By Libya Herald staff.
Paris, 16 January 2015:
The International Forum on Renewal of the Arab World, conceived and organized by THINKERS & . . .[restrict]DOERS in partnership with the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) came to a successful end in Paris today, organizers report.
This inaugural forum opened with a speech by French President François Hollande, brought together nearly 90 thinkers and decision-makers from 22 countries of the Arab world.
Six subjects were discussed: Entrepreneurship, Cities, Energies, Arts and Culture, and the Voice of Women. The forum was deemed a success with its various sessions being attended by nearly 1,600 people.
At the closing ceremony, a number of personalities were present alongside Jack Lang, President of the Arab World Institute, including Sheikha Maisa Al Qassimi (Abu Dhabi), Sheikha Mai Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa (Bahrain), Nordine Aït Laoussine (Algeria), Manal Al Sharif (Saudi Arabia), the Egyptian writer Shereen El Feki and Lina Lazaar Jameel, Founder of Jeddah Art Week (Saudi Arabia), etc.
The Forum also marked the official launch of the “T&D Accelerator”, a platform to speed up projects devised by Thinkers & Doers, the Forum’s co-organizer, in partnership with INSEAD.
The purpose of “T&D Accelerator” is to foster the development of ideas and projects put forward by emerging personalities of the Arab region selected for their potential contribution to the renewal of the Arab world.
In the first call for projects launched in 22 countries of the Arab world, more than 150 dossiers were examined and three were selected.
The persons submitting these three projects were asked to champion their project during the Forum, before a committee of prestigious sponsors who undertook personally to follow these emerging economic players for a period of one year (mentoring), after which they may support the development of those projects financially and materially.
The Arab World Institute will make its premises and logistical support available to contribute to the profile and promotion of these projects.
As Amandine Lepoutre, Founder and President of Thinkers & Doers explained: “”T&D Accelerator” is both a natural and concrete extension of the Forum, which we conceived as a sort of common theme linking the subjects dealt during those two days. Thus, a further project selection process is planned for Dubai on March 19 and 20 of this year. We will also be in London in June for meetings dealing with entrepreneurship”. [/restrict]
