Du Demonstrates Carrier Capabilities With Launch Of Voice Hubbing Service

Demonstrating the company’s unique capability in the region to aggregate large volumes of traffic to key destinations, du today announced the launch of its voice hubbing service which is aimed at Middle East and Asian Voice Carriers wishing to transit the United Arab Emirates. The service leverages voice bilateral agreements established by du with over 100 major global carriers.

“At present du is handling approximately four billion minutes of international traffic annually. Such volumes provide us with a very strong base on which to negotiate better termination rates on behalf of our Middle East and Asian Carrier Partners wishing to outsource their voice interconnection,” commented Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

du’ s voice hubbing service is supported by a newly commissioned IT platform delivering state-of-the-art wholesale billing and a minimal cost, fully automated routing system. Carrier Partners choosing to join the du voice hub will be assured guaranteed traffic continuity over premium direct routes. Combined with du’s flexible service support, 24/7 monitoring capabilities and a dedicated International Carrier Relations Account Team, the du voice hubbing service will quickly become a major gateway for traffic in and out of the region.

Other benefits of the service include cost savings, limited capital expenditure and increased freedom enabling Carrier Partners to concentrate on their core business. du is offering high end customer support for worldwide traffic conveyance to the Partner’s designated country based on Least Cost Routing. du also has an excellent track record in the hubbing business with key operators in the Middle East and has established strong partnerships with the major global voice carriers, as well as reliable transmission providers offering superior call completion rates and exceptional quality.
 

Art Dubai To Launch Marker, A New Component Of The Fair Showcasing Experimental Art Spaces From The Middle East And Asia

This March, Art Dubai will launch MARKER, a new platform for experimental art spaces from the Middle East and Asia to showcase projects by emerging artists at the fair in 2011. The section is curated by Nav Haq. A connoisseur in curational practices, Nav Haq has been at the heart of the Middle Eastern art market having honed his expertise in such institutions as the Platform Garanti, Istanbul and the Townhouse Gallery, Cairo in addition to being a regular contributor to the renowned international art journals, Yishu and Bidoun.

MARKER will include five ‘concept stands’ that each respond to the phenomenon of the art fair as a mirror of contemporary society, and will reflect on the realms of commerce, entertainment, education and aesthetics.

The five art spaces taking part in MARKER are: Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (Alexandria, Egypt), Makan (Amman, Jordan), GREY NOISE (Lahore, Pakistan), Liu Ding’s Store (Beijing, China), and Ruangrupa (Jakarta, Indonesia). Each organisation will present new projects that have been conceived specifically for Art Dubai.

“Through MARKER, Art Dubai aims to champion innovative arts spaces and provide exposure and opportunities for the next generation of artists from the MENASA region,” stated Art Dubai Fair Director Antonia Carver. “This platform links the dynamic artists projects commissioned by Art Dubai with the gallery halls, and is another point at which international curators and collectors meet the arts scenes of the Middle East and Asia.”

“The art fair is an example of an experience economy par excellence, embodying the realms of escapism, entertainment, education and aesthetics,” says Nav Haq. “It will be negotiated as a particular kind of convergence – an abounding space of exchange for people, brands, art, money and ideas.”

Punctuating the gallery halls, these five spaces are literally ‘marked out’ from the other commercial spaces, presenting specific projects that reflect upon the fair. The projects are as follows:

• Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum will present the second installment of its long-term text project The ARPANET Dialogues, an archive of rare conversations within the contemporary social, political and cultural milieu. Excerpted from a series of dialogues that began in 1975 and took place over the U.S. Department of Defense’s experimental instant messaging application ARPANET, the project presented at Art Dubai will feature a 1976 conversation between economist Samir Amin, anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, political economy Ph.D. candidate Francis Fukuyama and architect Minoru Yamasaki.
• Makan’s project reflects the community-oriented nature of the teams collaborative projects and residency program. They have opened a pop-up bar, to serve a range of complimentary drinks at a fixed time each day, and will use these opportunities to lead impromptu themed discussions with attendees.
• GREY NOISE will present two separate but related projects by Lahore-based artists Saira Ansari and Mehreen Murtaza that reflect on consumer culture. Ansari’s piece, The Complete ‘Pakistani Art’ Dinner Set, depicts clichés taken from Pakistani art such as men on horseback, geometric patterns and guns, using silhouettes in the style of traditional 18th century portraits. Murtaza’s work, Tastes Like Futurism, consists of a series of photographic images that depict the role of food in a future civilization where, over time, humans have begun engineering culture using patterns of consumption as a basis for creating social concepts.
• A roving platform that reflects on the notion of value and the complex politics of valuation in the art market (Liu Ding’s Store) will consist of two components at Art Dubai. In Home and Make Real the Priceless in Your Heart, the artist will sell a series of deliberately unfinished landscape paintings. Made in a factory according to the artist’s specifications and signed by Liu Ding, customers will be offered the opportunity to finish the painting themselves. Conversations is a section of the store that will organise private dialogues led by the artist with other artistic and cultural practitioners. In collaboration with curator Carol Yinghua Lu, each day of the fair will include a schedule of conversations with collectors, critics, curators and dealers, who in return for their participation will receive one of Ding’s paintings.
• Ruangrupa’s Mini OK-Video Festival will present highlights from this biennial event that they launched in 2003, featuring, which has become an important event in the South East Asian art scene. The video works presented will be selected from across the festival’s various incarnations, and will present work from Indonesia and beyond.
 

TheGreenEcostore.Com To Launch Preserve Products At Taste Of Dubai

TheGreenEcostore.com will be displaying a range of Preserve recycled plastic products for the kitchen at the Taste of Dubai, which is taking place in Dubai Media City from 3-5 March, 2011.

Anu Agarwal, Founder of TheGreenEcostore.com stated, "We will be launching the Preserve brand of superior recycled and eco-friendly kitchen products at the Show. I am confident that visitors to the Show will love to buy these quality products from USA that are for the first time available in the Middle East.

To date, Preserve products have used nearly 100 tons of recycled plastic. By using recycled plastics they have significantly reduced both the pollution emitted and energy consumed in the exploration, drilling, transporting and refining of oil into petrochemicals that are used to make new plastic.

TheGreenEcostore.com markets products that use less energy, re-use materials, don’t pollute or that are natural and organic. TheGreenEcostore.com supports environmentally friendly manufacturers & designers. All customers are guaranteed products which are ‘green’, easily absorbed into the ecosystem, without compromising on design or quality.

Preserve products can also be ordered online from www.TheGreenEcostore.com.

About Taste of Dubai

The Amphitheatre, Dubai Media City, will play host to the all new Taste of Dubai presented by Philips on 3rd – 5th March 2011, returning with an incredible line up of restaurants and celebrity chefs plus a brand new music stage hosting live international acts performing classic hits.

 

For more information:

Email: contactus@thegreenecostore.com
Website: http://www.TheGreenEcostore.com

British Council To Launch Eight-Week UK Film Season In Dubai

The British Council has announced its partnership with Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Reel Cinemas to kick off a UK Film Season comprising of eight weeks of British films in Dubai.

From 20 January to 15 March 2011, film fans will have the opportunity to see a wide variety of UK movies at ‘The Picturehouse’ located in Dubai Mall-Reel Cinemas. From dramas to comedy to full-on adventures, the eight-week UK Film Season looks set to entice movie-goers with its wide mix of British movies that feature something for every fully-fledged film buff. With the support of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and the Dubai International Film Festival, the screenings will also show selected Emirati shorts before each screening of the main movie every week. The initiative is aimed to encourage diverse audiences to attend and also to promote and celebrate local talent from the UAE.

“High profile events such as the film festivals in the UAE illustrate the passion people living here have for art-house movies. We are thrilled to be able to host an eight-week UK Film Season in Dubai in conjunction with our partners and we are sure that audiences will be fully entertained by our selection of movies,” said Michel Bechara, Director of Projects, British Council, UAE.

The British Council Film department plays a vital role in promoting contemporary and innovative UK film to audiences across the globe. Through collaborations in over 70 countries, the British Council continues to create and develop innovative, high-quality events, workshops, tours, festivals and conferences linking thousands of artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK and enabling audiences to have access to creative exchanges.

The UK Film Season aims to help build and develop relationships between the UK and UAE in order to foster partnership and mutual understanding, challenge stereotypes and attempt to change perceptions, promote contemporary UK creativity and innovation, and present the UK in all its diversity and multiculturalism.

