First anti-piracy Arab forum set for Oct.

Monday, 17 March 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH – For the first time in the Kingdom a conference dedicated to eradicating counterfeit products is set to take place later this year.

The First Arab Consumer and Brand Protection Forum 2008 will be held in Jeddah on October 19-21 with the support of the Arab League and the Islamic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is also backing the forum to be held under the auspices of Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Al Saud, at the Jeddah Hilton.

In 2006 the Saudi economy suffered a $620 billion loss, a 10 percent increase from 1996, as a result of commercial fraud and counterfeiting. Commercial fraud defrauds the region of about $50 billion annually, accounting for approximately six percent of the $780 billion lost worldwide every year to piracy, according to WCO Secretary General Michel Danet.

The Forum aims to find ways to trigger Arab world public participation in the global war on commercial fraud and piracy.“We will be focusing on the existence of a mechanism to activate rules, adjust them, and adding new ones to protect the consumer,” said Faisal Bin Othmain, an executive member and public relations manager with Hemaya Universal, co-organizer of the forum.

Hemaya Universal is pioneering the Arab private sector effort to protect consumers from fraudulent trade and safeguard intellectual property rights in the region. “Our goal is to discuss and see how to adjust, develop, rules that fit with the new situation of the increasing percent of counterfeiting in the whole Arab region,” Othmain said.

After the forum, a national eight-month awareness campaign will begin, Bin Othaimin said, its coverage includes amusement parks to schools.
The campaign is designed to spread awareness of the damages counterfeited goods cause both physically and economically.

“The campaign will take place in five countries for five years and so far we haven’t decided where the next campaign will be, we are waiting for feedback and the reactions from the first forum,” Bin Othaimin said. “The forum will include international organizations and will host brand owners in addition to officials from the ministries of Commerce and ministries of Finance of the Arab League and any government sector dealing with counterfeiting.”

The Forum is the brainchild of the Arab League, resulting from collaboration by its Secretary General Amr Moussa, with Hemaya Universal, according to Arab League assistant secretary general for Economic Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Tuwaijri.

“Such synergy between the public and private sectors is critical in enabling this region to compete effectively in the international marketplace,” Dr. Tuwaijri said in a speech to the recent 4th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy.

Cancer survivor uses experience to teach others

Saturday, 15 March 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - The sixth international conference on Women’s Health Update 2008 ended its four-day run Wednesday after focusing on cardiac disease, family medicine, breast cancer, alternative medicine and other health issues affecting women in Saudi Arabia.

Speakers at the conference held under the auspices of Princess Alanood Bint Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Saud: Lina Bissar, vice president of the internal department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH); Nuha Dashash, consultant in social and family medicin; and Lama Suleiman, a businesswoman and breast cancer survivor.

Lama Suleiman used her experience with cancer to try and give hope to other similarly afflicted women.“I woke up one morning feeling a rigid mass in my breast that I could swear I didn’t feel the night before,” Suleiman said. “I had tests done and waited for two weeks and completely forgot to ask my doctor for the results.

My doctor called me to tell me I had breast cancer. My life changed completely until my doctor called me to tell me that I have a breast cancer and my life changed completely.”

She urged women, using her experience as an example, to persevere their faith in Allah and in themselves. “After I started my chemotherapy I started to lose my hair, my eyebrows and my eyelashes. I didn’t realize how important they were until I lost them, until I constantly had water dripping into my eyes,” Suleiman said.

KFSH and Roche Medicine Company sponsored the conference held at Laylaty hall.

BBC Arabic wants a piece of the pie

By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah and Michael Bou-Nacklie

JEDDAH – The BBC’s new channel is the new kid on the block for the Middle East. The new Arabic language channel will begin broadcasting March 11 for 12 hours a day then move to a 23/7 schedule by the summer.

BBC Arabic will be in comp-petition with other media net-works such as Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, which provide news 24 hours a day to the Arab world. According to the Allied Media Corporation web site, an independent marketing organization, the total viewer ship of Al-Arabiya has 23 million viewers in the Arab World.

Whereas Al-Jazeera has roughly 53 million viewers in the Arab world. According to the BBC, over 13 million people listen to BBC Arabic every week while its website bbcarabic.com receives over 21 million page views and has over one million unique use-each month. A decade earlier the BBC attempted to launch a similar version of BBC Arabic in partners-ship with Bahrain-based Orbit.

