SAMENA Telecommunications Council announces that the first “Rising for Industry Sustainability & Efficiencies” (RISE) Conference will be held on January 11, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with strategic support of stc Group, Mobily, and China Mobile International. RISE is being supported by private-sector stakeholders, premier UN ICT development bodies and regional regulatory authorities as key participants.
Recent policy and regulatory developments in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region, particularly with respect to digital transformation, the need to enable cross-border data flows, adopting technology and regulatory sandboxes, making beneficial use of 5G investments, 5.5G/5G-Advance development, emergence of Open RAN, rising discussion on 6 GHz, cybersecurity imperatives, metaverse, the role of new verticals and sectors, and the critical requirement of ICT ecosystem sustainability are serving as catalysts to rethink investment, sustainable operations, end-user and enterprise service delivery, while accelerating progress on globally-agreed digital development expectations. Rising synergies among ICT Industry and other Industries thus merit dialogue and deliberation in new light.
Bocar BA, CEO & Board Member of SAMENA Council, inviting the ICT and non-ICT stakeholders to participate in the RISE conference, stated: “There now exists urgency to focus on sustainability as a key principle of socio-economic transformation around the world. This places the role of ICTs and those who build & operate ICT infrastructure and bring technological innovations to us in the form of new services and applications, at the forefront of revival, digital transformation and future development. In this regard, the RISE Conference aims to see issues and needs of the Private Sector from the ICT sustainability lens.”
RISE is a new leaders-centric project by SAMENA Council, focused on the need for ICT ecosystem sustainability, to assist proactive engagement and industry discourse with respect to priorities, challenges, and opportunities being addressed by regional policymakers and regulatory authorities. RISE is an important industry milestone for starting the year 2023. It will set the stage and complement the LEAP conference in KSA, the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2023 in UAE, the ITU GSR-23 in Egypt and WRC-23 in UAE, and serves as a platform to bring forth the Private-sector and Government leaders together in Riyadh on the same model as that of the annual SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit, and to highlight national initiatives from beyond the region.
RISE is open to ICT and non-ICT stakeholders, active in the Municipal, Education, Health, Financial Services, Oil & Gas, and other ICT adjacent sectors. To learn more and to request participation, please visit RISE 2023 in Riyadh – Sustainable ICT Development (samenacouncil.org) or write directly to smnrise@samenacouncil.org
