Google, Inc will be hosting its second g|saudi arabia 2.0 event in this city on March 24-25, the tech giant has announced. The event takes place in collaboration with technology incubator program Badir (“initiate”) and with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the national research institute of Saudi Arabia, as part of an ongoing effort to support technology innovation in the Kingdom Students, developers, business leaders, IT professionals and entrepreneurs are invited to register for free to this two-day event through the website http://sites.google.com/site/gsaudiarabia20. Participants will have the opportunity to attend technical and business-focused presentations, discuss technical challenges, and interact with Google specialists in various fields. Registration will close on Feb. 24. Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, Emerging Arabia Regional Manager at Google, said: “The Arab region, particularly the Kingdom, is home to an active, aspiring and dynamic community of developers, and Google believes it can play a significant role in leveraging this talent and that's why we came back here. Fostering and growing these skills will most certainly lead to more innovation, which can positively influence the region's ongoing social and economic development.” Google is joined by Badir Technology Incubator to bring this event to Jeddah. This event is the start of collaboration between Google and Badir, with common goals of promoting technology, entrepreneurship and innovation in the Kingdom, as well as across the Middle East and North Africa region. At g|saudi arabia 2.0 and beyond, Google and Badir will focus on supporting, promoting and mentoring technology innovation. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hargan, Executive Director of Badir, KACST said: “Our support to this important technology event by Google is a testament to KACST's commitment to supporting IT entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and fostering talent and creativity. In line with our country's vision, KACST plays a pioneering role in creating a new generation of Saudi entrepreneurs and providing them with the support and tools they need to start their own ventures.” Al-Hargan added, “g|saudi is a great opportunity for programmers, developers, webmasters, university students, IT and business professionals to develop their skills and nourish their knowledge of the latest innovations in the field of technology and to benefit from the experience of Google, the world's leader of innovation.” With more than 50 Googlers joining from offices across the globe, the agenda will cover the latest global and regional innovation in technology and business. Day 1 will focus on Google's developer and developer-related products including: App Engine, Google Web Toolkit, Chrome/HTML5, APIs and Mobile Development. On Day 2, sessions are geared toward marketers, webmasters, students and entrepreneurs, with sessions on Google's Advertising, Publishing and Productivity products and tools. The day will conclude with a unique YouTube session with special guests. g|saudi arabia 2.0 is the first g|day of 2012, kicking off a series of similar events across The Middle East & North Africa this year. The events are designed to provide an informal environment in which local participants can engage in open dialogue with technology and product experts as they experience Google technologies.