The deal fell through and many investors and journalists moved to Al-Jazeera based in Qatar. Viewers in the Kingdom have their own favorite channels but they are not entirely convinced that BBC Arabic will be much different from its established counterparts.

“I watch several news channels but I prefer to watch Al-Arabiya,” said Mahmoud Abo Al-Huoda, an educational supervisor in the Kingdom.

“Certainly I’ll watch the BBC Arabic because whenever something big happens I switch from (channel to channel ) to get all the details."

Rasha Al-Zahrani, an administrator in Tecnimont Arabia Ltd Company, said she does not like many of the channels because of unfair bias. “Al-Jazeera news is not credible and Al-Ekhbariy-yah channel does not back up the reports with filmed pictures and it’s all local.

On the other hand, Al-Arabiya’s news is neutral, credible, periodic, both loc-and international, you know that you can trust anything they broadcast. The BBC is also credible news but it wasn’t local enough and sometimes its news is not backed up (properly)" Al-Zahrani said.

BBC Arabic will be funded by British taxpayers with a bill of £25 million and part of a larger set of alternative language channel for the Middle East. Later this year BBC Persian is set to begin, geared towards viewers in Iran.

The initial plans for BBC Arabic were announced in late 2005, resulting in the closure of 10 stations service in Eastern Europe in order to finance the new channel. Since then the British government has agreed to boost World Service funding to £252 million annually.

The BBC’s latest endeavor will have its primary centers in Cairo and London and will draw from the BBC’s 250 correspond-dents working from 72 news desks from around the world to provide its daily coverage. The main reason behind opening an Arabic channel is that Arabic viewers follow the BBC channel and website in higher demand for their 24 news cover and trust what they provide from their credible sources.
BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said people in the Middle East will welcome another news channel because of the reliability of the BBC in the rest of the world.

“We are encouraged that independent research consistently shows an appetite for a BBC Arabic television channel. The main reason people give is quite simple – it is because they believe the BBC will provide an independent news service they could trust,” Chapman said.

Their service is free and provided by the Arabsat, Eutelsat, and Nilesat satellite, to the region. – SG

* Rania Al-Alattar

- Joined the Baghdad office of BBC Arabic in early 2003
- Baghdad-based Nahrain TV, in 2004
- Presenter and correspondent
- Baghdad Today - one hour live newscast
- Bayuna – a weekly musical program
- Nejoom – a weekly cinema show
- Al-Hurrah television in 2005
- Presented daily live news bulletins, summaries, breaking news and conducted live interviews.
- Writer, editor, producer and correspondent

* Tony El-Khoury
- Aka Antoine Khoury

- Started 16 years ago London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.
- Later joined the London-based MBC TV as a producer.
- Trained as a TV presenter with Independent Weather Productions at UK’s ITV
- He also worked as reporter with the Dubai-based satellite TV channel, Al-Arabiya, as the UK roving reporter.
- LBC for two years as anchor for The World Tonight,
- Has won various awards such as: Best International Weather Graphics Presenter for MBC, and various awards for graphics for Al-Arabiya News in Dubai.
- Studied
- French Literature, Linguistics and Journalism at the Lebanese University in Beirut (BA)
- School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (MA).

* Dalia Mohammed
- Started in 2003 at Damascus Radio for five years.
- Produced, presented and directed a weekly program - Cinema Radio
- Also worked for a private radio channel where she produced and presented the daily morning show- Lifestyle.
- Dalia says she was excited to join the BBC - “It is more than just a channel. It is an academy.”

* Osman Ayfarah
- Started in 2001 as a reporter with Arab News Network (ANN).
- He was one of few correspondents to cover the war in Afghanistan from inside Kabul before the fall of the Taleban.
- Worked as a news presenter and talk-show host at ANN before moving to London-based Khalifa TV, where he worked as news reporter and presenter.
- In 2003 joined Dubai TV as a reporter
- Later moved to the Al-Arabiya TV as a reporter and presenter of business and political news and program.

*Hasan Muawad
- Hasan Muawad has 30 years of broadcasting experience with global and Arab media.
- Joined BBC Arabic in 1977 as a producer.
- Became senior producer of current affairs programming,
- Then Head of the Current Affairs Unit.
- In 2001 went to work for Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in Dubai for five and a half years,
- Moved to Al Arabiya TV for five years as person Point Of Order.

