MUSCAT, DEC 21 - Under the auspices of Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, the 4th EU-GCC Business Forum was held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in Muscat last week. The Business Forum was also attended by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Dr Ahmed al Dheeb, as well as the Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce, the EU Ambassador in the GCC and ambassadors from EU countries and the GCC.
An inspiring panel discussion on ‘Women in Technology’ featured Dr Manuela Gutberlet, PR Manager (GUtech) and Alyaa al Shanfari, alumna in Computer Sciences at GUtech and also CEO of Beennova Oman, as participants. Dr Gutberlet also moderated the first panel discussion on ‘Technology and Education’.
“We had an inspirational discussion on the role of technology in education and that educators should be trained continuously and embrace technology as a life-long learning-tool. Using new technologies can mean to leave the comfort zone, while empowering people in education to change, disrupt and teach differently. It was an enriching event and a great opportunity to meet businesspeople and policy-makers from EU and GCC,” said Dr Gutberlet. The panel on ‘Technology and Education’ included Claudia Massai, CEO of Siemens Oman, as well as Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary-General of the European Digital SME Alliance and Mervi Jansson, CEO of Omnia Education Partnerships in Finland.
During the panel discussion on ‘Women in Technology’ different topics were discussed, e.g. on how to promote more women to lead as role-models in the field of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Alyaa al Shanfari, CEO of Beenova Oman and the founder of the Google Developer Group and adviser to the National Youth Commission, shared her experiences in setting-up her own business in Oman and in networking with others.
“We also spoke about diversity at work, which includes not only women but different nationalities, educational backgrounds and age-groups. To empower more women in STEM, the introduction of a female quota in companies, institutions and universities is suggested along with a family-friendly work-environment with child day-care and more flexible working hours would help to promote and encourage more women to pursue their dream careers,” said Dr Gutberlet.
Overall, the EU-GCC Business Forum was entitled “Technology as an enabler for future growth and prosperity” and served as a major platform for EU-GCC B2B engagement. It was held in cooperation with the GCC Secretariat, the Omani Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Technology and Communications, Oman’s Supreme Council for Planning, Ithraa and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all GCC Chambers of Commerce.
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