\Women in Business’ Conference Muscat, Oman.

The ‘Women in Business’ conference is attracting great interest from speakers, sponsors and delegates from around the Gulf. It will be held on June 2 and 3 at Shangri La’s Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa in Muscat.

Dr. Sheikha Hissah Saad Abdullah Al Sabah is the latest speaker to join the impressive list of outstanding leaders and successful businesswomen addressing the participants. The Wave has confirmed its position as platinum sponsor, Omantel and Oman Mobile have joined as Partners.

Rihab Al Hajj, business development manager of Envent, said: “We are delighted to be receiving such enormous support from neighbouring countries as well as within the Sultanate and continue to handle many enquiries on a daily basis.

“We are honoured that Dr Sheikha Hissah, chairperson of the Council of Arab Businesswomen, chairperson of Kuwait Businesswomen Committee and also deputy chairperson of Woman Affairs Committee, has given her support to the conference and agreed to be part of this fascinating line-up of speakers.”

Thanks to the generous educational sponsorship of Qalhat LNG, senior undergraduate business students from Sultan Qaboos University and business colleges in Muscat have been invited to attend the conference as delegates, free of charge, while Silver Sponsor Ericsson, is sending all female employees to the groundbreaking event.

“I see this event as very important for women from a variety of backgrounds, countries and industries to gather for good discussion and knowledge sharing,” said Ericsson general manager Peter A Anderson.

“Seeing the participation list of speakers, I am convinced that all attendees will walk out very much empowered and this is exactly why Ericsson Oman is proud to send our employees to this excellent initiative,” he said.

The conference’s Platinum Sponsor, The Wave, will host a visit of the prominent speakers at their project on the 1st June.

Omantel and Oman Mobile will be supporting the conference with the latest technology in telecommunications and two of their senior executives namely, Aneth Arosemena, head of sales and marketing for Oman Mobile and Fathiya Nasser Al Farsi, IT director of Omantel, will share knowledge and expertise with the delegates

The conference is being held under the patronage of Sayyida Aliya bint Thuwaini Al Said, with one of the most prominent group of speakers to be assembled in Oman at any one time.

Delegates will have the opportunity to benefit from inspirational opportunities for mutual support and networking.

The energising event seeks to create new contacts and co-operation, impacting on business in the future.

Impressive speakers include Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space explorer who has received multiple honours including the Working Woman’s National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Isabel Aguilera, CEO of Google Spain and Portugal, ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the 50 most influential businesswomen in the world and Michelle Mone, the self-made, leading UK entrepreneur, who has won many accolades including the ‘World Young Business Achiever Award’, ‘Business Woman of the Year’ and one of the top 30 woman entrepreneurs in the UK.

The powerful line-up continues with Farhana Huq, named as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005, Aisha AL-Kharusi, Deputy Director of Strategic Analysis – Middle East, Boeing International, Malak Al Shaibani, general manager of Corporate Affairs for the $2.4 billion Sohar-Aluminium project and Zahra’a Taher, Managing Director of T&M Eventscom, Bahrain.

Gulf Air is the official carrier for the conference, and other interested parties are invited to contact the organisers at the earliest opportunity in order to participate in this not-to-be-missed historic forum.

The packed two-day programme, not only boasts phenomenal speakers but also incorporates productive and interactive workshops, luncheon on both days, valuable networking opportunities, a glittering reception, and an exhibition of sponsors, organisations and companies showing their newest products, services and innovations, providing for face-to-face meeting opportunities with future business contacts.

Detailed programme information can be viewed on the conference website at womeninbusiness-oman.com with registration discounts applicable for group bookings and for individuals.

The Women in Business Conference will provide the tools, techniques, information and contacts that will prove invaluable for the future and are sure to leave an indilible mark on all those who participate. (Trade Arabia News Service)

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Digital Nation - A Knowlegde Oasis Muscat Initiative

Knowledge Oasis Muscat's (KOM) Digital Nation series is a unique set of quarterly seminars that bring together creative professionals, business leaders, techies and students to discuss the emergence, challenges, opportunities and implications of the digital lifestyle. Indeed, Digital Nation is all about the convergence of people, ideas, disciplines, technologies and progress.

