40th IAA World Congress ends on a high note

The culmination of two years of preparations for the IAA UAE Chapter and the Steering Committee, the 40th IAA World Congress broke all previous attendance records, drawing more than 2,000 delegates from 67 countries. The Congress, opened by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, also featured 30 high-profile international guest speakers, ranging from former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar to American business leader Steve Forbes and a number of industry icons.

Praises for the organization of the Congress, the quality of its speakers and its ability to draw delegates from far and wide flowed in from all quarters as the Congress wound to a close yesterday.

Michael Lee, the Washington D.C-based immediate past president of the IAA, and a veteran of the congresses, said the Dubai Congress will rank as one of the IAA's most memorable.

"Beijing 2004 set a new standard, but Dubai 2006 has set a new bar," Lee said shortly before the closing reception. "It is interesting that the IAA Congress here was talking about the challenges of change, and now they've given us another one."

"The quality of the content was a very big part of the success of this Congress, and this is certainly a part of the world that the rest of the world is very interested to come to and experience for themselves,"

Lee added. "Dubai has done a tremendous job of presenting itself, and the IAA Congress is a reflection of that."

On the concourse level of the Dubai International Convention Centre, much of the closing day buzz focused both on the speakers present, the abundance of networking opportunities for industry practitioners and the charm of the city.

"The anchor of a congress is the quality of speakers, what you get out of it as a delegate, and the networking," said Marwan Rizk, IAA Vice President and Area Director for the Middle East and Africa. "Based on the feedback that we have received from our international guests and regional colleagues, from a purely professional point of view this has been a very successful Congress."

The Congress' high level of organization and its adherence to schedule were also commended.

"For many of our guests, this was their first time in the region, and having it in Dubai was certainly a draw," Rizk said. "These interest levels are a confirmation of Dubai's position - it is recognized internationally as the communications hub of the MENA region."

Perhaps it was Maurice Levy, CEO of the Publicis Groupe, who best summarized the international verdict on the 40th International Advertising Association (IAA) World Congress and Exhibition in Dubai today, the last day of the three-day Congress.

Levy, CEO of one of the world's largest advertising and media services conglomerates, said he had first visited Dubai six years ago, but after attending the Congress and looking around the city this week, felt like 60 years had passed.