UAE – Dubai will invest Dh4.5bn to make the emirate an innovation hub for global tech businesses and entrepreneurs -The plan was announced at a ceremony oia, Kenya, and Polandn Monday to mark the 15th anniversary of DIC, the first non-industrial free zone, attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. “Dubai Internet City has supported the transformation of our national economy into a knowledge economy,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “We have kept pace with great changes in technology. Now the time has come for Internet City to become a creator of change. Link
UAE – Speaking about the UAE knowledge and innovation initiative, INNOVATIVE, Al Mansouri said, “We target to acquaint the economy for a step further towards INNOVATIVE. In this regard, it is our aim to have a 5 per cent contribution from knowledge economy and innovation to the GDP by 2021.” Link [KnowledgeEconomy.com would be honored to help grow that contribution]
UAE – “His Highness had an insight. He foresaw the internet revolution in its earliest days, and it was that vision, which put our national economy on the path to become a globally recognised knowledge economy,” [Dubai Holding’s Chairman, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi] said. Link
UAE – On October 29, 2000, announcing the launch of Dubai Internet City, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: “The test of success (of DIC) will be if businessmen find it more profitable to carry out their e-business from Dubai. There is no other test. This is the project. This is to be pursued with energy and efficiency.” Dubai Internet City has sailed through the test, and is today the pillar of Dubai’s knowledge economy. It has served as home to over 1,400 businesses and providing employment to over 20,000 people, and has been a force of the city’s smart transformation. Link
India – Stating that we are living in the age of the “knowledge economy“, [Nobel Peace prize winner Kailash] Satyarthi said that quality education is “the key to liberation which should empower an individual’s employability, significantly bringing down resentment in our society”. Link
India – ICANN – Net user base growing fastest in India: Samiran Gupta – Earlier this year in August, India launched the IDN [Internationalized Domain Names] ‘dot bharat’ in Devanagari script covering eight languages. This is a huge step forward and, together with the “Digital India” programme, India looks set for the transformation into a connected knowledge economy. Link
Kenya – Microsoft 4Afika – Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Kenya Country Manager, providing the rationale for the initiative said; “Unemployment is a challenge for many youth and initiatives such as EmployMentor can bridge the skills gap between academia and the working world. Through the 4Afrika Initiative, Microsoft aims to play an active role in the evolution of Africa from a labour-based economy to a knowledge economy by empowering local innovation, up-skilling youth with 21st century ICT skills and providing Internet access.” Link
Poland – European Patent Office – In his welcome address to the conference, EPO President Benoît Battistelli said that patent information was becoming increasingly relevant, not only for the established IP community, but also for business, government and NGOs to inform their economic and political decision-making. “In today’s globalised knowledge economy, the need for patent information is greater than ever,” said Mr Battistelli. “The EPO is committed to playing its part to ensure users have the best data in the most accessible way so they can take the best decisions and make optimal use of the patent system.” Link