The British Council continues to create and develop innovative, high-quality events and collaborations that link thousands of artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK.

Gordon Kirk, General Manager, Reel Cinemas said: “The Picturehouse is pleased to collaborate with British Council and Front Row Filmed Entertainment to present the UK Film Season, which will screen a diverse selection of critically acclaimed films from the United Kingdom. The Picturehouse represents a new wave in cinema in the UAE for serious movie lovers, bringing a wide array of exciting classics, arthouse and independent films for our patrons. The Picturehouse will also screen critically acclaimed films and movies from the Arab World, thus offering the first of its kind platform to promote local talent.”

Nassim Khoury, Senior Marketing and Publicity Manager, Front Row Filmed Entertainment said “Front Row Filmed Entertainment has a huge catalogue of more than 800 titles and is widely seen as the leading independent distributor in the region. It was a great opportunity to be approached by the British Council and Reel Cinemas. We hope to develop a lasting relationship with both partners by working on a larger scale and reaching wider audiences and creating opportunities for the audiences to experience art-house cinemas. There are so many films that are creative and captivating, but they are not necessarily blockbusters, and we are happy to be able to spread this message to audiences here.”

Tickets are available by contacting Reel Cinemas, Dubai Mall at 04 4491988.

The films that will be screened are:

Nowhere Boy (January 20-25)

Nowhere Boy is a Chronicle of John Lennon’s childhood starring Kristen Scott Thomas.

Arabic short: SOLO, Director/Producer: Ali Al-Jabri. A musician was unable to achieve his pursuit of music and people now hear the censored music of his instrument.

Never Let Me Go (January 27-February 1)

As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy, spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow up, they find that they have to come to terms with the haunting reality that awaits them.

Arabic short: AMAL’S CLOUD, Director: Rawia Abdullah, Producer: Huda Kano. Amal waits in the middle of the yard shifting between patience and hope; waiting for the jinx to melt and disappear.

Brassed Off (3-8 February)

In existence for a hundred years, Grimley Colliery Brass band is as old as the mine. But the miners are now deciding whether to fight to keep the pit open, and the future for town and band looks bleak. Although the arrival of flugelhorn player Gloria injects some life into the players, and bandleader Danny continues to exhort them to continue in the national competition, frictions and pressures are all too evident. And who’s side is Gloria actually on?

Arabic short: SHEIK AL JABAL / MOUNTAIN SHEIKH, Director: Naser El Yaqoobi, Producer: Houssain Kayani. The film depicts the life of an old Emirati man and his indominitable spirit of determination.

Streetdance (10-15 February)

In order to win the Street Dance Championships, a dance crew is forced to work with ballet dancers from the Royal Dance School in exchange for rehearsal space.

Arabic short: HEAT THE BEAT 2, Director: Shaikha Awad Al Ayali, Producer: Nayla Al Khaja and Sebastian Funke. Two brothers founded the first hip hop crew in the UAE. The film charts their journey towards becoming rappers and examines their motivations.

Made in Dagenham (17-22 February)

A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant where female workers walked out in protest against discrimination.

Arabic short: ONCE, Director/Producer: Nayla Al Khaja. This film takes place on the day when Hamda is to meet her beau, Saeed, for the first time. Scared of getting caught and full of excitement at seeing him, we watch Hamda’s transformation from girl to beautiful young woman.

White Lightnin’ (24 February-1 March)

Deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, abides living legend Jesco White, the dancing outlaw. To keep him out of trouble, his father teaches him the art of mountain dancing – tap dancing to wild country banjo music.

Arabic short: NIGHT, Director: Abdullah Al-Ramsi, Producer: Mohammad Al Hammadi. The short narrates the story of a man married to a difficult wife and living through hard circumstances. One night, an opportunity enlightens his future.

West is West (3-8 March)

Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival.

Arabic short: THE HALF HEART, Director/Producer: Bilal Abdullah. This is the story of a young girl in a strict society who becomes pregnant. Reaction from her community is pretty severe.