*Lina Musharbash
- Known as the first female TV journalist in Jordan to report from the field as the royal correspondent
- Later became the military correspondent, covering, among other developments, the Jordanian UN peace force in Croatia and Bosnia in 1993.
- In 1994, Lina joined the MBC as its Jordan correspondent, covering the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.
- In 1995, she joined the MBC’s London-based operations as a TV presenter.
- In 2003, she returned to Jordan to work as Abu Dhabi TV’s bureau chief prior to the run up of the Iraq war.
- In 2004, joined Al-Hurra TV for its launch in Jordan office, where she covered news and features.
- In 2005, moved back to London to present a daily business program for Kuwait TV.
- In 2007, she joined the London team of the Russian-Arabic service, Rusyia Al Yaum, covering news and features in Britain and Europe including the EU summit in Brussels in June 2007.

* Dina Waqqaf
- Started as a radio presenter at Syrian Arab Republic Radio
- Presenter for a political program for Syrian TV - International Scene.
- Graduate of Dentistry College in Damascus,
- Has completed a range of training programs for radio and TV presenting – from talk shows and panels to breaking news and interviewing.

Old Jeddah to be Hub for International Tourists Spot

Thursday, 21 February 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - For decades, foreign residents and visitors to Jeddah used to wonder why its Old Quarter, the only heritage site in the city, was not better preserved, though the crooked and tilting buildings with their collapsed or crumbling walls, rickety windows, doors and balustrades were quite a sight.

Now comes some action, after a number of buildings have collapsed or been devastated by fire. The Tourism and Culture Department in the Jeddah Municipality and the Supreme Commission of Tourism (SCT) are conducting joint studies to a huge project for a mega investment project to convert the historical area into an international tourist site.

The old Jeddah area contains many historical places and ancient sites like the Naseef House, Imam Al-Shafei Mosque and the water cisterns, and old districts like Al-Sham alleyway, Al-Mathloom alleyway and Bab Makkah area.

Sami Nawar, director general of the municipality's Tourism and Culture Department said that the SR3 million study is six-pronged and will take 16 months to complete.

"The study is practical in nature and it entails going and examining the places to decide what exactly needs to be done and to estimate the cost Nawar said.
He said special care would be taken to preserve the originality of the buildings.

"There will be reconstruction work on all the museums, like Al-Haj museum and private museums like Abdul Rao'f Museum, to make them more suitable for the tourists by keeping their real and authentic historical origin," Nawar said.

Safeya Binzagir museum will also be modernized and supported.
Reconstruction work in the area will cover electrical wiring, painting and planting more trees around the buildings.

"We are keen on making these areas more alive," said Nawar, expecting many more foreign tourists to visit when the work is completed.

King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the Founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, used to receive citizens at the Naseef House, and he stayed at the house of Banaja.

The historical area will be enlarged and used as a venue to host events. It will have halls and an auditorium for 1,500 people. In addition, there will be gardens and green areas under the development program.

The historical area goes back approximately 3,000 years. It was a settlement of fishermen. The tribe of Quda'ah stayed in the area 2,500 years ago.

When Islam entered the Arabian Peninsula, Jeddah's history became closely intertwined with that of Islamic history and it became the Gateway to the Two Holy Mosques.

Dr. Ali Ghabban, SCT deputy secretary general for Museums and Cultural Heritage, said historical sites like Old Jeddah should be made more attractive to tourists and thus become revenue spinners.

Moves are afoot to have Old Jeddah recognized as a World Heritage Site.
"We have contracted international consultants to work on a protection and management plan for

the area in order to register the Old Jeddah area in the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites," he said.

Officials have Conflicting Views on Gulf-bound Saudi Teachers

Monday, 18 February 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - The Ministry of Education says it has nothing to do with unemployed Saudi teachers taking up jobs in other Gulf countries.

Government authorities have expressed concern over the job migration, which they see as a brain drain. Shoura Council members say they consider women traveling for the Gulf countries for work as a waste of the country's capabilities and resources.

"The Ministry of Education and other government authorities should look into this issue more seriously," said Abdullah Boukhary, a member of the Shoura's foreign affairs committee. "This should be investigated in order to find solutions to preserve the country's valuable resources."
But Abdul Aziz Al-Jarallah, Public Relations general manager at the Ministry of Education said the responsibility was on the Ministry of Civil Services.

"It is not our responsibility to find jobs for graduates, they should go to the MCS, and they are the ones who should appoint them to several ministries including the Ministry of Education," Al-Jarallah said. "Only then they become our responsibility and not before."

