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Agreement aims to bolster emirate's position as a hub for global knowledge exchange
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Business Events (DBE), a division of Dubai Tourism which serves as the city's official convention bureau, has signed an agreement with Zayed University, one of the UAE's leading educational institutions, to increase the number of international academic conferences hosted in the emirate every year.
Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), DBE will encourage Zayed University's professors and senior academics to approach the respective international academic associations they are affiliated with and support them in bidding for major international conferences in their disciplines to be held in Dubai.
Commenting on the agreement, Hamad bin Mejren, Dubai Tourism's Executive Director for Business Tourism, said: "Dubai already hosts 50 per cent of the wider region's conferences and exhibitions, and we are looking to boost the emirate's status as a leading host city for international events by leveraging our world-class infrastructure to position the city as a global hub for knowledge exchange. By capitalising on our transportation links, hotels and meetings venues, we are keen for global experts and thought leaders to congregate in the emirate to debate cutting edge topics in their respective fields."
"Hosting such conferences boost Dubai's economy by attracting global delegates and increasing bookings for flights, hotels and conference venues, but more importantly, allows the local and regional academic community to access the very latest intellectual capital and engage in educational exchange that can spur grass-roots development across the UAE and the wider Middle East," Bin Mejren added.
The agreement is an initiative by Dubai Business Events' Al Safeer Congress Ambassadors Programme, which maintains ongoing engagement with individuals from academia, government, and other business sectors across Dubai and the region to assist them in attracting international events hosted by their respective associations to the emirate.
In 2014 alone, Al Safeer ambassadors hosted dozens of international conferences which brought together experts and thought leaders from a variety of industries, including experts from the fields of business, sports, education and medicine. Major conferences hosted in Dubai last year include the L'Oreal Business Forum, the Family Business Network International (FBN) Global Summit, the International Tennis Federation's Annual General Meeting, the Asia Pacific Dental Congress and the World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF).
After signing the agreement on behalf of Zayed University, Dr. Marilyn Roberts, Acting Provost, added: "We are very happy to be partnering with Dubai Tourism to give our faculty a platform to engage with global academic bodies, and achieve our goal of being a leading source of knowledge in the region. Academics conduct important and relevant research that is presented to experts through international conferences, and we are happy to help bring these meetings to Dubai whenever possible."
"Our mission is to prepare qualified bilingual graduates who are able to contribute to building the nation. By partnering with DBE to host leading academic conferences, renowned experts and thought leaders will share their experiences and findings in Dubai, and help to develop the UAE as a knowledge hub."
About Dubai Business Events - the Official Convention Bureau
Dubai Business Events (DBE) - the Official Convention Bureau, aims to further develop and increase Dubai's share of the international business events market in order to grow economic development, jobs and knowledge creation in the emirate. DBE's main goal, as a division of Dubai Tourism, is to establish the Emirate as a premier business event destination by helping organizers of international meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions plan and manage every aspect of their event. DBE's service standards are audited by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance as part of DBE's membership of BestCities Global Alliance that aim to deliver the world's best service experience for the meeting industry.
About Dubai Tourism (Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing - DTCM)
With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world's leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism's mission is to increase the awareness of Dubai to global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the Emirate. Dubai Tourism is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai's tourism sector; markets and promotes the Emirate's commerce sector; and is responsible for the licencing and classification of all tourism services, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents. Brands and departments within the DTCM portfolio include Dubai Business Events, Dubai Events, Dubai Calendar, and Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (formerly known as Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment). In addition to its headquarters in Dubai, Dubai Tourism operates 20 offices worldwide.
For more information about DBE:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Shae Brotherton
Senior Manager, Marketing Communication
Dubai Business Events (DBE)
S.brotherton@dubaitourism.ae
+971 4 282 1111 Ext: 422
Johan Janssen
Account Manager - DABO&CO
Johan.j@daboandco.com
+971 4 237 8058
+971 05 107 7359
© Press Release 2015