Topsy Turvy (10-15 March)

After their production "Princess Ida" meets with less-than-stunning reviews, the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan is strained to breaking. Their friends and associates attempt to get the two to work together again, which opens the way to one of their greatest successes

Arabic short: NOURA’ APPLE, Director/Producer Manal Bin Amro. Childhood friends Noura and Hamdan have grown up. As time passed, their paths too diverged from what was once a period defined by innocence.

Emirates To Launch Airbus A380 To Johannesburg

Emirates (www.emirates.com), one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, announced today that Johannesburg, the industrial and economic capital of South Africa, will be the next destination slated for its flagship A380 aircraft. The daily A380 service will start 1 October 2011.

The announcement of Emirates’ first scheduled A380 service to Africa comes as the airline unveiled its full year financial results for 2010-11. These revealed a surge in the number of South African travellers flying with Emirates – with total passenger growth up 12 percent over the previous financial year. Overall revenue from the South African market also rose sharply, up 34 percent from 2009-10.

The year that saw South Africa host the highly successful 2010 FIFA World Cup also saw Emirates record a huge rise in inbound traffic to South Africa – with passenger volumes up 20 percent in the calendar year 2010. As an official FIFA Partner, Emirates helped to bring the world to South Africa by flying in football fans from across its network of six continents.

“We have enjoyed a successful partnership with South Africa since launching services in 1995, and now connect our Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban gateways to our vast global network through 42 non-stop flights each week to Dubai," said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline. "The very positive trends we have witnessed over the last 12 months will only be boosted by the arrival of our flagship A380 aircraft, which has set a new benchmark for air travel.”

“Our A380 demonstrates the future of aviation – both in terms of passenger experience and environmental sensitivity," he added. "By launching the aircraft to Johannesburg, we are further underlining our commitment to serving South Africa and we anticipate very strong demand from leisure and business travelers keen to experience its unique features and unparalleled levels of comfort in the air.”

The 489-seat Emirates A380 offers 14 Private First Class Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 399 seats in Economy Class. First Class passengers have access to two Onboard Shower Spas, while all premium passengers on the upper deck can socialise at 40,000 feet in the Onboard Lounge. Beverages and bar snacks are served once the aircraft reaches cruising altitude – all the way until descent.

The A380 service will operate daily as EK 761, departing Dubai at 0440hrs (local time) and arriving at O R Tambo International Airport at 1050hrs (local). The return flight, EK762, departs Johannesburg at 1410hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0010hrs (local) the following day.

The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai will offer passengers from South Africa convenient connections to an extensive range of destinations within Europe, which following the 1 June launch of Geneva and the Copenhagen launch on 1 August, will stand at 27. Passengers will also be able to connect seamlessly to a wide range of points within the Middle and Far East.

Customers wishing to break their journey in Dubai will discover a huge variety of things to see and do in what is often billed as the world’s ultimate stopover city. Attractions range from world-class golf courses to indoor skiing, fine dining to desert safaris and shopping options spanning from gold, diamond and spice souks to chic designer boutiques; not to mention the chance to get a true birds-eye view of the gleaming cityscape from the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa and capital of the Gauteng province, the country’s wealthiest province and home to approximately nine million residents. The city, which is located on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, is also a thriving centre for the gold and diamond trade.

The new A380 service will also help to support the thriving trade relationship between South Africa and the UAE, which has enjoyed an average year-on-year growth of eight per cent since 2007. Total trade volumes rose from $1,379,000 in 2007 to $1,749,000 in 2010.

Emirates currently operates a three times daily service to Johannesburg, a double-daily service to Cape Town and a daily service to Durban; while the airline’s fleet of 15 A380s operate on services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

Emirates currently serves 19 passenger and cargo destinations across the African continent.
 

Dubai FDI, DHL Launch Fully Automated DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 in Dubai as Part of City Logistics Partnership

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 12, 2011/PRNewswire/ —- Dubai FDI of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in association with DHL Express, the world leading express company, has launched five fully automated DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 outlets in Dubai as part of a pilot project. Dubai is the first city outside Germany selected to host pilot deployment of this DHL-developed technology
— Automated pick-up and drop-off outlets operating 24/7 provide consumers, SMEs and other businesses ultimate convenience and  flexibility while also reducing carbon footprint

Dubai FDI of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in association with DHL Express, the world leading express company, has launched five fully-automated DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 outlets in Dubai as part of a pilot project. The joint initiative is aimed at elevating Dubai’s logistics capacity through the development of innovations that drive efficiencies within the industry sector.