Positive step
A Ministry of Labor source, who asked not to be identified, dismissed all the negativity about Saudi teachers moving to the Gulf. The source said that having Saudis working across the region is a positive step.

"If we could open the door for Gulf countries citizens to participate in exchange working programs, the result would enrich the region and contribute to achieving a balance in the region. It is better than bringing non-Saudis to work as teachers," the source said.

The Shoura Council has no schedule so far for discussing the matter. Mohammed Al-Zolfa, a Shoura member, said that the Council has not discussed the issue yet .

"We have not discussed the issue in the Council, but in my opinion I won't be against the idea," he said.

"When I go to any of the Gulf countries, I see Saudi women working in different fields and unfortunately these fields are not available in (the Kingdom).

"We should not blame them if they seek a better future somewhere else," Al-Zolfa said.

Saudis to work as Tourist Guides

Wednesday, 13 February 2008
By Kholood Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - A changing tourism industry will now allow unemployed Saudis to become tour guides as part of a new Tourism Guidance Program.

Ahmed Al-Eissa, General Manager of SCT Permits and Quality Department stressed the importance of organizing and developing tour guides in the Kingdom as a career.

"We are creating several job opportunities for Saudis in this field in order to develop and let tourism flourish in Saudi Arabia," said Al-Eissa.

Al-Eissa said being a tour-guide is a job authorized by a permit from the SCT. Their job is to accompany tourists to different sites around the Kingdom and be experts on the natural, cultural and heritage sites.

The permits are given for three categories of guides, said Al-Eissa. "The guides are divided into three categories. General guides who cover the entire Kingdom, local guides who specialize in a specific region or city and a site guide who deals exclusively with specific locations," he said.

Al-Eissa said the requirements to become a tourist guide are not complicated.

"The applicant must be Saudi, not less than 21 years old with no criminal record, medically fit, they must pass the tests and personal interview given by the SCT and they must be first aid certified," Al-Eissa said.

Currently the number of Saudis working in the field is still very low but travel agencies within the Kingdom have already started recruiting tour guides.

"Tourism Guidance is considered new for Saudis but the financial outcome is promising and because of the available workshops and courses there are several opportunities to advance," Al-Eissa said.

Sattam Ahmed Al-Bloui has been a tour guide for two years and is the manager of Al-Khafgi Festival.

"Requesting a permit was very easy after logging in to the SCT web. Working as a tour guide for a number of foreign delegations was fun and exciting.

It gets you to know the tour sites closely and learn about them which bring you closer to your country's heritage and culture," Al-Bloui said.

Al-Bloui has been a guide not only to foreign delegations but to Saudis as well.

"The best part of being a tour guide is that "I'm explaining our culture, our history, and civilization. I find, foreign tourists respect that and appreciate it," he said.

Social Welfare to Cover Water and Electricity Bills

Tuesday, 12 February 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - The Kingdom will start paying electricity bills and water bill for those who cannot afford them.

The Social Security Department in the Ministry of Social Affairs will start helping widows, orphans, the disabled, minors, elderly women, and government employees who receive less than SR1,500 monthly.

Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Akass, Minister of Social Affairs, urged authorities to start supporting programs for people in need; such as repairing houses, providing medical treatment and paying water and electricity bills.

Mohammed Abdullah Al-Okala'a, undersecretary of Social Security and Public Housing in the Ministry, said the program is geared towards freeing up the income of those who have very little in the first place.

"The goal in starting such programs is to help the people with some of the burdens they face, as well as putting the money they usually use for their bills for something else they need," Al-Okala'a said.

The program will start after the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Water and Electricity establish a mechanism of payment.

SCT to Check 600 Hotels

Thursday, 07 February 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Supreme Commission of Tourism (SCT) will inspect about 600 hotels and apartments here many of which have raised rent for overnight stay by up to 50 percent from February 6 to 15.

Receptionists at furnished apartments in Anhar Al-Rawdah and Al-Hosoon said the rent hike is prompted by the deluge of tourists who usually come here at this time to escape the cold in other parts of the Kingdom.

The rent in Anhar Al-Rawdah, Al-Samiriyah, Gardinya and Al-Hosoon furnished apartments usually go up to SR180 to SR300 a night during vacation from SR120 during regular days, they added.

However, Eng. Ahmed Al-Eissa, general manager of SCT Permits and Quality department, said their main objective is to check if the establishments meet safety requirements and provide quality accommodation.

