Category: Events

Vignette to Hold Middle East Web Convention 2009 In Dubai

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Middle East Web Convention 2009Vignette, the web content management software company, will be holding the first edition of the Middle East Web Convention along with its main partners on the 27th of April at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai.

The event organizers say that it will be bringing together a multitude of senior executives from across the region and across various industries, to talk about how enterprises can maintain a competitive advantage by using innovative web technologies that provide dynamic web experiences.

According to Yahya H. Zeitouneh, General Manager of Vignette Middle East: “… The Middle East Web Convention 2009 has been shaped to bring into focus all the most modern web technologies available, whilst providing attendees networking opportunities with leading technology experts.”

Looking at the agenda though suggests that it will mainly be revolving around Vignette’s own solutions, and how those can be put to use in organisations to manage their online presence, engage their customers and more, making it a Vignette convention more than anything else.

On the other hand, results of an interesting report on web usage and trends in the Middle East across 12 countries as compared to Western Europe will be presented during the event by Chris Averill, Managing Director of we are:london.

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Beirut Media City First Open Discussion – Beirut – April 29th 2009

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Beirut Media City First Open DiscussionPlans to create a media city in Beirut, that were recently launched by Kuv Capital, are still moving ahead steadily, with the date for the first open discussion scheduled for April 29th 2009 at 6:30PM in Beirut. It will be at GEM – Beirut, Gemeyzeh, St. Nicolas Stairs.

This first open discussion will be to get more people involved and giving their opinions and suggestions, and to brainstorm on services the community thinks should be available at the Beirut Media City, among other things. 

People interested in attending the event can register for it on EventBrite here: Beirut Media City First Open Discussion.

In the mean time, they are also still looking for places for the media city, and ask people to suggest any old buildings they think could be refurbished anywhere around Beirut.

They’re also in discussions with architects (both young talents, as well as big names) to work on the project.

Talks are also ongoing with international companies who could be interested in working out of this future Media City.

A site has been launched to follow the developments of the project at: beirutmediacity.info

If you want to be involved in any way or help in growing this project, you can contact Kuv Capital at: info@kuvcapital.com

Update: The open discussion will be taking place at GEM – Beirut, Gemeyzeh, St. Nicolas Stairs.

Submit Conference 2009 – A Roundup Of The Event

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Submit ConferenceSubmit Conference 2009, a gathering for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East, was held on April 8th and 9th in the Habtoor Grand Hotel in Dubai.

It grouped a number of speakers from around the world and the region to talk about internet and entrepreneurship related topics, share information and have an open discussion with everyone present.

Among the attendees were investors and entrepreneurs from the Arab region, which made for a great networking opportunity too.

Turnout was good but not as big as I had hoped, and judging from some of the feedback I got at the event and elsewhere, it’s mainly due to the ticket prices, that were still a bit steep even with the discount offered through StartUpArabia. Hopefully the next editions will be more affordable for people who wish to attend.

The following is a roundup of the two days of the event and the various topics the event’s speakers touched upon in their talks.

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BarCamp UAE Un-Conference, Dubai Internet City, May 9th 2009

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BarCampAfter the DemoCamps, Tweetups, and Twestival; Dubai will soon be witnessing another interesting event: BarCamp UAE.

BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering, born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. These events are quite intense with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.

The unconference will be taking place on May 9th 2009 in Dubai Internet City’s Building #3 (Thuraya Conference Hall.)

The concept lies on the basis that everyone is able to teach something and learn something in return, so it is open for all participants to talk, share, discuss, debate, enquire and learn.

Some of the topics that some of the participants will be talking about are: Why it’s the best time to build a great enterprise; Sustainability; Advertising, digital media, social media and more; Web standards; How to build a cohesive presentation; Media in the Middle East; Think tooling your life; and so much more, with people from different background, covering different topics and subjects.
For an idea about the different topics, you can check this link: BarCamp UAE 1 Topics.

People interested in participating can sign up through the following form: BarCamp UAE 1 Sign-up Form.

For more information and details about BarCamp UAE, you can check out the site: BarCamp UAE.

If you’re registered to the StartUpArabia Events iCal feed in your calendar software, the event should already be showing up in your calendar for that day.

