RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural International MICE Summit (IMS24) will bring together over 1,000 global leaders from the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry between 15-17 December at Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City (MISK) in Riyadh, hosted by the Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA).
The three-day event promises to be the premier global leadership event for the MICE industry, offering innovation, economic and commercial opportunities for MICE and related tourism and travel sectors under the theme of "Expanding Horizons." The event's extensive programme is designed to unite MICE industry leaders, suppliers, associations, Giga-Project leaders, disruptors and international cross-industry and government leaders. Featuring plenary, panel discussions, innovation clusters, collaboration hubs, IMS24 will promise attendees a premier global platform to network, collaborate – and above all – reimagine what it means to convene in today's global environment.
"In a time marked by profound technological and environmental transformation, the MICE industry has emerged as an essential catalyst of change. By focusing on the future of the industry, IMS24 addresses the needs of a globalized world - reshaping how people, cultures and countries connect to create prosperity" said IMS host and Chairman of SCEGA, His Excellency Fahd Al-Rasheed.
"Saudi Arabia is the perfect environment to host IMS24. As an internal and external agent of change, the Kingdom has embraced its own transformation by shaping the future of the global tourism industry and becoming the fastest growing major MICE destination among G20 countries," His Excellency added.
MICE events in Saudi Arabia witnessed an increase of close to 15 percent in 2023, with almost 17,000 events attracting over 20 million visitors. IMS24 coincides with the Kingdom's continued transformation as Saudi Arabia solidifies itself as a major global tourism and events destination. Welcoming almost 110 million visitors in 2023, tourism comprises six percent of Saudi Arabia's GDP, equating to 255 billion SAR (US$68 billion). The Saudi MICE sector is expected to accelerate growth through the rapid expansion of transportation and event infrastructure, supported by the development of Giga-projects offering unparalleled destination experiences, and enhanced connectivity between the Kingdom and the rest of the world. SCEGA continues to drive these transformative developments, most recently in announcing a 588 million SAR (US$156 million) incentive program to support marquee events in 2025.
About the International MICE Summit
The International MICE Summit (IMS) gathers global leaders from the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, as well as professionals, and organizations from across industries. It provides a platform for industry insights, networking, and discussions on advancing innovation, knowledge sharing and sustainable development within the global MICE sector.
For more information or to register for the event, visit:
Website – www.internationalmicesummit.com
Twitter/X - https://x.com/ims_summit
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/ims-summit/
YouTube - https://youtube.com/@ims.summit?si=G06nYTaOUWer-OKq
About the Saudi Conferences and Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA)
The Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA) is the official body overseeing the development and regulation of Saudi Arabia's exhibitions and conventions sector. Established by Royal Decree in 2018, SCEGA aims to strengthen the sector's economic impact by setting strategic policies, issuing licenses, promoting Saudi Arabia as a premier MICE destination, and fostering investment in line with global standards. Through collaboration with national and international stakeholders, SCEGA works to enhance sector growth, support talent development, and create opportunities for showcasing the Kingdom's unique identity on the world stage.
Contact: IMSmedia@consulum.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Inaugural International MICE Summit (IMS) Convenes to Drive Business Events Sector's Future in Saudi Arabia, Fastest-Growing G20 MICE Market
BEIJING, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nothing carries quite the gravitas of the Nobel Prizes, the five awards that were founded in Switzerland back in 1901 to recognize developments that have been of the "greatest benefit to humankind" in the fields of in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and in the promotion of peace.
These awards have traditionally noted people who have helped alter the course of human history and so it was telling when they were handed out by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at the start of October that, for the first time, the work of people developing Artificial Intelligence was recognized.
This year's winners in the sections both for physics (John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hianton) and chemistry (David Baker and joint-winners Demis Hassabis and John Jumper) have been expanding the use of AI software into science and their recognition has again shown how far this new technology's reach has now spread, so quickly.
