Harvard Arab Alumni conference to be held in Oman from April 2

MUSCAT: Harvard Arab Alumni Association (HAAA) is organizing the 11th annual Harvard Arab World Conference to be held at the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah Hotel in Muscat, Oman, on Saturday April 2, 2016.

Titled “Innovation: Inspiring a New Arab World”, the conference, will bring together nearly 400 participants representing a diverse community of Harvard alumni, professors, thinkers, entrepreneurs, policy makers and leaders all sharing an interest and commitment to the renewal and development of the Arab world.

The conference comes to Oman for the first time after being held in past years in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Damascus, Doha, Dubai, Rabat and Tunis.

Open to the public, the conference will explore a multitude of innovative initiatives emerging out of the Arab World and will not only tackle topics of technology and the economic sphere, but will also discuss the opportunities in the areas of education, the arts, religion and policy. The conference will also feature the first ever HAAA-sponsored startup pitch competition in the Arab World. A high profile panel of judges will decide on the winner.

This year’s programme features a large number of distinguished speakers, including Opening Keynote Addresses by HE Yusuf bin Alawi, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman and Mohammed bin Mahfoudh Al Ardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp and Chairman of the National Bank of Oman.