Submit Conference Tickets Discount For StartUpArabia Readers

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Submit ConferenceSubmit is a conference / gathering that will be taking place in Dubai’s Habtoor Grand Hotel next week, on the 8th & 9th of April 2009, for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East.

The goal of Submit is to kick-start a yearly gathering to get people with a common interest in the internet, building web applications, entrepreneurship, technology, marketing, and design together in one place, in an attempt to share the latest innovations and developments taking place in the Internet industry across the region and the globe.

Among the speakers at the event are: 

– Ray Milhem (Director and Chairman of the Board – AdvancedIO)
– Robert Hoekman, Jr. (Founder – Miskeeto)
– Ryan Carson (Founder – Carsonified)
– Simone Brunozzi (Web Services Evangelist, Europe – Amazon) 
– Tariq Al Asiri (General Manager – Argaam) 
– Alexander McNabb (Group Account Manager – Spot On PR) 
– Ashraf Khalil (Usability expert & University professor – Abu Dhabi University) 
– Cloves Carneiro Jr. (Co-Founder & CEO – SpinBits) 
– Rida Al Barazi (Co-Founder & Dev. Manager – SpinBits) 
– Mohamed Marwen Meddah (Founder – StartUpArabia) 

StartUpArabia has managed to get a limited offer to the next 10 readers interested in buying tickets to the event a 30% discount, if you buy through this link using the discount code ‘startuparabia’.

# Buy discounted tickets

Berytech Entrepreneurs Forum, BIEL, Lebanon (May 21-22, 2009)

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Berytech Entrepreneurs Forum

Berytech announced the launch of the Berytech Entrepreneurs Forum with the support of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), to take place on May 21, 22, 2009 at the Pavillon Royal of the Beirut International Exhibition & Leisure Center (BIEL), Lebanon. The event is specifically designed to help existing or aspiring entrepreneurs make contacts, start a business or take an existing business to the next level.

The forum comprises of an exhibition area, free seminars and activities on entrepreneurial best practice from Lebanon’s leading business practitioners as well as International SME experts, providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to attend presentations and meet with an array of business support institutions.

Mr. Maroun N. Chammas, President of Berytech declared: “The wide range of services and special packages presented will help entrepreneurs become more successful in starting or expanding their enterprises. This will definitely allow them to improve their productivity and connectivity and getting access to finance”.

Several activities will be held during the forum, offering the chance to seek the advice and knowledge of experts tackling specific challenges, such as Branding, Business Law, Business Plan, Business Tax, Cash Flow, Employment, Franchising, Media relations, On-line and Smart Marketing, Raising Finance, Sales Strategies, etc.

Dr. Nicolas Rouhana, Director of Berytech Technology Pole, emphasized: “Entrepreneurs will build a professional network, relevant to all sectors through the networking and business matching activities that we are planning. Investment facilities will also be proposed to selected projects through matching to Angels and VC Funds.”

For more information on exhibitors’ section and visitors’ profile as well as for updates on the event, visit the officiel site here: www.entrepreneurs-forum.org

Google Announces G-Pals Day 2009 In Palestine

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G-Pals Day 2009Google announced that upon invitation by the Palestine Information & Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) and Palestinian IT Association (PITA), with support from UPP and USAID, it will be offering specialized training days in Ramallah (West Bank), aiming to spur economic development in Palestine.

The event will be held over a two day period (March 24 – 25, 2009); the first day targeted at software developers and the second at entrepreneurs.

The agenda is as follows:

Day 1: For Software Developers (March 24th 2009)

Day 1 will focus on pushing the boundaries of web applications using Google developer technologies. Google engineers and web development leaders will lead attendants through one full day of in-depth sessions on the latest Google technologies and hands-on codelabs. The day will also be about bringing brilliant developers together to share their own ideas. Registration form for Day 1

Day 2: For Entrepreneurs (March 25th 2009)
Day 2 will be full of Google product demonstrations for small or medium sized businesses to help spur innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. There will be a discussion on how to create Arabic content using online tools, how to market them and how to monetize. Furthermore there will be presentations of several tools to better manage businesses. Registration form for Day 2

The event will be held in Ramallah at the following venue:

Grand Park Hotel
Al Masyoon Heights
Rafat Road
Ramallah
Tel: +972 2 298 6194

For more information, you can visit the official site here: G-Pals Day 2009

[Via: Leaders of Tomorrow]

DemoCamp Saudi – King Saud University, Riyadh – (March 11th)

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DemoCamp Saudi

The first DemoCamp Saudi; a launch event in Saudi Arabia for new products, technologies and companies; will be taking place at King Saud University in Riyadh on March 11th in hall #26.

