Dubai, UAE -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/30/2011 -- Leading education experts, stakeholders and VIP’s from around the world are attending this year’s edition of Building Future Education MENA including HE Mohammed Ahmed Al-Bowardi, Secretary General to the Executive Council; HE Dr. Ahmed Gamal El-din Moussa, the Minister of Education in Egypt; HE Dr. Mugheer Al Khaili, Director General, ADEC; Dr. Ahmed Tobal, Associate to Minister of Education for ICT; in addition to many senior international, Middle East and GCC delegates.

In partnership with Abu Dhabi Education Council, Building Future Education MENA will host more than 80 companies and 4,000 visitors, providing a unique platform for education providers to highlight their products and services to key decision makers from institutions, ministries of education council operators, architects and investors.

Regional and international speakers from leading organisations including University College London (UCL) Wellington College, Harrow International, Abu Dhabi University, Phillips Academy Andover, SABIS and The World Bank will be speaking at high-powered conference and leading panel discussions to address challenges and opportunities confronting the education sector in the region.

Currently, the Middle East region comprises over 92500 public educational institutions and 50 million students with education budget amounted to 55 billion dollars.

Yet experts believe that the Middle East is a region ripe for even further growth and massive investments in education – to accommodate a growing school population expected to increase to 2.5 million in 2020.1

With schools under pressure to provide Arab youth new job skills and better learning for better employment opportunities, developing education curriculum and programmes as well as workforce systems will be critical in addressing record youth unemployment rates across the MENA region, where one out of four young people in the age range of 15-24 who are able and in search of employment faces the disappointment of not being able to find a job.2

HE Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General, Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) believes joint collaborations are critical to achieving improvement of educational standards and service delivery. “We have supported BFE MENA for three years now and are delighted the event continues to be an important platform where various stakeholders can discuss and address issues related to school environment, curriculum and school improvement, quality assurance, special education requirements and sustainable educational facilities.”

Andrew Pert, Regional Director of UBM Middle East, organisers of the region’s premier education exhibition, welcomed ADEC’s continuing support. “Through BFE MENA, we have from the onset committed to working with regional stakeholders in developing the whole school environment to world-class standards – from the physical infrastructure to curriculum development and programme enhancement. In addition, with the help of our knowledge partners, we have provided a wealth of information resources that investors and government authorities can use to make informed decisions to develop the education sector throughout the region.”

As well as an interactive exhibition floor, this year’s Building Future Education MENA will include a public awareness programme, high-level roundtable forums, and “Design my Learning Space Live!” competition.

The main conference will bring together those at the forefront of education from ministries, institutions, operators, architects and investors. The conference features in-depth panel discussions, based around specific research studies from Building Future Education MENA’s Knowledge Partners Booz & Company, Parthenon and RAND Corporation, assessing the education market in the GCC and areas of potential investment.

The conference will also cover key topics such as world-class facilities and learning environments, curriculum and school improvement, quality assurance, special education needs and sustainable education facilities.

Building Future Education MENA will also have strong representation from the MENA region’s education ministries and councils including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Jordon and Lebanon.