Al Safeer Awards recipients.
The Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme supported in securing 31 successful bid wins for association conferences in 2018. Events secured as a result of Al Safeer Congress Ambassadors in 2018 are set to bring over 39,500 delegates to Dubai over the coming years.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau and a division of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, recognised members of its prestigious Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme for their stellar contribution in attracting international meetings and conferences to the city. Awards were presented to 22 member organisations at the Programme’s annual appreciation ceremony, held on yesterday, 27 February at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City. Over 200 ambassadors attended the awards event, including doctors, scientists, industry experts, business leaders and government officials from across the city, all of whom are playing an impactful role in defining Dubai as both a knowledge hub and a leading business events destination.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Tourism, presented the ambassadors with their trophies at the awards, which are now in their fifth year. In 2018, the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme supported in securing 31 international association conferences that are set to be hosted in Dubai, which represent 65% of the association conferences awarded to the city over the course of the year. The events won are set to attract over 39,500 industry-specific professionals and experts to Dubai from around the world. In total, the city is gearing up to host over 51 ambassador-assisted events in 2019 and beyond, with over 71,000 delegates expected to attend.
Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “We would like to congratulate and thank all the ambassadors for their hard work and commitment to support the city in securing leading international business events. The work done through the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme is helping Dubai accelerate on its journey towards becoming a global knowledge hub and the efforts made by the ambassadors have contributed significantly to the city’s vision and strengthened its ability to attract international conferences to the region. Since the formation of the Programme, we have seen growing interest from potential ambassadors and trust that the ever-expanding network will continue to flourish and drive our city forward as a premier host for business events. The programme is emblematic of the collaborative approach taken and the ability of stakeholders in the public and private sectors to come together to drive benefits for Dubai.”
Among the guest speakers at the event was H.E. Dr. Ali Sebaa Al Marri from Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), who shared how MBRSG was successful in winning the bid for the Sixth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in 2020 as well as Abdulqader Obaid Ali, CEO of the UAE Internal Auditors Association, who presented a case study on Dubai’s hosting of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Conference in 2018.
Steen Jakobsen, Assistant Vice President, Dubai Business Events said: “The sharing of industry-specific knowledge and expertise across various sectors through the Al Safeer Programme’s network of ambassadors has strengthened our bids for key industry events, convincing decision makers to choose Dubai as their host city. As Dubai’s strongest advocates within their individual fields and expertise, the ambassadors have contributed in enriching Dubai’s reputation as a global knowledge hub and the leading business events destination in the region. As we continue to develop the programme, we welcome interest from potential ambassadors and look forward to collaborating with them to bring more business events to Dubai.”
Since being established in 2010, the Al Safeer Programme has grown to become a strong network of over 300 members, each of whom are industry experts in their field and are helping steer Dubai’s position as a business platform that provides world-class infrastructure to support new industry discoveries and progression. In 2018, the programme was strengthened through the signing of several memorandums of understanding, with members joining from the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, RIT University in Dubai, and the UAE Financial Markets Association. The Al Safeer Congress Ambassadors community is set to further grow in 2019 as the Programme continues to target government entities, key universities and other organisations in Dubai to join and support in the city’s success.
Translating to ‘The Ambassador’, the Al Safeer Programme was established by Dubai Business Events in 2010 to engage with UAE-based key opinion leaders and government representatives, tapping into their expertise and professional networks to attract international business events to Dubai. Since its establishment, the Programme has assisted in successfully bidding for a total of 146 events with over 207,000 delegates in attendance.
Representatives from the following organisations were recognised at the event:
- Skyline University College
- The British University in Dubai
- Securities and Commodities Authority
- Zayed University
- Emirates Nursing Association
- Nedaa – Professional Communication Corporation
- Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government
- Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
- Emirates Family Medicine Society
- Emirates Intensive Care Society
- University of Wollongong in Dubai
- IEEE – UAE Section
- The Cultural and Scientific Association
- Dubai Courts
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Emirates Urological Society
- Emirates Physiotherapy Society
- Emirates Gastroenterology Society
- Emirates Cardiac Society
- Dubai Exports – Department of Economic Development
- Society of Petroleum Engineers MENA and South Asia
- Al Rais Travel & Shipping Agencies
Dr. Fatma Taher, IEEE UAE section Chair said: “A huge thank you for everything you and your team did to help IEEE UAE section in their bidding for different conferences and event across the country. Our members are very happy with how it went, and we have had good feedback. It’s definitely raised the bar, being an ambassador for IEEE is very important in supporting the organisation’s goals and values, which has clearly shown in our collaboration with Dubai Tourism.”
Amal Al Shamlan, President – Emirates Physiotherapy Society, said: “It has been extremely valuable to participate in the Al Safeer program over the years. This programme offered great learning opportunities through the various events that they organise. This has enabled us in the Emirates Physiotherapy Society to participate in the bidding for hosting the congress of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy 2021. The success of winning the bid would not have been accomplished without the support and the partnership relationship with DTCM. We are honoured to be awarded today; I would express my sincere appreciation to all the team that I have communicated with at DTCM.”
Dr. Maryam Al Khatry, Past President – Emirates Gastroenterology Society, said: “Since joining the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, I have been able to actively spread awareness on Dubai as a prominent and leading business events destination. I managed to tap into my international network of like-minded experts, knowing that I will always have the outstanding support of Dubai Business Events (DBE) across all levels of the organisation. DBE have been instrumental in lining up crucial city-wide support and helps produce detailed bid documents that are rich in content, leading to winning bids, such as the prestigious World Congress of Gastroenterology 2021. Thank you, DBE. I look forward to further our joint success stories and to working with all key stakeholders on securing further wins for Dubai and the UAE.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