Digital Nation participants are exposed to new ideas and have the opportunity to connect with key thinkers in the Information Communication Technology industry. Driven by KOM's remit of innovation and creativity and its emergence as a centre of technology, the Digital Nation series combines creative, business and consumer viewpoints that spark ideas for new products, services and growth.

For more information on KOM's Digital Nation series, please contact Ibtisam Al Faruji or Mulkie Al Hashmi on: digitalnation@kom.om

10 June: Ramping Up Internet Usage: Get Online
Technology is transforming Omani society - we've satellite TV beaming in from around the world, people are e-banking and using e-government services online and companies recognize that to stay competitive at home and abroad they need to leverage ICT.

However, recent research reveals that the greatest barrier to Internet uptake in Oman is a lack of understanding of its benefits. Of the 43% of adults who have never accessed the Internet, nearly half of them (49%) cite a general lack of interest as their main or only reason for not having used the Internet. This Digital Nation seminar will look at ways of overcoming key barriers to Internet use and ask:

Communicate: How do we raise awareness of the Internet and online services and signpost people to sources of access and support?

Content: How do we stimulate the production of innovative and relevant local content to encourage non-users to get online and existing users to adopt more sophisticated patterns of use?

Motivate: How do we encourage people to want to use the Internet by increasing awareness about the benefits of online services, where they can be accessed and sources of support?

Access: How do we invest in a network of public Internet access points for those who can't afford or don't have home or work Internet connections and promote access via a variety of different channels?

Skills: How do we embed ICT skills in schools and colleges?

Trust: How do we advise citizens about safe Internet use and support a light-touch, flexible regulatory framework?

2 September: Digital Media: Sharing Content
What's digital media? Broadly speaking - anything from the traditional uses of the medium for creating and sharing rich content to the explosion of blogs for self expression and increasingly real time interpretation of news and breaking events. Digital media is also about shared content via websites like: Flicr, YouTube and blip.tv and social sites like FaceBook and MySpace. It's a concept that's booming. For example, the British army recently led an expedition up Mount Everest and during the climb recorded daily video podcasts onto their website. Sky TV liked the podcasts so much they posted them on their website too. This is a great example of PR and advertising working together through digital media.

Today, consumers are more than ever seeking out information rather than following blindly. We've moved away from an age of deference to an age of reference. The emergence of blogs and wikis ('what I know is?') clearly show the demands of an increasingly sophisticated and information-hungry public and are examples of how consumers are taking power into their own hands and creating their own new and trusted sources of information. How are business and the public sector reacting to this step change in media culture? Attend this Digital Nation seminar and find out.

9 December: iGeneration: Embracing the Digital World
By 2010, Millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, will be a consumer sector of tremendous importance to business, media and entertainment communities. Not only will they be big, but they will be fragmented and difficult to reach. The increasing number of media channels - instant messaging, e-mail, chat rooms, iPods, mobile phones, Tivo, P2P networks, handhelds and video games - through which this generation communicates and consumes media and entertainment, makes them a highly elusive target for businesses hoping to market to them. This Digital Nation seminar will discuss the characteristics of this unique generation - one fully embracing a pervasively digital world - and its greater implications for media, entertainment and advertising. Find out how you can engage this new breed of Internet power users.

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Omani government raises stake in OAS to 80%

The Omani government has raised its stake in the Oman Aviation Services private company by 80% to 50 million Omani Rials.

The proposed hiked investment in the firm is meant to help the aviation company to reach the next few years' plans for new destinations and acquirement of new aircrafts from Beoing and Airbus.

Currently, both the avaiation services company and international airports of the Sultanate are facing massive upgrades in light of increasing number of passengers through the country in hope of raising the country's tourism contribution to the overall GDP by the year 2020.

Links:

- OAS to hike-up paid capital to RO50m (English)

- Omani government raises stake in OAS by 80% to RO50m (Arabic)

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