DUBAI 11 May 2017: Dubai Quality Group (DQG) launched the 2-day Ideas Arabia 12th International Conference & Competition 2017 on 10th–11th May 2017 at Four Seasons Resort Dubai, Jumeirah Beach.
The first day conference was inaugurated by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem Group Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, DP World.
“The vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has turned innovative ideas into leading achievements that catapulted Dubai into greater heights, said Sulayem.
Sulayem added that Dubai has carried out a number of ambitious projects, such as the development of Jebel Ali, Jafza, and Palm Islands. Sectors such as trade, tourism and electronic transformation have advanced noticeably.
“We started work on Jebel Ali Free Zone in 1985 without any fear or skepticism. We had feasibility studies in place and were confident of our capability of attracting international firms. The first day Jafza was established we received 300 applications from different companies that wanted to open offices and projects in Jebel Ali. We managed to achieve year on year growth in non-oil external trade to reach a volume of more than 90 million tons” he noted.
Bin Sulayem also talked about the emirate’s experience in developing Palm Islands, which Dubai needed to increase the length of its beaches following the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.
“Dubai’s power in turning challenges into opportunities is evident in the way it dealt with a number of crises in the past. The emirates’ experience is a living example of how wise the leadership is in turning regional and international crises into real opportunities,” the DP World Group Chairman said.
This two-day conference graced by delegates, business leaders, industry experts and professionals brought together from public sectors and leading organizations to discuss innovation and suggestion Scheme from around the world.
Theme of the conference this year is “Innovation in Giving”, in order to involve business talents and to explore innovative ways of enrolling their talents, time and skills towards giving back to the society and encourage social responsibility in the private and public sectors.
The conference has international, regional and local speakers from various industries and businesses in both public and private sectors to share, network, learn and talk, along with the leaders and experts came together to meet for the two-day conference to support the spirit of ‘innovation in giving’ to join hands in making UAE a socially responsible society destination.
This year Ideas Arabia gives winners of 2 categories – Executive Leadership & Idea of the Year, a unique opportunity to compete globally in ‘The Global Award’ taking place in 2018.
Ahmed Al Mulla Vice-Chairman, Dubai Quality Group, welcomed participants in an opening speech. “We are pleased to announce that we have received more than 168 applications for “Ideas Arabia” competition, with an active participation from both Public and Private sectors, DQG was able to facilitate this unique platform, where experts in innovation & suggestion scheme come together to share their knowledge and experience.”
Ahmed Al Mulla added “This year 11 categorizes were included for the awards keeping in line with the year of giving, the category of “giving initiative’’ has been introduced, aiming to integrate the innovative ways in giving, within the organizations, as per the vision of UAE Government and in line with the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.”
He added “The conference is a platform where experts in innovation & suggestion scheme exchanged ideas aimed at bringing to the Middle East the latest developments in the innovation & suggestion scheme and how implementing it would benefit an organization hence, creating a platform for people in the region to share their best practices in this area.”
Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation delivered the key note at Ideas Arabia 12th International 2017, pointed out that the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has turned innovative ideas into leading achievements that catapulted Dubai into greater heights saying that Dubai’s success is based on “our confidence and belief in ourselves and our potential”.
The Ideas Arabia Competition 2017, which is conducted every year along with the annual conference, recognizes the most significant ideas implemented by companies during the last year 2016. This competition seeks to identify employees and organizations for their outstanding ideas. Not only does this competition provide an opportunity for participating companies to benchmark against other leading organizations, but it also acts as a motivational tool for employees.
Participation in this competition had many benefits. It provided additional recognition to the employees, and highlights how involving the employees can benefit the organization. It helped in imparting one’s experience to other companies, and provided an opportunity for one’s employees to learn from practices followed in other organizations,
The first day of the conference was eventful, with Speakers Matthew Griffin, Author, CEO 311 Institute, spoke about ‘Minds & Machines’, Simerjeet Singht, International Keynote Speaker & Growth Coach, spoke about ‘Developing an Innovation Mindset’ Paula S. Davis, Executive Director, IdeasAmerica, spoke about ‘Phrases That Kill Ideas’, Jeffrey Phillips, Senior Consultant, OVO, spoke about ‘Open Innovation & its Future’, followed, by a Panel Discussion on “Don’t be afraid to think big. Really BIG” featuring Jeffrey Phillips, Senior Consultant OVO Innovation, Matthew Griffin, Author, CEO 311 Institute and Simerjeet Singht, International Keynote Speaker & Growth Coach. The panel was moderated by Anthony Stefon Denatale who is the head of innovation at Dubai Airport Free zone.
Followed by an Interactive Workshop about ‘Innovate through Design Thinking’ (Part 1/2), which extended over the 2 days of the conference that will give an insight on how to plan and build innovative products, service & processes. Participants will receive Certificates on full attendance on both days.
This year the conference was supported by Dubai Airport Free zone, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority as Main Sponsors, Dubai Municipality as Platinum Sponsor and Dubai Customs Emirates Global Aluminum and (ENOC) LLC as Gold Sponsors.
By EN 24|7 Staff