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The IDF is being organized by Moutamarat, a joint venture of Tatweer and the Saudi Research and Publishing Company, and is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.
Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Tatweer, said: "The DesignLaBs have been conceived to engage designers who put ideas to work to create real solutions. They are innovation in practice. All outcomes of the DesignLabs are taken up for further discussion at select sessions of the main programme and will be presented at the closing plenary session."
Nadim Karam, Architect, Artist and Principal of Atelier Habsitus; Peter Zec, President of Red Dot; Nada Debs, Designer of Nada Debs; and Mohammad Saeed Hareb, Creatorof Freej, were some of the design-minded individuals invited to the DesignLaB entitled "Creating an Arab Association of Designers". Participants discussed the idea of providing designers in the Arab world with a platform to support their work, generate awareness of their talent and contribute to the growth of the industry at the regional level and beyond.
As a first step, Moutamarat proposes the launch of an Arab Association of Designers (AAD), an online registration site to count and classify designers working in the Arab world, rally support from within the design community, create a bridge between regional and international talent and to focus a profession which is key to the overall growth of the region.
The AAD will instill a sense of aspiration and hope to, as one participant put it, "cultivate a new spirit that contributes to the development of Arab Renaissance." Another participant said: "We envision an Association that could change the regional mindset, improve the quality of life and establish standards on environmental design. Our goal is to give the Arab designers a common identity, which would be shared by countries, giving designers more leeway on an international scale."
Prominent names like Sheikh Majed Al Sabah (Founder of Villa Moda) and Rodney Fitch (CEO of Fitch) were invited to the DesignLab session on "Creating a Creativity School for the Arab World". Sheikh Sabah and Fitch are among the proponents of a Design School to provide young talent in the region with knowledge, training and industry experience in various design and creative disciplines.
Al Malik said:
"There are currently no real industrial design institutes or courses in the Arab world. So there is a definite need for these types of institutions to provide different options to students. With many new industries requiring innovative ideas to stay competitive in the global markets, industrial design is an essential sector which can be pursued by students in the Middle East. Dubai can be the leader of innovation in this area as well, just as it has been in many other areas."
The International Design Forum, organized by Moutamarat, will be held in Dubai from 27th-29th May 2007.
Posted by Medilyn Manibo, Assistant News Editor
