BT was a summit partner at this year’s World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Jordan, which took place from 18th-20th May.

More than 1000 delegates attended the summit which was a platform for key stakeholders to share their views on securing the future of business in the Middle East, particularly in light of high-growth industries. The focus of the summit was all around putting diversity to work, something that’s already high on BT’s agenda as demonstrated at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in January 2007.

"Any ecosystem that can raise the levels of education, health and well-being will foster the best elements of the digital ecosystem."

Matt Bross, CTO BT Group addressed the Summit audience at a session on the digital ecosystem and its implications for the future of the Middle East.

Gary Shainberg, VP of Innovation and Technology at BT attended a ‘Gadget Fest’ where he talked about how BT researchers have used Nintendo Wii style technology to develop a device for laptops that removes the need for a keyboard or a mouse. The solution is called BT Balance and works by enabling the user to manipulate menus and applications simply by moving or tilting their machine and can be plugged into any standard laptop or tablet PC.

Brian Armstrong, Regional Director of BT’s operations in the Middle East and Africa, participated in the BBC led Work space session: "A New Middle East - Is It Possible". This session was designed in coordination with the BBC to be filmed for later broadcast.

BT executives share their thoughts on the region and the summit:

• Matt Bross, CTO, BT Group
• Brian Armstrong, Regional Director, BT MEA
• Karsten Lereuth, President, Global Telecoms Markets, BTGS
• Bruce Schneier, CTO, BT Counterpane

BT will be a strategic summit partner at this year’s India Economic Summit, 2-4 December and also will be highly involved with the inaugural Annual Meeting for Global Growth Companies which takes place in Dalian, China, 6-8th September.