Organized by Datamatix, the GCC Municipalities and Towns Development Global Competitiveness Strategy Conference commenced here Sunday at the Burj Al Arab Hotel. The 5-day conference aims to define the integral and critical role of municipalities in promoting global competitiveness in sustainable town planning and community development. The event began with a case study on intelligent cities' applications to Holy Makkah was presented by Dr. Nabeel Bin Abd Al-Qadir Koshak, Director, Center of Research Excellence in Hajj and Umrah, Saudi Arabia. His presentation was followed by Abdul-Sattar Salih Al-Mashhadani, Landscape Expert, Abu Dhabi Municipality, who spoke about the importance of urban planning in city development and its impact on tourism and economic attraction, planning for barrier-free cities, making infrastructure and public spaces such as intersections, parks, recreational facilities and other public meeting areas fully accessible to people with special needs and the development of urban rehabilitation. Dr. Rabee M. Reffat, Associate Professor, Architecture Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia, spoke about developing intelligent buildings and cities, followed by the presentation of Mr. Waheed Al Balushi, E-Services Director, Labor Market Regulatory Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain, focusing on strategies and road maps to raise the level and quality of municipalities' services, developing the municipalities' business through the innovative use of ICT and improving services efficiency and knowledge management and innovation in creating eMunicipalities. The day ended with the presentation of Naveed Tariq, Manager, Business Development, Etisalat. _ SG __
