Nima Abu Wardeh to anchor OER Debate

OER Debate and Top 20 Awards to be held on October 25,
will see more than 200 business leaders debating
about the way ahead for Oman’s economy
 

Nima Abu Wardeh, the presenter of BBC’s Middle East Business Report (MEBR), will be anchoring the much-awaited OER Debate and Top 20 Awards to be held on October 25 at the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

The topic for OER Debate is “The Way Ahead – Road to Vision 2020”. Around 200 CEOs, entrepreneurs and decision makers from Oman’s corporate sector will be attending the event.

This year’s OER Debate will consist of four questions:

Are we out of the woods?
Is this the new normal?
Are the government and the private sector working at cross purposes?
Is enough being done to achieve Vision 2020?

The 2010 OER Debate and Top 20 Awards, which is into its second edition, follows the successful maiden debate held in May 2009. The first edition, which discussed the state of Oman’s economy in the midst of the global financial crisis, was well received by the audience as the participants in the debate, which included HE Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, inspired confidence that the Sultanate’s financial fundamentals are on the right track.

Wardeh, the moderator for the 2010 OER Debate and Top 20 Awards, is a bilingual English Arabic broadcast journalist specialising in Arab issues and presents the BBC World’s weekly business and finance programme, the MEBR and was part of the team that set up the programme. She has reported, produced and presented programmes for Al Jazeera and Dubai’s Business Channel as well as BBC World.Before joining MEBR, Nima was a regular guest on BBC Radio 4’s Four Corners addressing Arab issues, and a guest on BBC World’s Dateline London as a regional expert.

Wardeh is regarded as an opinion leader and in this capacity is approached by think-tanks, the corporate world and government organisations for her insight. She is also invited to give talks as well as to participate in off-the-record discussions about the region. Wardeh provides consultancy and media training to government institutions and the private sector. She has written opinion pieces for Forbes Arabia and has taught media courses at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates as a visiting lecturer.

Wardeh regularly chairs, and is a speaker at, regional and global gatherings, notably the World Economic Forum and the Arab Business Council meetings, as well as other events and awards evenings.

She is keen to encourage talent and the region’s youth and has helped create competitions that serve this purpose, such as the Scintilla Monaco poetry competition. She has also judged numerous awards, competitions including Dubai’s mini film festival, and been an on-screen judge for Discovery’s Reel Race.

As a Young Arab Leader, she has received awards for excellence from regional businesses and communities. Wardeh won the first Oxford Alumni debate held in this region in June 2009.

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