Mohammed said at the launch at Al Wasl Plaza last week. “With the Global Goals woven into the fabric of Expo 2020, I cannot think of a more appropriate place for us to renew our shared commitment to keep the promises that we made in 2015.”

Since then, Global Goals Week – held in association with the UN, and staged outside New York for the first time – has hosted a myriad of special hybrid events, activations and unforgettable visitor experiences, each highlighting our collective, urgent need to address the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before the end of 2030.

Speakers at headline event ‘Global Goals for All’ at the Nexus for People and Planet in Expo’s Opportunity District included Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Jerome Foster II, US climate justice activist and youngest-ever White House Climate Advisor; the Rt Hon Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand; and SDG advocates British screenwriter Richard Curtis and US actress Robin Wright.

Joining virtually, Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, “If we’re going to reach the critical goals by 2030, we need 2022 and every year after to be a year of action. It’s going to take all hands on deck – governments, philanthropies, non-profits and the private sector; a committed focus to working together to reach the SDGs in the next years.”

UN Global Compact’s Sanda Ojiambo said, “We need business leaders to make bold business decisions for the future, we need businesses to integrate the [SDGs] into their corporate strategies, and we need businesses to account for their externalities in the same way they account for their business losses.”

Similarly, innovations that tackle the 17 SDGs need partnership, accountability and collaboration if they are to scale up and make an even bigger impact in communities all over the world, speakers agreed at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Assembly.

The inaugural Water-Food-Energy (WFE) Summit saw the UAE, Jordan and the Netherlands issue a trilateral declaration affirming their commitment to supporting a nexus approach that optimises the use of water, food and energy, and called on other governments to acknowledge the inter-dependent relationships between these three critical resources.

Three separate World Majlis sessions throughout the week brought together leaders from government, social enterprises, academia and inter-governmental organisations, discussing the numerous risks and honing in on emerging technologies and renewable energy – sharing different approaches on how to overcome barriers, from value-driven partnerships to debunking stereotypes.

Underpinning all these efforts, the need to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment was highlighted as essential, not only for the sake of fulfilling a human right but also for the advancement of humankind.

Rt Hon Helen Clark said, “If we can’t achieve SDG 5 [Gender Equality], then we can’t achieve the SDGs. When women have less access to healthcare and education, and are more numerous among the poor and hungry, you just can’t make progress. Turn that around: if women are fully supported, then you are not only fulfilling their right to equality, but it’s also a huge contributor to prosperous societies, families and economies.”

Other stand-outs throughout the week included an inspirational ‘H2O Sounds of Earth’ session, which showed how communities in Paraguay are promoting sustainable values and good citizen practices through music. The week culminated with a stunning ‘Cultures in Conversation’ performance by Sima Dance Company, which, like the Goals themselves, was driven by dignity, a desire for peace, and sensitivity to the planet and its inhabitants.

Driving action towards achieving the Global Goals will continue throughout the rest of Expo 2020 Dubai, catalysing a movement that will help create a blueprint for our collective future that positively impacts people and the planet.

Source: Emirates News Agency