"We do not aim to penalize anybody - we just want to ensure the accommodations live up to quality and professional standards," he said.

An SCT statistic showed that 20 percent of tourists in Jeddah prefer to stay in hotels while 50 percent opt for furnished rented apartments.

No-Mehram Rule makes Little difference – Hotels

Tuesday, 05 February 2008
By Kholood F. Al-Rhamah and

Sabahat F. Siddiqi

JEDDAH - Hotels across Saudi Arabia are now allowed to receive female guests without a Mehram or male guardian accompanying them, after a decision by the Ministry of Commerce to this effect.

However, a Saudi Gazette survey in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh showed that, since the new rule, only five to 10 percent of guests were women who stayed overnight.

At the Holiday Inn, a spokesperson said their statistics on female guests has not changed dramatically since the decision was made.

"We had female visitors coming into the hotel after the decision but the number is low," the spokesperson said, suggesting that the new rule has not made much of a difference.

The Ministry of Commerce now requires all female visitors to have a national ID as a condition to stay overnight unaccompanied.

"It will take time to be implemented in the hotels," said Sada Al-Abo from the Hotel Crown Plaza, Jeddah.

"In time, by the summer, I believe that the number will increase up to 50 percent," Al-Abo said.
The decision applies to both Saudis and expatriates.

Hotels in the Eastern Province have not implemented the decision and are still preventing women from checking-in without a Mehram.

"We have not yet received any memo from the government so we have not changed our policies," said Abdullah Isamil, a supervisor at Safari Hotel, Dammam.

Some hotels are still waiting for official word to make the change in their check-in procedures.
"We heard about the decision of allowing women to check-in to hotels without a male escort, but we did not receive any memo to apply it," said Ashraf Abdul Malik, general manager of Al-Salam Palace, Dammam.

"We are still preventing women from checking in alone." A representative from Al-Attas Hotel said that most of the women come with their husband or brother. If they are from Jeddah, then the hotel authorities verify their back-story by calling a person related to her.

"We still have our own hotel policies to ensure the safety and security of our guests and to make sure both the hotel and the guests do not encounter problems," he said.

English key to PR Success

Friday, 01 February 2008
By Diana Al Jassem and

Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

JEDDAH - English is a prerequisite for success in public relations operations in Saudi Arabia, according to participants in a two-day PR Forum here last week. Such is the need for the lingua franca of global communications that local PR companies spend hugely to train their staff accordingly.

"Our company pays each employee SR22,000 for special training courses in the New Horizon institution," said Salah Al-Rimi, media relations manager in Al-Taalok International Company for Public Relations and Media.

For young Saudis looking for jobs, PR is a bright option because the starting salary is good - five figures even - if one is fluent in English and has the right personality.

But, said Saud Saleh Al-Mesibieh, a writer, media researcher and PR expert, "It does not depend on the personality only. PR has many requirements and the language is the main one, especially in these days of globalization where new communication methods shorten the distance between continents."

Hanan Mufti, a PR executive for Saudi Aramco on the Western Province, said his grasp of English is a plus.

"I'm considered successful in the PR field," said Mufti. I graduated in English from Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, so I already had the perfect language to help me enough in my career."

At Mobily, PR manager Abdullah Al Kharboushi, said learning English is one of the main requirements, for which they have special training courses.

In addition to English, one needs a certain skills set to excel in PR.

"Many companies lack the professional PR employee so they just have one employee who is professional in English," said Zahra Al-Khaldi, a marketing executive in Intellect Media Company.

PR jobseekers in Saudi Arabia generally range from high school graduates to others with higher qualifications and specializations, but seldom in PR itself.

"Preparing the PR employee differs from company to company," Al-Khaldi said. "For example, our company focuses on teaching the PR employee how to treat consumers and meet with journalists - in fact we do not have special English training courses."

More than 400 PR experts and top executives from government and business attended last week's forum that concluded with the following main recommendations:

Encourage PR companies and other businesses to commission research so as to assess the value of PR campaigns, and weigh costs against the results of such campaigns.

Urge universities to embark on Mass Media training for PR staff in cooperation with the private sector.

Urge PR executives in government to provide full scale services.

In the next forum, focus on new media platforms and electronic communities so as provide educational opportunities aimed at making good use of these platforms for PR activities.

Urge speakers and panelists next year to present locally produced success stories and examples that better serve the delegates.