Shaibani, GAATES President (right), shaking hands with Prof. Khalid Al-Sekait, general supervisor of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Foundation's Chair for Developmental Housing. — Courtesy photo RIYADH — Dr. Khalid Al-Sekait, general supervisor of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Foundation's Chair for Developmental Housing, and Architect Mukhtar Al-Shaibani, president of the Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES), signed Tuesday a memorandum of understanding at the meeting hall of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning in King Saud University. The Chair for Developmental Housing aims to conduct pioneering research at the regional and international levels which seeks to develop the housing sector. It also provides an environment that is conducive to developing the skills of top-notch Saudi researchers and post-graduate students in this field. It encourages researchers and students to be innovative and creative when they carry out housing researches. The optimum investment of distinguished human research capabilities in the field of developmental housing is what the Chair ultimately wishes to do. GAATES, on the other hand, aims to enhance the United Nations' principles calling for developing and promulgating information to improve the lives of the physically challenged and make the construction activities environment-friendly for all members of society. The non-profit Ottawa-based organization also focuses on achieving high standards of developmental housing in a balanced way.
