A project has been launched to help Saudi Arabia’s next generation of tech innovators take lead roles within the industry.
Riyadh is hosting Gamers8 — the world's largest esports event — with players from around the world travelling to the Saudi capital.
The eight-week event, which began in last month, is being held by the Saudi Esports Federation at a venue in the entertainment district Boulevard Riyadh. The competition has a prize fund of up to $15 million.
Now Ithra has teamed up with the event through its Creative Solutions programme to launch a platform for the kingdom’s next tech pioneers.
Ithra, also known as the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, was launched by Saudi Aramco as a vehicle for cultural and creative talent development and cross-cultural experiences.
Ithra’s Creative Solutions programme is one of the kingdom’s leading content creation platforms within immersive technology.
Sixty creatives have been chosen from about 2,000 applicants in the first phase of the project, with phase two allowing 15 innovators to present their ideas at Gamers8 on August 21.
Those chosen will then pitch their ideas directly to partners, stakeholders and sellers.
According to market researcher Niko Partners, the value of Saudi Arabia's gaming market reached $1 billion in 2021, the highest in the region.
"The gaming and esports economy is huge in the country and KSA is one of the top five consumer markets in the world,” said Filipe Martins Gomes, Saudi Aramco's head of innovation programmes.
“Ithra’s mission is to promote cross-cultural experiences and accelerate the development of talent and Saudi Arabia’s creative economy. Ithra aims to inspire minds and take talents into transformative journeys, supporting creatives to become makers and adding value to the future of the kingdom.”
Mr Gomes said the mission was aligned with the kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes the diversification of the economy, inspiring people and supporting Saudi Arabia's position globally.
The participation of young Saudis in the 2022 Creative Solutions "has been amazing", he said.
The 34 participants are working on 15 ideas after finishing 14 masterclasses. They are now preparing their pitching presentations, aiming to be selected as one of the five finalists of the programme, receiving the grants and mentorship support to develop their ideas into working prototypes by January 2022.
A diverse group comprises 53 per cent male and 47 per cent female participants, from across the kingdom.
Ideas are focused on art, education, games, tourism, health care, film, museums, energy and the environment.
All applicants had to go through 12 masterclass sessions including 3D production, virtual reality headsets, narrative storytelling and augmented reality, among others. Saudi innovation takes centre stage in the UK.
Ithra recently showcased five prototypes created by young Saudi innovators in the UK as part of its inaugural Creative Solutions initiative on July 14.
The programme aims to boost Saudi’s creative economy by empowering digital content creation in immersive technology. It was launched in 2021 as a platform and incubator for innovators to pursue ideas and create prototypes.
Once the ideas are selected, applicants move on to attending masterclasses in immersive technology, storytelling and design research methods among others.
Participants then pitch their ideas and five winners are chosen for the next step, and move on to international boot camp classes to engage with an immersive digital content ecosystem.
"Our project is a VR storytelling experience that takes place in the 1900s aboard the Hijaz Railway, where you embody different characters learning about their story and their journeys through the train," said applicant Maram Alghamdi.
"The project purpose is to recreate the experience of travelling on the Hijaz railway in this unique time period in the history of the Hejaz region.
“What inspired us is our belief that this monument deserves preservation and better understanding, not just as an instrument for varied purposes, but as a train that, for a brief period, carried people and their stories.”
The innovators are given 12 to 14 weeks to work on the development of their ideas with the support of the Creative Solutions team.
They are given 75,000 Saudi riyals ($19,970) to spend on the project development.
At the end of the project, participants showcase their prototypes and engage in a network event which helps them meet potential investors, partners and other participants.
During Gamers8, Ithra will showcase the five winning projects in the Creative Solutions programme in Riyadh.
The five winners from last year will continue to work on their prototypes, engage with partners, building on the next stages of their careers, as well as serve as creative solutions mentors.
"I truly believe that immersive experiences will be used by all of us in the future," said Ithra panellist and stakeholder Simon Benson.
"After all, immersive tech is actually just providing us with a more natural way to interact with our digital world, something that we do every day, but via interfaces that are not necessarily the most efficient ways such as by using a keyboard and mouse, or our tiny smartphone screens.
“The skills and capabilities that we are investing in this area can form the backbone of the capabilities required for this future.”
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Following fashion
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Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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