Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012

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Last night I went to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012 to listen to an author (David Nichols) whose book “One Day’ I’m reading after my NJD and Eric persuaded me that it was totally up my street – and they were right as I am currently enjoying this book as my bedtime reading. 

I bumped into people I know at the festival who enthused about the breathtaking display of readings, poetry, song and dance at the spectacular theatre that  is part of Cultural & Scientific Association at Al Mamzar.  This is where I saw the Japanese Drum show last week and it was wow.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012 is held in Dubai between 6-10 March 2012 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and is held in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage.

I am going to some of the sessions later today. As my first project in the UAE in 2000 (DSF 2000) was for Saeed Al Nabouda, who is now the Acting Director General of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, I look forward to catching up with him hopefully at the festival – always good to stay in contact with ex clients.

I am all set for the literary sessions today as well which look awesome. I wish local author Dedra Stevenson was part of the line-up too as my daughter loves her work too. Can’t wait to hear Rashad Bukhash speak on the architectural Heritage of Dubai. I love his groups talks on design and traditional architecture so it would be delightful to hear both Rashad and Peter Jackson share their knowledge in one session.

Caption stories – the best kind

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Being a writer for my leisure groups and being in-house PR has allowed me to focus on one brand and determine with other journalists what hooks work best for them. For our press story today, although a bit long for my liking, I feel good that we spent a decent amount of time in selecting various images for various groups of media the press release was going to.

One thing we can agree on both sides of the fence (media/PR) is that a good dynamic photo can mean great publicity for your business!. As media, images are hooks that get us excited and as PR, images speak volumes eliminating the need for long draining press releases. If you’ve got the opportunity to create or capture a unique, dynamic photo that relates to your business, then half your battle is won when selling your story to the media.

For someone who has been on both media and PR sides over the last 10 years, I can vouch for this. I remember the best image brief for me in the recent years came from The Corvette UAE Club. The images were collated by the dynamic Osama and I remember us receiving images from one of our Road safety drives to the Yas Island Hotel with police escorts….Corvettes are super sexy anyway but the great photography done by one of our group members totally blew our mind.

In a nutshell, pay extra attention to photos you can create and arrange for your business and write a story to contextualise it. Corporate communications teams these days spend so much money trying to get the next hip venue for their events and press conferences that they forget to get a good photographer because their budgets are blown out of context…..pr agencies in many cases don’t dare say no and prioritise the budgets for photography. One thing is for sure, no matter how great a news story is – it will always appear naked without a powerful image to go with it.

Diva hangs out with the Dubai International Boat Show team at DIMC

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With His Highness SHeikh Marwan on board his yacht in Um Al Quwain during a Millionaire Group soiree

It is one of Dubai’s busiest weeks. All my friends are super busy….earlier today I caught up with an excited Barbara who is from the main organising team of the Dubai International Boat Show. We became friends early last year while I was shopping with NJD for a yachting weekend with friends and we clicked right away. She is awesome and we had a ball at the Motorshow together. The boat show publicity is done by Wallis Marketing (Mike Wallis and I go back years when we first went to Sharm al Sheikh together with a group for diving and dining – he of course played golf as well but I’ve never delved into this one sport – shame). Mike has an awesome team and together with them and Barbara’s dynamic team at DWTC, I reckon the public is in for a cool show this year.

Few of the cars I have driven already will also be on show :). Naturally my friends from Rolls Royce, Bentley and Mercedes Benz will be there in full force. The Supercar Promenade will show the finest models on four wheels with world class marques that will align perfectly with the prestige of the high-end boating brands.  Visitors will be able to get behind the wheel of some of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars – among them Bentley Continental Series 51, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé :). My daughter had an awesome time at last years show playing on the yachts and she showed her VIP tag to anyone who sat up and noticed. Little diva is having a fabulous time skiing in Switzerland and I have not had a single phone call :(.

