August 20 2014: Doha, Qatar - Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), has announced YouTube co- founder Chad Hurley is to take part as a guest speaker at the opening ceremony of this year's International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation's (IASP) 31st Annual World Conference, from 19th - 22nd October 2014 in Doha.

IASP is a global gathering of 1,000 leading government, business and innovation figures from 45 countries and Mr Hurley's participation will make an invaluable contribution given his vast experience and expertise as co-founder of the world's largest and most popular video sharing site and the third most visited site globally. This year's event hosted in Doha, Qatar, will be the first time it will have been held in the Middle East since its establishment in 1984.

What sets IASP 2014 Doha apart from other events is its influential base of delegates - a group with the ability to effect real change in how entrepreneurs are supported by public and private sector innovation catalysts around the globe. It is an excellent opportunity for hundreds of science and technology parks from around the globe to explore new models of support for the world's most empowered and connected generation of technology start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Head of the IASP 2014 Doha Organizing Committee and QSTP Managing Director, Hamad Al-Kuwari, said: "IASP for the first time will gather in the Middle East, bringing together entrepreneurs and policy makers from all over the world. Chad Hurley is one of the most visionary and influential technology entrepreneurs in the last 20 years and to have him join, speak and contribute to the success of IASP 2014  Doha is a real privilege to our event and to the region. This year's event is already hitting new milestones and proving extremely popular, receiving its highest participation numbers in the past four years, and attracting 138 abstract submissions and 33 key speakers."

Mr. Hurley studied Fine Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania before helping to develop PayPal's user interface for eBay. In 2005, Chad co-founded YouTube with two partners, turning it into one of the world's top ten web services within a year. Hurley currently also serves as an advisor of YouTube since selling it to Google,Inc. for $1.76 billion.

One billion video clips are now seen daily on YouTube, with 24 hours' worth of content uploaded to YouTube every minute. According to the Arab Social Media Report in 2012, studies show that there are over 167 million video views a day in the Arab region, putting the region in the number two spot in the world (behind the U.S. and ahead of Brazil). One hour of YouTube video is uploaded in the Arab region per minute. Residents of Qatar are more connected to the internet than almost any other country in the world, according to the United Nations Broadband Commission's State of Broadband Report 2013.

IASP 2014 Doha takes place at the Qatar National Convention Centre and registration is open now. Early bird fees are available with group discounts and special rates to IASP network members and affiliates.

For more information, please visit: www.iasp2014doha.com

About Qatar Science & Technology Park
Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), is Qatar's primary incubator for technology development, fostering the environment required for accelerating commercialization of research and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. QSTP focuses on four themes as per the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS) announced in 2012; Energy, Environment, Health Sciences and Information & Communication Technologies. QSTP is located in Qatar Foundation's Education City and has access to the resources of its cluster of leading research universities.

Members within the QSTP Free Zone include SMEs, international corporations and research institutions, which have collectively committed to investing in new programs, creating intellectual property, enhancing technology management skills and developing innovative new products in line with the QNRS. QSTP supports QF R&D's economic and human development objectives for Qatar and is increasingly being recognized as an international hub for applied research, innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship.

For more information, please visit the QSTP website at www.qstp.org.qa.

About Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D)
Leading Qatar's vision to become an international center for research and development excellence and innovation, QF R&D is home to Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a world-class hub for technology innovation and commercialization, as well as the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a globally renowned scientific research funding organization, and prominent research institutes operating at the frontiers of science, including Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) and Qatar Energy and Environment Research Institute (QEERI).

For media enquiries, kindly contact:
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© Press Release 2014