Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) successfully hosted the AI Everything X Restart Dubai Summer Conference, 16 July, the region’s first live, in-person business event to be hosted in H2 2020.
The event showcased the effect of artificial intelligence on the UAE’s pandemic recovery.
DWTC implemented comprehensive regulatory protective measures at the venue, including temperature screening, social distancing, contactless transactions and hygiene protocols, with all upcoming events set to be conducted similarly in a highly controlled manner.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, Dubai Tourism (DTCM) and Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) said: “Artificial intelligence will transform every industry in the UAE and will provide wide-reaching economic benefits, while the MICE sector remains essential to both the UAE’s economic diversification agenda and Dubai’s GDP, as well as being a crucial driver behind the development of a knowledge-based economy and a self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Almarri added that visitor safety remained the number one priority, and noted the AI Everything X Restart Dubai Summer Conference had provided a platform to implement best-in-class protocols and standards for the resumption of MICE activity, as well as serving as an international model for MICE resumption.
His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE minister of state for digital economy, artificial intelligence and teleworking applications added: “The success of organising the first conference of its kind at a regional leve, since the suspension of events in the UAE as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, represents a major achievement. The AI Everything x Restart Dubai Summer Conference provides an ideal platform for exchanging knowledge between the government authorities and private sector entities, as well as global and emerging companies and entrepreneurs, and represents an opportunity to launch innovative initiatives in the field of AI to support talent and solutions that contribute to the overall development of society.”
Trixie LohMirmand, DWTC executive vice-president, events management, said: “The support we have received from the government and private sector on our plans to launch the AI Everything X Restart Dubai Summer Conference has been exceptional. We have worked very closely with stakeholders to create a compelling conference agenda and deliver face-to-face connections in the setting of a safe, live event experience. This is a momentous event that marks the first leadership-focused business event to take place as Dubai resumes its economic and tourist activity.”
Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, has signed eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with entities across the public and private sector, formalising and reinforcing collaborations that are set to attract more conferences to Dubai and ensure that, while business events globally may have been impacted by Covid-19, in the longer term they will continue to be strong drivers of tourism and economic development for the city, as well as critical pillars for knowledge and scientific advancements.
The MoUs will strengthen DBE’s Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, which has a network of 350 members and continues to play a vital role in elevating Dubai’s status as a knowledge hub in key sectors and industries.