This year’s 20th edition of the Dubai International Boat Show will celebrate the rich history and incredible growth of the regional maritime industry, bringing together the ‘who’s who’ in the vast sector from across five continents. In addition to an impressive number of global and regional firsts, the world’s leading marine leisure industry players will unveil their launches to tens of thousands of boating enthusiasts, confirming the event’s growing international reach and continued ability to attract top quality buyers in record numbers two decades after its inaugural staging. Members of our Millionaire Group are waiting in anticipation and keep asking me about what’s in store.

I remember hanging out 8 years ago with the Victory team at DMC when the show still revolved a lot around sports and I was doing profile stories on the main players for our Group. I’m glad they are still members of our group and still as dynamic as ever. Before that, 20 years ago, the Dubai International Boat Show was originally launched as the ‘Watersports & Powerboat Show’ as a fully indoor event held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.  Its current home at the Dubai International Marine Club, Mina Seyahi has accelerated its transformation into one of the most influential brands in the world and witnesses incredible growth of 43 times in size and 14 times the number of exhibiting companies since its inception.

Boat Show - image courtesy DIBS

According to a story Mike’s team sent our Millionaire Group today, with an astounding 33 premiers, including world and regional launches, and 750 companies plus 430 boats on display, the strength of this year’s 20th anniversary event programming clearly reaffirms its position as one of the top five international boat shows and the Middle East’s number one destination for leisure marine trade.  46 countries including Austria, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Hongkong, Madagascar, Poland, Philippines, Seychelles and Tunisia will be there.

The show will feature 186 new exhibitors and some of the world’s most renowned brands this year, including Abeking & Rasmussen, Al Futtaim Marine, Blohm + Voss Shipyards GmbH, Bombardier Business Aircraft, CSO Yachts, Dutch Thruster Group, Fehrmann Metallverarbeitung GmbH, Fraser Yachts, Green Marine, Kaiserwerft GmbH, Koot Yachts, Limassol Marina, Mave, Milano Teleport S.p.A., Oldenburger Yacht Interior GmbH & Co., Otto Pienning GmbH, RE-Boat Srl, Sunreef Yachts, Yamal Boats and many more. Plus 11 members of the world’s most prestigious super yachts builders association (SYBAss), to include Abeking & Rasmussen, AMELS, Benetti, CRN, Feadship, Fincantieri, Heesen Yachts, Lurssen, Oceanco, San Lorenzo, and Trinity Yachts, will show their latest yacht models and designs in a dedicated SYBAss Pavillion.

Several of the Dubai International Boat Show stalwarts including leading shipyard Westport have increased their space while North Africa’s latest shipyard, Koot yachts, are among the many first time exhibitors alongside Al Rubban, AM Shipyard and Dutch Thruster Group, who also make their debut appearance. Key exhibitors including Al Shaali, ART Marine, Aquaspeed, Azimut, Cummins, Emirates Boats, Gulf Craft (my favourite), Heinen & Hopman, Princess Yachts and Sunseeker will be very popular I’m sure.

Enjoy the show….Island girl is back on the clear blue waters of the Arabian Sea…even if it is on a yacht in April with my pals in Umm Al Quwain – its too cold for me still to jump into the sea so my after work swimming sessions are on hold. Next up is my take on the soiree with the 100 Top Arab Women’s networking at Emirates Towers plus the Emirates Festival of Literature – it sure is a busy March!

11th Women’s Exhibition at Dubai Ladies Club

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After my JetPad introduction, I ventured to the Dubai Ladies Club for Tim Hortons & doughnuts with none other than Dubai’s Thoraya Al Awadhi. There are very few women I admire or am friends with but ever since I have met Thoraya, early last year, it has been a delight to catch up with her at her office (Squisito) for coffee or outside. Dubai may be full of beautiful women but its not often I come across women who are beautiful, intelligent, down to earth, grounded, successful while being family oriented as Thoraya which is why no matter how tired I am end of day, I never say no to meeting with her.

Yesterday I caught up with her at the 11th exhibition that she has organised for women and I absolutely loved the abayas, the jewellery and walked out with some herbal supplements. The exhibition is for women to showcase their creativity, talent and provide as well as receive guidance in business. Thoraya targets women, especially those above 40, whose children are grown up and who may have a lot of time on their hands, to recognise their talent and to help them realise this will make them become financially secure. The idea is to encourage them to utilise their skills and help those in need with the money they earn.

