Letter from... Oman

By Debra Amidon

"Why here; why now?" This is how the E100 Roundtable in Muscat, Oman, began for the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (www.wsie.org). There were more than 80 speakers; but, thankfully, there were no PowerPoint slides and no topic was out of bounds.

For three days, starting with a dawn session with Deepak Chopra and breakfasts on the shore of the Arabian Sea, participants voted on prepared questions, interacting from the floor and responding to insights from guest panelists.

Instead of speeches, guests were encouraged to participate in dialogue, to build upon each other’s ideas and be inspired with calls to action. In the end, delegates completed a signed commitment form documenting what they, as individuals – and their respective organisations – would do before the next summit.

The following topics were examined: infrastructure and competitiveness; knowledge and development; energy and sustainable development; geopolitics and the innovation society; growth strategies and prosperity; and disruptive innovations and value creation.

The rigour with which issues were pursued was admirable – a foundation for actionable plans, a new set of books, ‘Knowledge Economics: Principles, Practices and Policies’, was launched, and the Knowledge Innovation Zones (KIZ) declaration in English and Arabic was signed. Dr Tayeb Kamali, vice chancellor for Higher Colleges of Technology (UAE), was also honoured as the 2006 KEN Practitioner of the Year, Entovation’s annual award for outstanding contributions to KM.

Many conferences today offer ‘interaction’, but few deliver. Amid the energy created from the opening word to the closing challenge, we all were part of the stage – engaged in an arena for dialogue and decisions that could have an impact on our respective countries, companies and the sustainability of the world.

With the theme, ‘A New Generation in the Making’, there were some great highlights from members of the knowledge community, such as Dr Oliver Schwabe, who discussed his showcase certification program in Egypt. Abdullah Al-Subyani, president of the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association, served as chairman of the Roundtable.

Other contributors included Leif Edvinsson of UNIC, Bryan Davis of the Kaieteur Institute for Knowledge Management and Chris Geary of Integrated Visions Group, who with Mohammad Mujadedi and Sheikh Alawi Baharoon previewed the state-of-the-world report on Knowledge Innovation Zones, now available on the website, www.inthekzone.com.

Other major addresses came from executives from PepsiCo, Cisco, Boeing, DHL, Oracle and government officials from several countries. But the real highlight was discovering Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM), a real knowledge innovation zone in action, which is clearly the beacon for the country, the region and perhaps beyond.

At dusk, with the mountainous terrain as a backdrop, we knew that a new dawn would be forthcoming. No person left the summit without a deeper understanding of the heritage, culture and aspirations of a people who, before 9/11, were not known to many. Together, we will ‘innovate’ this world in ways that will help all our countries and companies to prosper.

Debra M. Amidon is founder and CEO of Entovation International and author of the ‘Innovation SuperHighway’. www.entovation.com