INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions Organization Establishment, a member of INDEX Holding has announced the organization of The Dubai International Character and Licensing Conference and Dubai World Game Summit during Character Dubai and Dubai World Game Expo 2009 (DWGE) that will be held from 27th to 29th October, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

Character Dubai, is the first and only dedicated trade event in the Middle East for production, marketing and licensing of cartoon characters, animation, logos, films, brands, arts and designs.

“We are pleased to announce the organizing of Dubai International Character and Licensing Conference and Dubai World Game Summit under the umbrella of Character Dubai and Dubai World Game Expo 2009 for the second year. We are confident that the coming edition of this event will be an enhancement of last year’s success. Significant industry issues will be presented and discussed by pioneers in character, licensing and games industries. In addition, we aim to achieve new investments by attracting decision makers, experts and investors concerned in these sectors to the region. ” Said Abdul Salam Al Madani, President of Index Holdings and the Arab Asian Entertainment Content and Licensing Alliance

The Dubai International Character and Licensing Conference that will be running on 27th and 28th October focus on critical issues including Culture of the Middle East, Licensing Business in the Middle East, Licensing and Merchandising Developments in Emerging Territories and Successful Merchandizing Business in UAE. List of Speakers consists of pioneers from the Character and licensing industry including Laila Suhail, CEO, Dubai Shopping Festival, H.E. Bilal Al Budoor, Executive Director for Culture and Arts Affairs , Ministry of Culture Affairs, General Secretary of Culture and Scientific Association, Abdul Salam Al Madani, President of INDEX Holding, Chairman of Arab Asian Entertainment Content & Licensing Alliance - AAECLA, Charles Riotto, President, International Licensing Industry Merchandise’s Association – LIMA, among others.

Local Cartoon Characters presence at the coming edition of Character Dubai reflects local companies’ realization to the importance of such dedicated conferences in developing the industry within the region. Najla Al Shihhe will be telling the story of Khousa Bousa while Shaun Ollier, MENA Business Development Manager, Lammtara, Principle owners of the 3D animated Arabic series “FREEJ” will give a presentation titled “From Sketch to Reality”.

Laila Suhail, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Shopping Festival Office, consultant and member of Character Dubai Committee said “Dubai International Character and Licensing Conference provides an ideal platform for Character and licensing experts and decision makers to discuss and develop different aspects of this sector. From our side we will concentrate on licensing industry in the Middle East as well as discussing major industry related issues. It is a global and huge industry with revenues of $ billions worth. Such dedicated and specialized conferences contribute in highlighting the industry investment potentials and ways of development in addition to attracting experts and decision makers in this field to exchange knowledge and experiences and bring the latest trends to the region. Events like Character Dubai helped develop the industry locally especially in view of Dubai’s reputation in launching numerous characters, most notably Modhesh.”

Dubai Character & Licensing Fair is the only dedicated licensing trade fair in the Middle East, it is a venue that brings together leading animation producers, content creators, comics, media, advertisers, graphic designers, manufacturers, retailers, licensees, licensing agents, licensors and other related industries from the regions of MENA, Indian subcontinent, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas converge for business. This year Character Dubai is expected to attract more than 10,000 trade visitors from almost 60 countries. To name a few of the exhibitors are the famous Freej and Emaritoons from UAE and Teshkeel from Kuwait.

“We are excited and pleased to be a participant at this year Dubai international Character and Licensing Fair.

This event, I believe, will once again prove itself as a great venue and opportunity to present our credentials, meet industry professionals and discuss various Brand Licensing ideas.

As part of our contribution we will also be presenting a “Licensing Market Review in 2009 and new trends” during speaker session # 2.

We are looking forward to achieving the best out of this dedicated conference." said Ghassan Ayoubi, Executive Director, Rubicon Group

On the other hand, Dubai World Game Expo is devoted to introducing a wide variety of computer games, including entertaining video games, online gaming, mobile games, edutainment & infotainment software, game related hardware, and next-generation platforms.

“Massively Multiplayer War Stories”, “How to build the future game industry”, “Today Dubai, Tomorrow the World”, “Introducing Habitual Video Gaming to the Region”, “Online Games in the Region”, “the advancements in In-Game Advertising”, “Social Networks / Virtual Worlds” among other major issues related to gaming industry will be presented during Dubai World Game Summit, presented by twofour54.

Topics will be presented and discussed by industry experts like Avni Yerli, Managing Director–Crytek, John Cash, Technical Director – Blizzard Entertainment, Sten Selander, Business development Director, Nordic Game Program, Grayson Edge - Senior Level Designer, Epic Games, Paul Holman- Vice President Research and Development, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Ahmed Jadallah - Technical Manager, Vertex Studio (UAE), Steve Tsao, CEO - Tahadi Games (UAE), Nick Bryant, Managing Director – Txt TV FZLLC – MBC Group (UAE) among others.

Wayne Borg, COO - twofour54 said: "twofour54’s sponsorship of Dubai World Game Summit reinforces our commitment to support the development of a sustainable Arab media and entertainment content creation industry. Gaming is a very important sector in the Arab world given the tremendous opportunity the region’s demographics presents. Events such as these, which bring together some of the World’s leading games developers are important as they provide impetus to the region’s aspiring games producers."

Dubai World Games Expo is the biggest and the only event dedicated to interactive games in the Middle East. DWGE 2009 will again highlight interactive platforms for all participants to enjoy the fusion of cutting-edge games, interactive entertainment, edutainment, infotainment, and business opportunities. DWGE is sponsored by Crytek, One Card and Epic Games.

Character Dubai and DWGE will be held at Halls 6 and 7 of the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre with about 210 exhibitors from over 60 countries expected to gather this year.