I remember how I was late getting to the Thoraya Alawadhi Group of Companies the first time as I had decided to try out the Rolls Royce Phantom of a friend and the petrol was on ‘E’ – we had underestimated how far it will take us. We reached her 20 minutes late and she was most gracious and forgiving about the fact that we drove 30miles an hour to get to her. Our coffee date had started on a humorous note – our mutual friend felt we both were very similar in many ways and should meet and its great we did.

I’m so glad for that introduction because Thoraya has become my role model and since meeting her, I have become more focussed on myself, my child and the time I spend with her just like Thoraya did over the years and her daughter (Najla Al Awadhi) is a well known intellectual personality in the UAE. Thoraya herself graduated from the University of Southern California as a historian. Imagine my delight when I heard that as the company I work for has a global travelling exhibition that looks back in history on the achievements and inventions of Muslim scholars during the golden age of Islam.

It’s always great to be able to talk about all kinds of subjects with Thoraya. Most of her current events are in aid of the Al Noor which is a school for special needs children. Thoraya organizes special events and exhibitions to raise awareness for children with special needs. I have been to her events and as a woman, I really appreciated the things on offer and meeting interesting people from all walks of life.

Our last chat was a discussion on the fact that civilisations should always be built on people and not on buildings. She loves the fact that the UAE Government spends as much on developing the skills and talents of the local people as on the beautiful architecture that visitors to the country are in awe of. She also encourages the growth of the younger generation having seen how successful her own children are.

My favourite project of Thoraya’s is one that she and her partner Miss Leen Vandle designed together – They designed and built a houseboat that is ideal to be attached to beach hotels. She has a model of this currently in Dubai. It is unique and beautiful and future concepts of the boat will also include the facility of being able to travel. The houseboat is a dream home for people who like to live on water (As an Islander and a Pisces, I can totally relate). The interiors are better than any five star hotel you can visit.

Thoraya looks years younger than her age. Her secret is being happy and able to realize her dreams. Doing yoga also helps her with balancing her thoughts and keep her energy levels up. Especially as she gets up early to get her youngest daughter, Yasmeen up for school so her days starts at the same time – this is one thing I am so bad at. I definitely am not a morning person so I admire people who can start the day early with so much vigour. If you have time, do go and see Thoraya’s amazing exhibition tailored for women at the Dubai Ladies Club….its on until the evening of the 8th of March. Enjoy

JetPad – Island girl to immerse into the blue waters on a cool new toy

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This was the awesome action today at Jumeirah Beach Resort 🙂

Today I went to check out some alternatives to watersports – since my diving instructor screwed me on special offers for PADI lessons, this island girl decided there are other ways to have fun on water and the next best thing launching into the UAE next week at the Boat Show will be a new fun toy for big people like me called a JetPad.

So I had a short chat with the Chairman of JetPad, Alexander who insisted I see a demo of the said JetPad as we sat by the sea at Jumeirah Beach Hotel – I saw it, loved it but I was wearing a nice dress with my sexy Pisces sandals with strings so I could only watch this cool baby on water but have not tried it yet.

It was interesting that this is a UAE product and its all set to splash local waters – its an eco-friendly, fun thing and it is a safe personal watercraft. It is noise-free, Zero Emissions + safety-compliant. Its more like a personal watercraft (PWC) that I’m sure will address a gap in the pleasure craft market.

Historically, PWCs have received a negative response from beachgoers, environmentalists and regulators for their noise, emissions, frequent gasoline leaks and questionable safety issues – I have almost been hit by a few before. One of my Local Emirati friends has one for the kids and its a lot more bulkier than what I saw today. And with an 800km coastline in the UAE and a ban on traditional PWCs in place, the need for an alternative is pressing.

