Dubai: "Brand Dubai" unveiled on Tuesday "The Dubai Forum," a platform for focused discussions on a wide range of topics related to the main theme of sustainable development, held once every four months.
The debut workshop discussion as part of the new initiative will be held on January 5, 2010 on "Architecture For Creating Sustainable Societies."
The programme coincides with the fourth anniversary of the ascension of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai as well with the opening of Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building.
This new initiative is meant to embody the vision and the special attention given by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, to sustainable economic, social, environmental development in Dubai and across the UAE.
It will be organised by Brand Dubai in collaboration with distinguished international institutions. Workshops are expected to attract participation of leading regional and international experts, and industry and thought leaders, to analyse current and future opportunities for significant progress in advancing sustainable development.
Through the Forum, Brand Dubai expects to strengthen dialogue channels across various societal sectors through exchanges of ideas and expertise, thereby better exploring avenues of benefiting from best international practices.
Mona Al Marri, CEO of Brand Dubai, said: "Dubai Forum's first event will be organised by Brand Dubai in cooperation with the Cooper Union for Arts and Sciences, New York. The Forum aims to shed more light on a diverse range of issues related to development across the UAE."
"The forum discussions will be conducted methodically through panels," Al Marri said. "Well-known Arab and international experts and specialized media will gather in Dubai to explore challenges and opportunities facing sustainable development."
Discussions, ideas and solutions presented at the Forum will be published widely, and will be made available to both decision-makers as well as general public interested in sustainable development, she said.
Al Marri said that an annual anthology summarising the Forum's discussions and recommendations would be distributed to concerned government and private organizations, and also be made available to the general public.
Top names to attend
The Dubai Forum's first workshop on January 5 will bring together a number of renowned Arab and international architectural figures, including George Campbell, President of the Cooper Union for Arts and Sciences; Sabah Al Rayes of Kuwait; Jaafar Touqan of Jordan; Aaron Betsky, Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, USA; as well as UAE architects such as Aref Bin Touqan and Riyadh Kamal. Internationally-renowned writers attending the Forum include Marie Brenner of Vanity Fair, and Paul Goldberger, the architecture critic of The New Yorker.
The New York-based Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, established in 1859, is among the oldest and most distinguished international institutions of higher learning.
