PCMA Convening Leaders took place virtually on January 11-15, 2021 and was described as an “omnichannel experience for event professionals.”
During the event, PCMA’s President & CEO, Mr. Sheriff Karamat sat down via Zoom with Mr. Steen Jakobsen, Assistant Vice President at Dubai Business Events (DBE) and City Operations to discuss DBE’s leadership role in reopening the meetings and events sector in Dubai.
Steen shares that Dubai adopted a proactive approach and implemented strict safety measures in the first stages of the crisis.
Reviving the events industry took a close collaboration with local industry stakeholders and government entities—working together to develop a set of guidelines, health, and safety protocols for event organizers. DBE acts as a facilitator between event organizers and the local community (corporate sector, scientific/research entities, and universities), associating every entity to reach a common goal to in order to create events with a substantial impact.
Their efforts resulted in the business events sector reopening this past September. A few weeks ago, Dubai hosted the 2021 GITEX, gathering 1200 international exhibitors from over 100 countries with several thousand attendees at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Dubai’s leadership has always recognized the importance of business events as a driver of the economy diversity. Steen expresses his enthusiasm of being part of Dubai’s transformation. He emphasizes the critical role of business events for Dubai’s economic diversification.
Further, Steen shares that through innovation such as AI and FINTECH, Dubai is recognized as a global innovation hub. Steen expresses his optimism for the future of our industry.
To see the full 20 minutes interview, click here.
Photo description: GITEX in Dubai, December 2020.
Photo credit: Arabian Business Industries