JetPad meets this market demand with a game-changing design incorporating cutting-edge safety features, and featuring innovative lithium ion battery-powered technology that results in zero emissions. Very guilt free I must add and its flip-proof. Knowing how accident prone I can be, this is a definite plus!

Weighing just 70kg, the versatile PWC is easily transported or carried on a boat and capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 km per hour. It has a runtime of 60 minutes, charges in just 30 minutes, and requires minimal maintenance.

Other key features include a controlled speed limiter, and a navigation and on-board entertainment system. Initially launching with the ‘Go-Kart’ edition, JetPad also plans to introduce the ‘Explorer’, which will appeal to budding marine biologists and oceanographers with its steering-wheel controlled fish-eye camera.

Alexander tells me that JetPads will be manufactured in the UAE using top quality ConformitéEuropéenne (CE)-approved components on an ISO-certified assembly line. The first units are set to go on sale in May 2012 locally and internationally…this Pisces water baby is thrilled!

Taiko Legend – Heart beat from Japan

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Japanese drummers in action - absolutely loved the show

This week, the Japan Foundation and the diplomatic team for the Japan Embassy and Consulate celebrated the 40th anniversary of UAE-Japan Diplomatic relations under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE. The main attraction was none other than Eitetsu Hayashi, Japan’s premier Taiko drummer and guest player Makoto Takei on a Japanese bamboo flute (Shakuhachi)

Playing a big part in this of course were our good friends from the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (It was a delight to catch up with Bilal and Yasser after a long break).

After much struggle looking for signs to the Mamzar theatre, diva breathed a sigh of relief in discovering that the said theatre where the performance was going to happen was part of the Dubai Culture and Scientific Association building (I can be so ‘duh’ sometimes).

But it was worth the drive for the captivating performance titled The Taiko Legend – Heart Beat from Japan. Hayashi led the Taiko Group to perform ‘The Taiko Legend’. An acclaimed musician, Hayashi is ranked as one of the world’s leading taiko players and a foremost cultural and artistic asset of Japan. His performances range from tranquil to inspirational offering an unparalleled experience for the audience.

People who have lived in Asia may have come across Kabuki before. Until the first part of the 20th century, people in Japan used to play Taiko early morning on the performance days of kabuki theatre.  If you have not seen this before, put in on your bucket list for traditional entertainment.

I was suitably impressed by ‘Mitsumai’ (Three Dances) composed by Eitetsu Hayashi. A motif, reminiscent of matsuri bayashi (Japanese folk-festive music) is the basic phrase of this piece. The piece also featured the characteristics of Shimedaiko (this has a high pitched tone compared to other drums) and had the vital structure of a Taiko ensemble piece. I was told by my Japanese friends that Shimedaiko is traditionally accompanied with other instruments such as the vertical flute and mini tampani to make festive tunes for Japanese street festivals.

Out of the 6 main pieces, the one above was my favourite although the solo performance on the Japanese bamboo flute (Shakuhachi) came close. Ranging from traditional, to the contemporary and experimental, this simple instrument makes audience feel the beauty of sound and depth of expression.

As the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage, its awesome to see that Dubai Culture is just as dynamic & committed to strengthening cultural exchange as before, as well as facilitating exchange of ideas by providing Emirati and local artists the opportunity to work alongside international artists. All in all, a fantastic night out in terms of diva being being a culture vulture.

International Women’s Day

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Most days when I venture into Fauchon, its usually to satisfy my sweet cravings – they have the best desserts – ones that just melt in your mouth. This time however it was for the pre-celebration of International Women’s Day (which is on March 8th) at Mall of the Emirates (MOE). MOE has launched a ten-day campaign “It’s a Women’s World this March at MOE” from March 1st -10th to honour women in the UAE and throughout the Middle East and us girls hung out at Fauchon to kick start the celebrations well head of time. Since my birthday is on the 2nd, I’ve already started celebrating March with full vigour.

Embracing the official International Women’s Day theme,“Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures,” MOE has decided to honour five diverse women in Dubai who, through their own inspiring stories and commitment to charitable work, reflect the strong, independent and admirable qualities underlying the campaign.