The following seven demos will be taking place at the event:

  • 3zeema: An Arab social event organization and invitation service, that was previously reviewed here.
  • Fwateer: An online service that enables businesses selling online to bill their clients directly through their bank accounts.
  • Moshtry: A service that provides tips and advice on what products to buy and use, allowing users to share their own experiences as well.
  • Kammelna: An online Baloot group card game site.
  • Books Exchange: An online book exchange service.
  • Qaym: An online service for user generated restaurant reviews, previously reviewed here.
  • Dorat: An online central resource for all training opportunities provided by companies.

The format will be the same as other DemoCamp events in the region, with the presenters giving a 10 minute presentation of their work, with another 5 minutes for Q&A.

The presenters will also be available to answer any further questions, receive feedback and share some thoughts after the event.

Startups and web applications presented at DemoCamp Saudi will also be reviewed here on StartUpArabia.

[Updated 09/03/09: Two other demos have been added (Qaym and Dorat), bringing the total to seven demos.]

Submit, The Conference For Middle Eastern Internet Entrepreneurs & Professionals (April 8-9th, 2009)

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Submit Conference

Among all the different conferences and events happening in the Middle East, there are rarely any at all that are dedicated to internet entrepreneurs and professionals; Submit is here to change that.

Submit is a gathering taking place in Dubai’s Habtoor Grand Hotel, on the 8th & 9th of April 2009, for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East.

If you’re involved in running an internet startup, web site, web application or are a professional in the Internet space, this event caters to you. 

The goal of Submit is to kick-start a yearly gathering to get people with a common interest in the internet, building web applications, entrepreneurship, technology, marketing, and design together in one place, in an attempt to share the latest innovations and developments taking place in the Internet industry across the region and the globe.

A number of experts from the International & Middle-East Internet scene will be speaking at the event.

The event is being organized by SpinBits and Argaam; with StartUpArabia as a media partner.

For more information about the event, the speakers and the topics that will be covered; you can check out the official event website here: Submit Conference.

ArabCrunch DEMO 09 – Amman, Jordan (February 23rd 2009)

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ArabCrunch Demo 09ArabCrunch and DART, the student entrepreneurship society at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), which is one of the major programs at the of Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE), are organizing the 1st ArabCrunch DEMO event in Amman, Jordan on February 23rd at the Friendship auditorium of Princess Sumaya University for Technology.

The event, which the organizers hope to make into a regular one, aims to be a launchpad for emerging technologies in the Arab world. The event will also include keynotes from top regional and world class technology and e-marketing experts, and will be followed by a networking reception. 

This edition of the event will give the chance to five Arab startups to present their products and services:

  • Ishki, a Web 2.0 portal that aims to be the first Arab complaints platform. (Jordan)
  • MailPacks, an auto responder system. (Jordan)
  • Adhere, from Citex Software, an open-source mobile advertising platform. (Egypt)
  • weNear, from eSpace, a location-based framework that connects people’s Interest. (Egypt)
  • Al-Khawarizmy, who have developed new Arabic search algorithms and solutions. (Egypt)

The keynote speakers at the event will be:

  • Sumaya Kazi, Senior Social Media Manager at Sun Microsystems and founder of The CulturalConnect. 
  • Khaled Jabasini, the Founder and CEO of E-Marketing MENA, a leading digital Media consultancy in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Herve Cuviliez, the Managing Director of KuvCapital, a leading Pan-Arab and European seed investment venture capital firm.

Attendance will be free of charge, with previous preapproval. Registration can be done online by visiting the event’s website: ArabCrunch Demo 09.