For the second edition of App World, an initiative created to promote local talent and innovation in Saudi Arabia, young innovators flocked to the three-day event to showcase the best of their work and talent. Inaugurated last year by Deputy Emir of Mecca region Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar, this year’s edition saw 159 young Saudi female and male innovators exhibiting over 130 projects and ideas related to various sectors including tourism, entertainment, education, health, culture, sports, and media, as reported by Saudi Gazette.
This year’s App World, which was held under the patronage of the Emir of Mecca region, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, and supported by Jeddah Entrepreneurship Committee (JEC) and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also offered panel discussions held by young developers and innovators to promote their digital ideas. During the duration of the event, Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar toured the exhibition, meeting young innovators to discuss their projects and products.
App World was designed to be in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which has been designed to guide the Kingdom towards transforming its oil-dependent economy into a knowledge-based one that embraces technology at every level. With this aim in mind, the annual App World event aims at reinforcing the Kingdom’s commitment to becoming a regional and global leader in technical innovation, developing both an environment and infrastructure that benefits the nation’s young talent.
Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing a wave of young talent – and increasingly female talent – advancing to become top in the field, not just locally but on a global scale as well. For instance, a team of female Saudi students and their 18-year-old mentor received top awards last month at the 20th Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Championship in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States.
Also last month, Sadeem Rashed Al-Marri was named winner in the Innovators Under 35 competition at the EmTech MENA emerging technology conference. Al-Marri and her team were honored for their innovation: using a 3D-printer to create a mechanical hand that can translate Arabic text entered in a mobile application into sign language.
