First Rolex Mideast forum to focus on regional themes

Dubai: The first Rolex Middle East Forum to be held in Dubai will focus on regional themes.

The event, titled "Encouraging Innovation for the Next Generation", is the culmination of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise's year-long outreach in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, will open the forum at Madinat Jumeirah on Wednesday, November 19.

The Forum, founded by the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in association with the Higher Colleges of Technology, comprises of three panel sessions featuring nine international luminaries and nine regional experts, who will focus on issues of interest and relevance to the Middle East, the state of science and innovation in the MENA region, the preservation of the natural environment and cultural heritage, and the role of women as forces for social change.

The panellists already confirmed include world-renowned heart surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub, Nasa astronaut Kathryn Sullivan and former Ecuadorian environment minister Yolanda Kakabadse.

The discussions will be moderated by Hala Gorani, of CNN International, and renowned Arab media personality Georges Kordahi.

Rebecca Irvin, Director of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, based in Geneva, Switzerland, said: "Rolex is convening this special high-level forum in the UAE because we believe in the region's potential for innovation and enterprise.

"The UAE is an outstanding example of the steady socio-political progress being made in the Gulf countries, progress we feel the rest of the world should know more about." The Rolex Middle East Forum will be the culmination of a series of UAE events.