The initiative stems from the City Logistics program developed by DHL’s innovation unit, DHL Solutions & Innovations (DSI) in partnership with the DED in 2009. In the launch phase, the DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 can potentially yield a combined carbon reduction of 80 tons per annum. In the expanded phase the reduction in carbon is expected to rise to 280 tons per year. H.E Sami Al Qamzi, Director General, DED said, \\\”Dubai is an inspiring model for sustainable business growth, a centre for global trade. To further scale up the competencies and competitiveness of Dubai, and to reiterate the city’s position as the hub of the Middle East, several concerted efforts are being made to strengthen all aspects of the economy. The logistics sector plays a vital role in growing our economy and the commencement of ground-breaking services such as DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 cements Dubai’s position as a pioneer and thought-leader in the region.\\\”

\\\”Dubai is the first city outside of Germany to pilot the deployment of DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 and DHL is proud to be leading the introduction of new logistics innovations to our customers in the UAE, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Development,\\\” said Frank-Uwe Ungerer, Country Manager, DHL Express United Arab Emirates. \\\”In addition to harnessing the power of technology to improve logistics solutions, DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 offers our customers more flexibility and convenience to help maintain their competitive advantage.\\\”

\\\”The logistics sector plays a key role in driving the sustainable growth of Dubai. As the hub for the global logistics, we have already set international best practices in the industry, and DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 highlights how competitive economic activity can be successfully interfaced with sustainability, especially in areas related to Carbon reduction. The deployment of the automated outlets further underscores the commitment of Dubai FDI to promote investments in all key growth sectors and thus strengthen Dubai’s competitiveness,\\\” said Mr Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI.

Created in Germany by DHL, SERVICE POINT 24/7 is a pioneering urban logistics solution in the form of a secure stand-alone outlet that gives customers the convenience and flexibility of collecting and dropping-off their shipments whenever it suits. DHL has been using these service points in Germany since 2001. Today, there are more than 2,500 service points in Germany and around one and half million customers use them frequently.

The DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 pilot is the second initiative of the City Logistics program, targeted at three areas critical to Dubai’s growth: reducing congestion, improving convenience and minimizing carbon footprint. This follows the successful initiative led by DED in 2010 in developing the UAE’s first carbon neutral warehouse at Dnata Cargo’s FreightGate-5 (Note 1). Dubai FDI of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in association with DHL Express, the world leading express company, has launched five fully-automated DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 outlets in Dubai as part of a pilot project. Dubai is the first city outside Germany selected to host pilot deployment of this DHL-developed technology The introduction of this automated first and last mile delivery concept in the UAE is a breakthrough in logistics technology, designed to offer a simple but sustainable shipping service for individual consumers, SME customers from a wide range of industries, as well as enterprises such as banks, embassies and government offices.

DHL’s Frank-Uwe Ungerer added: \\\”Innovations such as the DHL SERVICE POINT 24/7 bring to life DHL’s strategy to be ’The Logistics Company for the World’ by demonstrating our commitment to delivering simplified services and sustainable solutions to our customers.

Intelligent Partners Launch Art Of Giving With Cafe Ceramique

Intelligent Partners together with Café Ceramique launch the second ever Art of Giving 2011.

Intelligent Partners will be joining hands with Café Ceramique on Tuesday the 1st of February in an attempt raise a greater awareness about the special needs children in the U.A.E, as well as encourage their integration into normal society. Guests include students from the Al Manzil Special Needs Centre.

This Art of Giving 2011, a program first created by Café Ceramique and is in its fifth year, will involve the students from the Al Manzil Special Needs School coming in to Café Ceramique for a fun session of painting on ceramic pieces, some games and then lunch at the venue. Intelligent Partners staff, along with some local school students would be there to assist and help out.

Intelligent Partners with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar is an Educational consultancy that helps students getting admissions into top colleges in the US, Canada and the UK. Services provided but not limited to career counseling, college selection, applications, essays editing, loans and scholarship help, visa guidance and post arrival help.

