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Opening Night Speakers and PanelistsHer Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of Jordan
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan is an international voice of cross cultural dialogue, an outspoken philanthropic advocate, and a promoter of advancing health and educational opportunities in Jordan and across the globe. Since her marriage to His Majesty King Abdullah ibn Al Hussein (then Prince), in 1993, Queen Rania has channeled her energies behind initiatives that aim to improve the livelihood of various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond. Queen Rania has played a significant role in reaching out to the global community to foster values of tolerance and acceptance, and increase cross-cultural dialogue. Regionally and internationally, Queen Rania has campaigned for a greater understanding between cultures in such high profile forums as the Jeddah Economic Forum, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Skoll Foundation in the UK. Born Rania Al Yassin, to a notable Jordanian family of Palestinian origin, in Kuwait on August 31, 1970, Queen Rania completed her primary and secondary education there. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo, in 1991, Queen Rania returned to Jordan to pursue a career in banking, followed by a brief career in the field of Information Technology. King Abdullah and Queen Rania met at a dinner party in 1993, hosted by a mutual friend. They have four children: HRH Prince Hussein, born June 28, 1994; HRH Princess Iman, born September 27, 1996; HRH Princess Salma, born September 26, 2000, and HRH Prince Hashem, born January 30, 2005. She is fluent in Arabic and English, and has a working knowledge of French. For more information please visit www.queenrania.jo Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University NASA’s Apollo program Supervisor of Lunar Science Planning (1967 to 1972)
Pioneering work in the applications of space images to ground-water exploration in arid lands which resulted in the discovery of ground-water resources in Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dr. Khalid Al-Dhahir, CEO, Microsoft Saudi Arabia Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Member of Parliament (Egypt) and Professor of Geology at the American University in Cairo
Dr. Zeinab S. Safar, Mechanical Engineering Department, Cairo University Prof. Zeinab Safar is the Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cairo University Egypt. She is a Member of the Consultative Council (Shoura Council) of Egypt and a Technical Advisor to the National Council for Women. She is a member of the National Committee of Women in Science and Technology, and a member of the Ethics Committee of Scientific Research. Karin Eisele, Institute of International Education, USA Karin Eisele is Executive Director of the Institute of International Education (IIE) West Coast Center in San Francisco, California where she provides leadership for international programs designed for corporations, government agencies and foundations, including the prestigious Fulbright Program, the Women In Technology/Middle East and North Africa, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Eisele has been involved in international education since joining the American Field Service (AFS) International Programs after graduation from Smith College. Dr. Hoda Baraka, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Egypt Dr. Hoda Baraka is the First Deputy to the Minister of Communications and Technology (Egypt). Dr. Baraka has twenty five years of experience as a consultant in information technology in both public and private sectors. Dr. Baraka is the Project Director of the Egypt ICT Trust Fund, a mechanism created between the Ministry of Communications and IT and the UNDP to promote the use of ICT in development. She has now supervised five successful projects under the trust fund, namely the Smart Schools, ICT for Illiteracy Eradication, Mobile ICT Unit, Community Knowledge Generation e-Library, and Community Development Portal. Barig Siraj, Director of Information Technology, General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia Barig Siraj is a strategist and consultant who has worked in both the government and the private sector. In addition to his current position, he has served as IT Consultant for the Communication and Information Technology Commission (Saudi Arabia), Chief Technology Officer for Arabia Online Ltd, Information Systems Specialist for Saudi Airlines. He obtained his Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara, USA. He is a current member and deputy chair of the special needs friends committee at the Jeddah Community Center in Al Safa. Presentation, Panel and Workshop SpeakersDr. Nadine Adra, Effat College, KSA Dr. Sharifah Meriam Syed Akil, Custommedia, Malaysia
Dr. Arwa Yousef Al-Aama, King AbdulAziz University, KSA Dr. Mosleh Al-Adaileh, Hashemite University, Jordan Khalid Al-Bilady, Netways, KSA Dr. Sadiga Al-Ghalib, Effat College, KSA Hadeel Al-Hodaif, KSA Areej Alhothali, Deanship of Distance Learning, King AbdulAziz University, KSA Baba Ali, Ummah Films, USA Lama A. Al-Khuzayem, Deanship of Distance Learning, King AbdulAziz University, KSA Dr. Hend S. Al-Khalifa, King Saud University, KSA Arwa Al Linjawi, Deanship of Distance Learning, King AbdulAziz University, KSA
Adel Al-Massarani, Microsoft Saudi Arabia, KSA
Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Teshkeel Media Group, Kuwait Ahmed Al-Omran, Saudijeans.org, KSA Erin Antonius, Inspiration Software, USA Moatasem Ayyash, Microsoft Saudi Arabia, KSA Muzammil Baig, Al-Khawarzmi Institute of Computer Science, Pakistan Dr. Amar Balla, National Institute of Computer Science, Algeria
Hasnain Zafar Baloch, King AbdulAziz University, KSA
Dr. Hoda Baraka, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Egypt
Dr. Ammar Benabdelkader, Al-Ghurair University, Dubai Dr. Ghazi Faisal Binzagr Elisabeth Bosley, Effat College, KSA Dr. Vinod Chachra, Visionary Technology in Library Solutions (VTLS), USA Halim Choueiry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar Yusuf Chowdhury, Ummah Films, USA Michael Chy, Elluminate, Canada Murat Cinar, Norfolk State University, USA Will Crossley, Wilmer Hale Law Office, USA Mohamad Khaldoun Dia, Dar Al-Fikr Schools, KSA Rafael Lami Dozo, Question Mark, USA Dr. Hadia M. El Hennawy, Ain Shams University, Egypt Hesham M. El-Sawi, CairoIT Solutions, Egypt Dr. Amani Gandour, Effat College, KSA Norman Harris, DynEd International, USA Hassan Hassan, Arab Open University, KSA Martin Heyman, Evolved IT Services, UK Dr. Noureddin Ibrahim, Effat College, KSA Hadeel Ismail, Deanship of Distance Learning, King AbdulAziz University, KSA Bob Kalyan, Info Technology Supply Ltd, UK Amer Kashoggi, Amkest Group, KSA Muqeem Khan, Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar Nicholas Klotz, Blackboard, The Netherlands Dr. Emet LaBoone, Effat College, KSA Mohamed A. Milyani, Arab Computers, KSA Nighat Mir, Effat College, KSA Hugh Osborn, Beehive Media Inc., USA Shameema Parveen, Edutech, Dubai Raghavendra, Edutech, Dubai
Patricia J. Rutan, Advancement Technologies Inc, USA Akila Sarirete, Effat College, KSA George Scott, Ernst & Young, USA Bassma M. Shuaib, Deanship of Distance Learning, King AbdulAziz University, KSA Mohamed H. Tawfiq, Creative Engineering, KSA Dr. Aghareed Mahmoud Tayeb, Minia University, Egypt |