That's a conversation that was carried on to GITEX Global 2024 in Dubai from October 14-18 - an event which brands itself as the "biggest tech & startup show in the world" – with the scope of the impact AI is having around the world once again on show.
At the center-point of displays and discussions were the very latest in AI advances as were the issues of where these developments are going to take the world as the digital economy continues to evolve.
On hand in Dubai was Ray Xu, senior vice-president of H3C, as well as president of the Chinese business innovation and digital transformation group's cloud, compute, and storage product line. Based out of the eastern Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou, H3C officially launched two new H3C UniServer systems in Dubai (R5500 G7 and R5300 G7) - servers which can support more than 70 kinds of AI.
A week later, Xu sat down to reflect on that experience and on how an AI-led digital transformation, and technological innovation, are reshaping our world.
"These AI technologies are changing our lives and present a lot of new opportunities," said Xu. "That has sparked a lot of imagination about what the future will be. On the other hand, AI applications also face some challenges in areas such as data privacy and algorithm bias. In the end, though, I'm an optimist. I think the opportunities far outweigh the challenges."
Through its global commercial partnerships, H3C has helped expand AI technology usage across sectors including "AIGC [Artificial Intelligence Generated Content], autonomous driving in the new energy vehicle industry, and data-driven decision-making and personalized services in finance and enterprise sectors, as well as large-scale computing centers established by governments and operators."
AIGC is one development that has had a major impact on the way work is done all over the globe. Innovations such as ChatGPT are driving new growth across industries as those industries adapt to generative technology and explore ways to expand AI's uses.
Xu said there were a number of important challenges ahead, including developing the necessary infrastructure to support the power needed to drive this new technology, the development of more efficient power sources and servers, the building of data centers and learning how to deal with issues of privacy when it comes to data.
"At H3C we are committed to partnering with our customers when it comes to dealing with the challenges of business innovation and digital transformation," said Xu. "With our comprehensive product line, we have solutions for cloud, computing, networking, security, and terminal issues as well as Information and Communication Technologies [ICT] solutions. With these solutions, we help a lot of our customers in their new journey of digital information transformation."
The development of arithmetic power was another issue Xu identified, especially in terms of the Chinese market.
"I think there are four key challenges," he said. "The first thing is computing power. We need huge amounts of computing power, so how to scale up this computing power quickly is very important. Second, how to use this arithmetic power efficiently? How to schedule this power is critical. The third challenge is about storage. We need data so how do we make this data transfer very efficiently, very quickly?
"More computing means more data, more energy. So, how do we leverage this energy more efficiently? Making data centers more green will be the fourth challenge but in order to address these challenges, the first thing we need to do is scale up computing power more quickly."
H3C has addressed these issues by focusing on "the upgrade and evolution of digital infrastructure to meet the needs of the AI era."
The company has also launched "diverse heterogeneous computing platforms for intelligent computing centers, high-performance AI servers, advanced data center network architectures, and AI storage solutions to provide strong, stable, and scalable digital infrastructure support."
There has also been a focus on a green strategy when it comes to data center design and across the H3C production line, in keeping with the requirements of the industry. This includes such innovations as liquid cooling and box immersion, which are helping drive new growth on a global scale.
Overall, H3C has identified a "multifaceted" approach that has focused on increased investment in and construction of "computing infrastructure to rapidly scale up computing power," the company said.
Other focuses include "the development of more efficient and intelligent computing power allocation and data storage technologies to enhance resource utilization and ensure data security and stability", while the company continues to explore "the promotion of innovation and application of energy-efficient technologies to reduce energy consumption during computing operations."
That's why, Xu said, the company is "open to different kinds of vendors."
"We have the service capability to help customers build their ecosystem in anticipation of AI development, so they can actively embrace them," he said. "We can always find ways to solve challenges and deliver more and more opportunities, backed by the belief that AI will bring us a bright and a smart future."
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
H3C takes a deep dive into the challenges - and opportunities - AI brings
H3C takes a deep dive into the challenges - and opportunities - AI brings
