Hopefully Good News for Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011
When was the last time I talked about Gitex Saudi Arabia? Probably back when I posted that Gitex Riyadh isn't recognized by GITEX.
So what's special about this year's Gitex Saudi Arabia? For starters it won't be in April but on 16 - 19 May 2011, right after my birthday... It's still an "all in one" event combining:
- GITEX Saudi Arabia - 16 - 19 May 2011 which redirects to http://www.saudigitex.com/ so they finally decided to have a domain just for Gitex Saudi Arabia, what took them so long?
- Saudi Communications 2011 The 13th International Telecommunications Exhibition (aka STC and Mobily ego competition)
- Computer Shopper 2011 The 10th International Computer Shopper Exhibition (aka Haraj)
These 3 events will be held at the "new" Riyadh Expo Center (gowalla link). Let's just hope it rains because the new building is well made and can handle a few rain drops.
Oh. Guess not. From the last day of Riyadh Book Fair.
Anyway back to the "good news".
I got my hands on the floor plan for Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011 and I was shocked at what I found... or did not find. Here's Gitex Riyadh 2010 floor plan:
Dominated by STC and Mobily, the biggest telecom companies in Saudi Arabia.
Now compare it to Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011 floor plan:
Just what is going on? Has STC and Mobily finally started to think that it's better to spend money on improving infrastructure and services than marketing and wasting valuable floor space?!
I am actually looking forward to visit Gitex Riyadh this year!
Is Gitex Riyadh 2010 even recognized by GITEX? (Updated, answer is: NO)
Update: Thanks to Haitham Ghazal for inquiring about it. He contacted GITEX in Dubai and their answer was: "Gitex Saudi is not associated with the same GITEX Technology WEEK in Dubai. The event is franchised in name only and is not organised or sold in any way by the Dubai World Trade Centre". That proves it, Gitex Saudi is a useless show.
I have to ask this, the official Gitex homepage DOES NOT MENTION GITEX Saudi Arabia 2010 in Riyadh. So is Gitex Riyadh 2010 or should I say "Computer Bazaar/Haraj Riyadh 2010" is considered an actual trade exhibition or just a marketplace?
At least this year they have a list of participating companies, a horribly made list. No major companies like Microsoft attending.
Here's the full show booklet. Notice how big Mobily and STC booths are ...
Gitex Saudi Arabia 2010 in Riyadh
The next Gitex Saudi Arabia in Riyadh will be from 25 to 29 Apr 2010.
Gitex Riyadh 2010 will be held for the second year at the new Riyadh Exhibitions Company. Gowalla location here.
Don't expect it to be good. I am sure it will be a STC vs Mobily expo as usual.
Earth Hour Saudi Arabia 2010
Earth Hour is "a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change."
Saudi Arabia is participating in this year's Earth Hour officially for the first year! From Arab News: "Lights are expected to be switched off in major cities including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam from 8.30 to 9.30 in the evening. A number of government departments and private sector companies are also taking part."
Make sure to join the Facebook event! Residents of Jeddah should also check this event by What's Up Jeddah. Finally I just discovered this Earth Hour Saudi Arabia Facebook Group.
Riyadh Tweetup for November
Register for the tweetup here which will be held Thursday November 5th at Second Cup Coffee Shop at Tahliah street in Riyadh.
A Day About Japan
Sakura of the Kingdom, a site with interest in Japanese culture in Saudi Arabia is having an event today in Riyadh called "Day About Japan".
You can find more information about the event here (Arabic).
Comedy tour in Saudi Arabia with Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani
There will be a standup comedy show in Riyadh and Jeddah in the next few days. The event will be starring Ahmed Ahmed and for the first time in Saudi Arabia, Maz Jobrani. Each ticket will cost 350SR. It will be on 3rd June 09 in Jeddah and 4th & 5th June 09 in Riyadh.
Find out more at the SmikeKSA website. Click through to see a video of Maz Jobrani's standup comedy.
More info about Gitex Saudi Arabia 2009
We talked earlier about Gitex participation. Here is the full showroom floor map. As expected it is dominated by STC and Mobily. You can watch the whole PDF map here.
Arab Tech TV will provide live streaming from Gitex at 7 p.m. You can watch the stream here.
Shufflegazine from the UAE is covering Gitex as well. You can follow their images on their Tumblr page. They showed this picture which was taken recently and Gitex preparations were not complete. That must be good ....
All you need to know about Gitex Saudi Arabia 2009
Riyadh Exhibitions Company has finally updated their website just in time for Gitex Saudi Arabia 2009 in Riyadh. Probably not the best design but it is an improvement over the old one.
As usual it's mainly a shopping exhibition: Gitex Saudi Arabia 2009 and Gitex Saudi Arabia Computer Shopper 2009. I am not looking forward to "WAP Technology" and "ASP Business Host".
When is the event? Gitex Saudi Arabia will be from the 19th to 23rd of April 2009.
How to get to the new exhibition building? Just follow the direction on this link (even though it claims it is in Lebanon for some reason).
Who are the participants? As usual STC and Mobily (Saudi Arabia's biggest telecommunication companies) are participating. Which I think is a bad idea and a waste of space. I was given a list of participating companies which you can find in this PDF file.
I have been extremely busy with some family matters so I don't think I might be even able to attend. You will be able to find coverage at Tech WD (Arabic tech website).
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