Moutamarat highlights contribution by IDF 2007 knowledge partners and sponsors

A press conference on the second day of the three-day IDF at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, Moutamarat, a joint venture of Tatweer and the Saudi Research and Publishing Company, featured its major partners and sponsors. The objective was to focus on their contributions to the formulation of the effective IDF program and Moutamarat's knowledge products, including Al Manakh and With/Without.

Organized by Moutamarat, the IDF is held under the official patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Tatweer, said: 'Our partners and sponsors represent the basis and overall strength of the IDF program. They have played a multi-dimensional role in putting together a meaningful event to address the issues facing the design industry in the Arab world today.'

Knowledge partners present were: Design Jordan, which contributes to the development of the industrial and services sectors in Jordan, represented by Samer Asfour; the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, a non-governmental organisation representing an estimated 150,000 designers worldwide, is also a partner, represented by Dilki de Silva; Red Dot, an internationally recognised quality label for excellent design, represented by Peter Zec; the Serpentine Gallery, one of London's best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art, represented by Hans-Ulrich Obrist; the Sharjah Biennial, initiated in 1993 and produced by the Department of Culture and Information of the Emirate of Sharjah, represented by Mahita El Bacha Urieta; TOCA ME, a Germany-based design studio founded in 2003, represented by Ronald Iberl; the Vitra Design Museum, one of the most prominent design museums in the world, represented by Alexander Von Vegesack; and the American University of Sharjah's School of Architecture, represented by George Katodrytis.

Al Malik added: 'The aim of this announcement is to highlight our efforts, in association with our partners, to make Dubai as a design hub. We are also able to consolidate on our efforts to establish one major platform which will become the world's most recognised design initiative.'

Knowledge partners AMO, a Dutch-based research and design studio, and Bidoun, a platform for ideas and a forum for exchange and opinions about arts and culture from the Middle East, were represented by Rem Koolhaas and Antonia Carver, respectively.

Rem Koolhaas' AMO and Columbia University, New York, and the Archis Foundation, Amsterdam launched Al Manakh at the IDF, a special publication edited by Volume, an internationally acclaimed magazine. Following the launch, Al Manakh will now be distributed worldwide. The publication tracks changes and offers blueprints for the Arab and global urban spaces.

Bidoun and Moutamarat co-produced With/Without, an anthology that casts an eye across the broader horizons of the Middle East today. Featuring an innovative design, this hardback book is the first publication to address spatial products, practices, and politics in the Middle East, including manmade creations, such as buildings, public spaces, monuments, and transport infrastructure.

IDF sponsors include platinum sponsor Omniyat Properties, represented at the press conference by Mehdi Amjad, and Tatweer. Other key sponsors include Xerox Emirates LLC (XE), a joint venture affiliate of Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) and designers hub, a company established in the year 2004 to create a hub for the development and promotion of exclusive designer collections of furniture from top brands, under Al Shamsi Enterprises LLC.