'UAE challenge' to be topic at seminar

The United States Senator George Mitchell, whose report following the October 2000 summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm Al Sheikh outlined the basis of a peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis to end the Intifada, will be one of the main speakers at an international conference on human resources in Bahrain next week.

Held under the theme "Self-development – Your Way to the Future", the conference is being organised by the Saudi-based Arabian Society for Human Resources Management (ASHRM).
The two-day event will be held at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf International Convention Centre on October 7 and 8.

ASHRM's Bahrain Affairs Director, Dr Lulwa Al Mutlaq, told Gulf News yesterday that the conference is one of the most comprehensive of its kind ever organised, to cover almost every aspect of human resources, especially in the context of the changing international economic scene.

There will be 35 workshops which will discuss different human resources, concepts and best practices, in relation to the adopted theme.

She explained that the speakers at the workshops will be human resources and management experts and consultants from all over and they will share their knowledge and experience.

"The conference will present six keynote speakers who will provide great insights on the issue of self-development and its impact on the economy of the country and the development of its organisations," noted Dr Lulwa.

Besides Mitchell, the other speakers include Ali M. Seflan, Senior Vice-President of Saudi Aramco; Arie De Gues, author of The Living Company; Dr Ali Al Hammdai, founder and board chairman of Creative Thinking Centre; Stephen Lewis, former Canadian ambassador to the UN; and Professor Leif Edvinson, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy.

Some of the topics to be dealt with will be the UAE challenge – a model for change, competencies for human resources development professionals in a knowledge-based economy, wisdom as a management resource, 'win win' self-development strategy through performance measurements, self-evaluation techniques and personal characteristics, and a study of managers in Singapore.