“The aim of this venture is to raise awareness while also making this a special day for all the kids. Intelligent Partners, being a business, still strongly believes in giving back to the community. We see the future in today’s children, and as an education consultancy we believe that all students are special and contain the potential to be great,” says Sanjeev Verma, Director of Intelligent Partners.

The ceramic pieces would later be displayed at Café Ceramique in Dubai Festival Centre to be sold, and the money raised would be donated to the special needs school where the students study. Visitors are encouraged to bid for their favorite art piece through a silent auction at the mall.

 

AUD Students Launch Advertising Agency

Students majoring in Marketing Communications and Advertising at the American University in Dubai (AUD) have launched ‘The Agency’, a student lead organization that aims to promote the interests and activities of current, past, and prospective Marketing Communications (Marcom) and Advertising students. It is AUD’s official marketing communications and advertising student club, and it will be benefiting the university by providing a meaningful link between the student body, academia, and industry. ‘The Agency’ was founded by AUD Students Omer Tom and Disha Pagarani, with the help of Dr. Sara Kamal Assistant Professor of Marketing Communications at AUD, as the Advisor.

AUD firmly believes in the education and development of the whole person. Extracurricular activities, events and out of classroom learning experiences are considered vital in developing a student’s social skills, leadership abilities and character. They also provide a great opportunity to bridge cultures, make lifelong friends and explore new interests. In particular, AUD Departmental Clubs, such as ‘The Agency’ serve as professional organizations that address the special needs and interests of students in specific areas of study. They encourage members to explore their interests and talents and organize major specific activities such as lectures, seminars, professor’s lunches, competitions, exhibitions, workshops and field trips. The clubs also serve as a liaison between the student body and faculty of each department.

President of ‘The Agency’ Omer Tom explains how it all started:
“The concept of ‘The Agency’ was introduced at the end of last semester, Fall 2010, when Dr. Kamal and myself were discussing the use of social media in marketing communications plans. This sparked the idea of starting an official Marcom Student Club, which would also include students from the Department of Visual Communication. We created The Agency to be able to apply our classroom training in a real agency setting while still studying at AUD”.

The Agency members have now established themselves on campus as the official Marcom and Advertising club of AUD’s student community, gaining awareness among their peers. They are currently organizing a Slogan Competition. They have a Facebook® page setup, as well as a Twitter® account; they are also starting a blog. The Agency’ has a creative team of six led by AUD Student Manolia D’Souza, as the Creative Director.
The word has spread incredibly fast among the students; other clubs are already hiring ‘The Agency’ for their event campaigns and logo development.

The Agency’s future plans include: organizing a Movie Night, creating a campaign for the Business Student Association Awards, creating a campaign for the Buzz’s event known as "AUD’s Birthday”, working on AUD Idol’s campaigns promoting their events, and rebranding the Vibe Dance Club.

Dish Pagarani, Vice President of The Agency comments on the future plans:
“Apart from the work we will be doing with other student clubs, we are planning on organizing visits to agencies in the UAE, inviting speakers from the industry as well as AUD Alumni who are well established in the industry. We especially want to bridge the gap between freshmen, seniors, alumni, and academia members of the Marcom department, and assist freshmen in better understanding Marketing Communications. We are all now dreaming of becoming a real agency one day!”
 

Princess Haya Initiative Joins Hands With Landmark Groups Beat Diabetes Initiative To Launch The First Official Dubai Schools Football League

Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports, which is a implemented by Dubai School Agency of the Knowledge and Human Development Association (KHDA), today launched the first official Dubai Schools Football League in tie-up with Beat Diabetes, Landmark Group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The Dubai Schools Football League will see students from over 48 schools teams demonstrating their talents in the most popular game in the world and showing their commitment to physical activity. In addition to 32 boys’ school teams playing 11-a-side matches, the championship will also witness 16 girl school teams competing in seven-a-side matches; the games will be played at school grounds and major clubs across Dubai. The finals for both leagues will be played on 28 February.

Alongside the league matches, Landmark Group’s Beat Diabetes initiative will host health camps in schools. The campaign aims to encourage students to implement an active lifestyle and educate them about the dangers of juvenile diabetes and conduct a nutrition assessment as well as diabetes tests for children. The health camps that run from February – May will use safe and non-intrusive procedures such as Basal Metabolic Index (BMI) testing that will be conducted by qualified physicians from Zulekha Hospitals who are the medical partner for this initiative.

