Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation, participated in the “Poland-EU-GCC Economic Forum” held at the Ministry of Development in Warsaw, Poland and organized by the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE), the Polish Institute for International Affairs, Lewiatan, the Centre for International Initiatives, and Invest in Poland. Dr. Koch spoke in the first panel on EU-GCC Investment Cooperation. The event brought together nearly 100 participants representing Polish companies, government and the civil society sector.
The event brought together a large number of representatives from GSC, SESRI and GLMM; Qatari officials from the Ministry of Labor, Qatar Statistics Authority, Qatar Foundation and Qatar General Secretariat for Development Planning; Officials from the ministries of labor, statistical bureaus and planning institutes of the GCC countries; representatives from international organizations; and academics from/based in Qatar, the GCC countries and elsewhere.
“The unique meeting, which brought together governmental experts and academics, helped us shed new light on the fundamental topics of labor markets and migration,” said Mr. Imco Brouwer, executive director of the GLMM Programme. “Much can be learned by sharing insights and findings and comparing among the countries of GCC and between the GCC countries and other countries with a large foreign national populations and to bring together experts and academics from different professional and disciplinary backgrounds to develop innovative ideas and policies to persisting challenges.”
Participants engaged in debate to identify key issues for the upcoming 2-5 years for the Arab Gulf States concerning labour markets and migration; assess the state of research in terms of topics, quality and usefulness for policy reform and suggesting an agenda for the upcoming 2-5 years; evaluate the availability, reliability, validity, comparability and accessibility of demographic, economic, legal, social, and administrative data (statistical and survey), documents and records and evaluate them for the upcoming 2-5 years. The GLMM’s website (http://gulfmigration.eu), a fundamental instrument for anyone interested in and concerned with the issues discussed, was officially introduced at the meeting.
Additionally, participants sought to define a strategy to reinforce the Arab Gulf labour markets and migration studies community and identify a plan to increase policy dialogues between Arab Gulf and international academics, governmental and non-governmental institutions as means to advance evidence-based labour markets and migration policies.
Topics covered during the discussion included an assessment of Qatarization and, in general, of the strategies of all GCC countries to nationalize their workforce, as well as the need for evidence-based migration policy-making. As part of the event, participants highlighted some of their research outcomes and identified challenges and potential roadmaps to address these issues.
“These discussions are beneficial not only because they help us pinpoint areas of improvement but also build constructive dialogue on ways through which we can examine possible solutions,” said Dr. Darwish Alemadi, director of SESRI and Qatar University’s associate vice president for research.
“It is our hope that these kinds of discussions pose as a starting point for further valuable debates on important labor research topics,” said Dr. Abdullah Baabood, director of the Gulf Studies Center.
The Ca’ Foscari University in Venice hosted a lecture on “Environment and Geo-Strategy: The Shape of Future Conflicts, the Roots of a new Peace” delivered by Grammenos Mastrojeni, Minister Counselor in Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prof. Matteo Legrenzi, Associate Professor of International Relations and Gulf Studies at Ca’ Foscari University served as a discussant.
26 September 2012
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Activation of the Administrative Strategy for Hajj & Umrah Business
Moderator:
Dr. Saud Mahmoud Mandowrah
Faculty member, Business Administration Division
Speakers:
Dr. Fayez Saleh Jamal
Businessman/Tawaf Pilgrims for Arab Countries.
Dr. Ahmed Saleem Maymani
Head of Human Resources Division
7 November 2012
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Democracy & Islamic Groups in Turkey : How Aladalah Party managed to win power.
Moderator:
Dr. Haitham Hassan Lingawi
Faculty member, Political Science Division
Speakers:
Dr. Ahmed Saleem Albarsan
Faculty Member, Political Science Division
Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Sager
President of Gulf Center for Research
28 November 2012
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Assessment Criteria of the Saudi Health System.
Moderator:
Dr. Hisham Mohammed Meliani
Faculty member, Health Services & Hospitals Division
Speakers:
Dr. Adnan Ahmed Albar
Faculty Member, Medicine College
Dr. Hadeer Mustafa A. Meer
Medical Director, King Abdulaziz Hospital
Dr. Raja Mohammed Alradadi
Head of Research, Ministry of Public Health
6 February 2013
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
The Role of Accounting Information and its Impact on Capital Markets.
Moderator:
Dr. Awad Salamah Alrehaily
Faculty member, Accounting Division
Speakers:
Dr. Abdullah Hussein H. Alabdulghader
Faculty member, King Fahd Petroleum & Mineral University.
Dr. Mohammed Hassan R. Alnufaiae
Chairman, Alnufaiae Investment Group
13 March 2013
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
The Future of Touristic Marketing in Saudi Arabia.
Moderator:
Dr. Tariq Mohammed Khazandar
Head of Marketing Division
Speakers:
Dr. Abdullah suliman Algehani
Deputy General Secretary, Ministry of Tourism & Artifacts
24 April 2013
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Management of Volunteer Work: Fact & Expectation.
Moderator:
Mr. Ayman Abdulghader Kamal
Faculty member, Business Administration Division
Speakers:
H. E. Dr. Abudllah Omar Nasif
President, Islamic Conference Org.
Dr. Nouh Yahya Alshehri
Faculty member, Literature & Hum. College
Dr. Aidaroos Abdullah Alsabban
Former Faculty member, Public Administration Division
This roundtable is one in a series of events organized by the new Interdepartmental School in International Relations to examine the implications of the Arab Spring. The School has grown out of the highly successful second level degree course in International Relations introduced by the Faculty of Languages (where forty languages are taught), and the vocation of Ca’ Foscari as an international university attentive to the profound developments taking place in today’s rapidly changing world.
The lecture marks the inauguration of the new Interdepartmental School in International Relations, which has grown out of the highly successful second level degree course in International Relations introduced by the Faculty of Languages (where forty languages are taught), and the vocation of Ca’ Foscari as an international university attentive to the profound developments taking place in today’s rapidly changing world. The speaker, Christopher Prentice CMG, took up his appointment as HM ambassador to Italy in January 2011. After reading Classics at the University of Oxford, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1977 and has spent much of his career on Middle East affairs, including postings in Kuwait and later as Ambassador in Amman and Baghdad. He was also recently appointed UK Special Envoy for Libya in Benghazi.
The Gulf Research Center Foundation in cooperation with the Venice Foundation supports the Chair held by Prof. Matteo Legrenzi as Associate Professor for International Relations and Gulf Studies at the Università Ca’Foscari Venezia.