From 1st to 10th March, MOE offers a Style Guide featuring on-trend fashion tips for the season and retail offers has been specially created for shoppers. The Guide lists offers across a number of the mall’s stores with offers ranging from Kurt Geiger, Harvey Nichols, DVF, See by Chloe, Sephora, Pullman and Kempinski Hotels, and Armani Café, just to name a few….delightful.

The women chosen to represent the campaign for their admirable qualities, achievements, challenges overcome and their tremendous dedication to charitable works are: Ayesha Kelaif in support of the Dubai Animal Rescue Centre (DARC), treating and fostering abandoned animals in the UAE; Lama Bazzari in support of NStyle Internationals’ Give N Style, empowering women through education; Ebtisam Abdulaziz in support of START, using art to heal and educate poor children in the Middle East; Saher Shaikh in support of Adopt-a-Camp, providing supplies and assistance to laborers; and Katrina Thornely in support of Emirates Arthritis Foundation, generating awareness and providing financial assistance to arthritis patients.

Diva likes and supports people who do CSR and community work….hence the special blog for women who I admire for the said causes.

International Women’s Day is celebrated throughout the world to inspire women and to celebrate their remarkable achievements. Mall of the Emirates is certainly celebrating the diversity of women throughout Dubai with all their awesome promotions…..some serious retail therapy is in order girls!

PR World Congress comes to Dubai

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Diva just got an invite to the PR World Congress….normally I would not be so bothered about it as I have done enough courses and attended enough PR conferences to date but this particular one features speakers I know very well or admire, including the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia (Anwar Ibrahim) whose house I used to go to to break fast as an International IIU student. I used to love dinners with him and listening to him talk to us young things, telling us we were the future leaders of the Muslim world and we could do great things if we followed our heart. He was very hands on as our patron and took great care of us during the month of Ramadan when we were away from family so dinners at his home was always a regular for expat students.

I must say while I love my life the way it is, I don’t think I’ve done justice in doing things the way he as our University patron would have wanted me to do. I was one of the first PR graduates to work in the UAE beginning of 2000 when the industry was just blossoming here and most of my colleagues were marketing people taking on PR as an added extra. Thankfully UAE has matured tremendously since and PR is an industry in its own right and may I add one of the most successful one at this point in time. Hence my regret that I don’t do enough for this discipline that I love and keep wasting my time in areas that get me nowhere.

So all the prep talks we received from Encik Anwar Ibrahim on being the best in the disciplines we were studying for did sink in but I wish I had taken action and focussed on my talent and dreams more instead of being distracted along the way. It is fine and well to live someone else’s dream or do things they feel you are good at but essentially at some stage you need to take a call and focus on the work that you are cut out to do and excel in.

Nonetheless, I am thrilled about the congress. As a publicity chick perhaps I am a little bias, but I’m always so pleased to read that top-level industry leaders are endorsing public relations as one of the most powerful marketing tools available. Its about time people noticed and respected our work.

PR is incredibly powerful because of the highly trusted third-party endorsements of media organisations of stories that make a difference – in my opinion, you just can’t beat it. For now, I hope I get to attend some of the congress. The last time I tried attending something of significance like this, I was slumbered at my desk doing stuff I should not have been doing in any event so the episode left diva not very impressed. There is a reason why we have support staff to do the mundane stuff. This time round the world can go to pot as my 2012 resolution is to do what I love and PR is my first love above everyone and everything else!

Diva is smiling….HEAPS!!!

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Diva in the Mercedes SLK350 convertible

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday one week ahead…..partly because the love of my life NJD is going away on a ski trip to Switzerland on my birthday so my focus will mainly be on her this week…afterall this is her first trip on her own with her friends and at the age of 11, she may be confident about travelling and sliding down an icy mountain with no qualms but this mama is having mini heart attacks every hour as the trip gets closer.

So,,,,after a hectic and heavy week last week that included heaps of mental stress, PMS and warning signs to everyone around me to watch their step if they value their life, I decided to go on a sabbatical….not just any sabbatical but where I would live the life that I have become very accustomed to…in pure luxury.