Fatma Al-Marri, CEO, Knowledge and Human Development Association (KHDA), said: “We have been implementing the Princess Haya Initiative in public schools since 2007. In addition to giving a new dimension to Physical Education (PE) programmes, the initiative has also increased student participation. In the larger context, it seeks to instill the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle among students and offer them an opportunity to experience a variety of physical activities.

“The support of Landmark Group’s Beat Diabetes campaign for the Dubai Schools Football League
Championship is crucial. Its shared mission of encouraging physical activities to fight diabetes, which poses a growing concern for all age groups, remains one of the main objectives of the Princess Haya Initiative.”

Renuka Jagtiani, Vice Chairperson, Landmark Group, who spearheads the Group’s Beat Diabetes initiatives, said: “Over the past few years, we have all become far more aware of the serious health risk that childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes pose. Through our Beat Diabetes campaign, we proactively seek opportunities to support credible public health initiatives. We respect the efforts made by the Princess Haya Initiative for School Sports and are proud to partner with them for the Dubai School Football League.”

Ahmad Abdul-Rahman, Project Manager of Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports said: “Dubai Schools Football League is a part of our objective to restructure the school sports system for school children. We have commenced the initiative with football as the game holds high appeal among all age categories. However, we aim to add a new sport each year. We are fortunate to have over 200 nationalities living in Dubai, and we hope to see students from all cultures come together in a spirit of sportsmanship for a common cause.”

The Dubai Schools Football League is supported by Channel 4 Network and Zulekha Hospitals.
 

Wilier Triestina To Launch USD 18,000 Luxury Super-Bicycle At Big Boys Toys

Wilier Triestina, the leading Italian manufacturer of racing bicycles, has announced that it will showcase the ‘Cento1 SL Gold Edition’, a USD 18,000 luxury super-bicycle at the upcoming ‘Big Boys Toys’. The highly awaited luxury lifestyle event will be held from March 16 to 19, 2011 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). Big Boys Toys aims to offer the ‘best of the best’ products and services combined with live demos and activities that will appeal to high-net-worth male consumers. The ‘Cento1 SL Gold Edition’ is an exclusive version of the brand’s flagship, ‘Cento1’, the model used by the athletes of Team Lampre Isd, which is yet another unique product to be exhibited in this year’s show. This new model has been specifically designed for the ‘Big Boys Toys’ show and is expected to target the attention of the region’s cycling hobbyists and enthusiasts. In addition, the leading manufacturer will also highlight other models including the ‘Granturismo’, ‘Imperiale’, and ‘Cento1 CX’ at the event.

Targeted at racing enthusiasts, every external detail of the ‘Cento1 SL Gold Edition’ has been reformulated. White, black and gold are the colours of the carbon monocoque frameset while the halberd on the front and the inscriptions ‘Cento1’ and ‘SL Gold Edition’ are made with pure gold. The high-speed carbon wheels – Racing Speed XLR – have been designed by Fulcrum Racing and feature elements of gold. Further, the handlebar – Plasma FSA – is covered with a leather ribbon and the saddle chosen for this super bicycle is the ‘Preziosa’ manufactured by Selle Italia.

“Racing enthusiasts are geared up for the opening of ‘Big Boys Toys 2011’, which is set to be the most exciting event of its kind,” said Biju Jayaraaj, Chief Executive Officer, Artaaj. “Through this event, the UAE will once again underline its reputation of showcasing unique products that are not readily available in the mass market, a prime example being the launch of the ‘Cento1 SL Gold Edition’ luxury product showcase of Wilier Triestina, which is a special edition version that has been specially designed for the event. Artaaj remains steadfast in our commitment to showcase unique high-end luxury products in ‘Big Boys Toys’.”

‘Big Boys Toys’ is a high-impact exhibition catering to high-net worth individuals in the region that is expected to draw in more than 60,000 visitors during its four-day run. All ‘Gold Class’ tickets for ‘Big Boys Toys’, have been sold out, according to show organizers, Artaaj. The organizers have also reported brisk sales in other ticket categories, as the countdown starts for the most exciting four-day event in Abu Dhabi.