Dubai Media City, the region's leading media hub and a member of Tecom Investments, today announced its support of TEDx Dubai 2009 as the official host and facilitator for the first TEDx conference in the Middle East.
Themed 'Dream, Do, Be - Finding Inspiration in the Unexpected', TEDx Dubai will be held on 10 October at The Palladium in Dubai Media City. The event will bring together leading thinkers and innovators from around the world looking to sharing their inspiring ideas in any discipline with the rest of the world.

TED is a not-for-profit organization created in 1984 as a small conference, bringing together people from the technology, entertainment, and design landscape. Since its inception, TED's scope has expanded to include the annual TED Conference that is held in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK.

Termed the 'the ultimate brain spa', the event's diverse audience comprises CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists, venture capitalists, inventors and entrepreneurs. In 2009 alone, more than 100 TEDx conferences have been organized to date across Singapore, Moscow, Los Angeles, Montreal, Tokyo, Madrid, London and Hollywood.

Addressing a press conference, Mohammed Abdullah, Executive Director, DMC, said:
"We are delighted to be the official host and facilitator for TEDx Dubai 2009. Our sponsorship comes as part of our commitment to the media industry and complements the vision of Dubai's leadership to transform the emirate into a knowledge-based economy."

"Dubai Media City has successfully created an enabling environment for media organizations, establishing itself as an efficient platform for leading regional and international majors seeking to operate out of a hub such as Dubai. We are looking forward to leveraging our strengths and experience as a catalyst to the regional media industry for putting together a successful TEDx edition in Dubai," he added.

Regional and local speakers at TEDx Dubai 2009 will include Leo Laporte, who currently owns and operates a netcast network, TWiT.tv, the name derived from the network's award winning, flagship podcast 'This WEEK in TECH'; Joichi Ito, the CEO of Creative Commons (creativecommons.org) - a global non-profit organization; Dr. Naif Al Mutawa, the creator of THE 99 - the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype; Mohammed Harib, the creator of Freej, the Middle East's most popular 3D animated series; Mohamed and Peyman Parham Al Awadhi from the UAE with over 26 years of multinational consumer-goods experience between them; and Khulood Al Atiyat, Co-founder of Unleash, an intellectual movement created by five Emirati women, to serve as an outlet for unleashing hidden talents in the UAE.

Giorgio Ungania, Corporate Training Manager of SAE Institute and Co-organizer of TEDx Dubai, said, "It is a privilege to be selected as an organizer for this event along with Professor James Piecowye from Zayed University. TEDx Dubai is a tremendous opportunity to listen to progressive thinkers from the local and international landscape."

"As a leading creative media education provider, my team and I will leverage our technology expertise to ensure premium quality HD recording of the event that will be promptly posted on YouTube channel for worldwide access," he added.

TEDx Dubai 2009 is sponsored by SAE Institute, Emirates Group, Google, Baraka Consulting, Ford Motors, Philips, Zayed University, Jashanmal, Apple Computers and Kanoo Group.

Since its inception in 2001, Dubai Media City has evolved dramatically through offering business friendly regulatory frameworks and a state-of-the-art infrastructure. It was awarded the Newsweek Award of Excellence for 2009 for its outstanding contribution to the media industry by creating a world class environment under 'one roof'.