Thankfully my early birthday presents came in form of experiences – Nick of Daimler reckoned diva needed a HOT car so he arranged for me to have for a few days none other than the top of the range 2 door sports car Mercedes SLK350 which I realised when I signed my life away to him was worth close to US$68,000/- (AED248,000/- roughly). But it was all good when at the touch of a bottom the roof came down and my hair went all sorts. It was an awesome convertible and since I get to drive the most expensive cars as and when I want, it really means that it must be fabulous if I start crooning about it. I don’t normally write entire blogs on cars but this baby deserves a whole piece dedicated to the fabulousness of the SLK….watch this space!

To top it off, Sarah decided that since I was meditating and moping anyway with all the problems my mind and body was going through, why don’t I breeze down to Abu Dhabi in the Merc and she would arrange for me to stay at the Suite in Shangri-la that came with a fabulous balcony, and separate living and dining area. Now most of my Malaysian friends were in Abu Dhabi this Friday so I breezed in, picked little diva up for the weekend and we spent the most amazing time at the Shangri-la suite, spa and I got to catch up with my Malaysian friends on Friday at the ‘Glorious Malaysian Galore’ festival in Mushrif Mall (Amazing stuff every evening until the 3rd of March). Lots of dancing, Malay food & Tim Hortons…what more can a woman want???

So all in all, I had an awesome time Friday night and Saturday thanks to two amazing people plus my Malaysian friends (Sakina & Sally ++) at a time I really needed to wind down. I feel a lot better in terms of being chilled and physically…well….if my PMS gets any worse and if these herbal remedies from Abu Dhabi don’t work their magic, I am seriously thinking of becoming a hermit for a week next month. (I wouldn’t be surprised if all the men in my life have noted the dates down to make sure they disappear during that period…women tend to be a bit more understanding and supply loads of chocolates, luxury holidays, sinful food and sweet & sour snacks instead).

Anyway… Having such a great time has left me smiling heaps…. I can’t wait for Sakina to return again to Dubai as she encourages me to get out of my shell, travel to new areas in UAE and generally have fun. I just hope she gets here while NJD is away cos I will be missing the little tyke heaps when she leaves on the night of my birthday and be away the next 10 days. Or I shall distract myself and write about my 2 nights of living in luxury at Qaryat Al Beri indulging in all sorts of fun stuff.

Face reading workshop with Cris Falconi

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Couple of weeks ago I decided that since I get taken for a ride more often by the transient crowd in Dubai than not, its about time I did a face reading workshop so that I get some clue to what people are like based on what I read on their face.

It was awesome to find out that the trainer was none other than Cris, a friend of my Bosnian Australian University mate so it was awesome to have that comfort zone. The workshop was certainly an eye opener and made me realise that I should follow my instincts about people more often than always giving them the benefit of the doubt and be trusting.

We spent some time reading each others faces based on the overview provided by Cris so there was a lot of hands on experience between participants and I also found out that I should wear more whites and blues to enhance my looks.

What was more interesting was finding out more about people based on their features. For instance, I was warned by a few people months ago about a chick being sneaky, self serving and they told me to watch my back as no one around seemed to get along with her. Naturally me being the chilled out islander couldn’t be bothered but various lies and episodes later, I realised they were spot on about her – Incidentally this chick has a thin upper lip and this facial feature was the one thing Cris asked us to watch out for as this people can be very sneaky and manipulative. So now diva is on her toes and watching this chick’s every move. Lesson learnt!

Cris had some interesting insights on people’s ears, face shape, focus on face section based on age etc. He also touched on colours that we should wear plus body language. That was an eye opener as well and I read people and their motives a lot better now. Everything I predicted the last 2 weeks has been true…weather its someone having an attitude because they are trying to please another dodgy party or someone trying to point out at every opportunity how difficult it is what I do so that I give up and you know they want you to give up so they can step into your shoes right away …. I certainly am becoming a lot smarter and I’m glad I took this course. Money well spent!