SAN kindly invites you to its annual general assembly on Friday, 22.1.16 from 18:00-21:00 at Maison Lahmar, Rigiplatz 1 in 8006 Zurich. Content will be a review on past highlights, an outlook of 2016, a voting procedure and last but not least a gathering and networking along with a tasty oriental three course dinner. Please join us for this event which is for free. Registration link In case you are not a member and would like to participate, please contact lina.ibnidris@swissarab.org due to limited seats.
Brasidas (corporate member), GeopoliticalAlpha and ZHAW School of Management and Law (corporate member) will hold the first of their 2016 Strategic Seminar Series with the topic Iran – spotting and vetting opportunities. It will take place on Tuesday, 26.1.16 from 8:30-13:00 in Winterthur and is free of charge. This event will provide participants with perspective, knowledge and understanding of the reality of this new opportunity. The event is supported by SAN. Registration link
SAN is proud to announce that it has doubled its member base in 2015. We warmly welcome all new members from a wider variety of industries. The corporate members are displayed on our website link
On the 27.11.15: SAN was invited by Premium Switzerland, the Swiss portal for luxury travel, education and health (website), as guest speaker for their GCC Synergy Meeting. Mounir Khouzami, President of SAN, was talking to 30 directors from luxury hotels, boarding schools and health institutions on culture and mindset of GCC clients traveling to Switzerland, opportunities, challenges and gave hints how to serve the clientele even better. Speech and discussion was highly appreciated.
On the 11.11.15: SAN and Park Hyatt Zurich (corporate member) launched a new networking concept, called ‘Swiss Arab Network Round Table’. Purpose was to network in an exclusive private atmosphere with a small group of 14 invited members and guests while being served Arab finger-food. The feedback on the pilot was very positive and encouraged SAN to continue with this format. New round tables will be scheduled in 2016. From the 01.-03.11.15: SAN and Henley & Partners Middle East (corporate member) offered free access to Henley & Partners global conference in Dubai. 15 members and friends of our network profited from VIP packages worth in total $ 30,000.
From the 03.-08.11.15: The international short film festival Winterthur (Kurzfilmtage) took place and SAN supported the festival with valuable contacts. As thank you gift we provided20 members VIP tickets for the opening of the festival. In total 17,000 persons visited the festival and SAN is proud to have contributed to this success.
On the 30.10.15: The International Arab Film Festival Zurich (IAFFZ) and SAN invited to a Syrian evening with film and reading and welcomed the renowned author Fadi Azzam, who read from his novel „Sarmada“. This novel was named by „The New Yorker“ magazine as the most important work done about the Syrian spring. As a sponsor SAN offered 10 members free tickets to this evening review link
SAN received two consulting mandates from leading Swiss companies to support in entering the Moroccan market. The first mandate is to setup a representation office in Casablanca which includes legal setup, infrastructure, HR and finance. The other mandate is a fact finding trip to identify suitable interlocutors, organize the business meetings and accompany and support in all meetings in Morocco. With our members and partners in the network these consulting mandates are currently
Sunday 26.7. – Sunday 16.8. in Rapperswil Shortly after Ramadan, the ORYX foundation will organize for its 5th anniversary an extraordinary Arabian and Iranian museum exhibition at the Kunst (Zeug) haus Rapperswil (near Zurich). It is the biggest and unprecedented Arabian group exhibition of Switzerland with 15 artists from 6 different Arab countries. It will give fantastic and unique insight into the contemporary art scene of the Middle East and Iran with a space of 1.000qm. SAN is supporting this event and we are interested in companies or individuals who would like to sponsor and contribute to this unique exhibition. If you are interested, please contact us. More information are in the annexed PDF.
SAN and the ORXY FOUNDATION will organize on Thursday, 13.8.15 at 18:30 an Art and Networking evening to gain an insight into the extraordinary contemporary art scene of the Middle East and Iran. It will take place at the Kunst(Zeug)haus Rapperswil. Please save-the-date. More details to follow.
On Wednesday, 16.9. at 18:00, SAN and MHHORHMM Future Meat Gallery will celebrate in Zurich its 2nd anniversary focusing on sustainability, innovation and food. With an exciting evening on 1001 edible insects. A topic that is gaining in Switzerland and worldwide at the moment a lot of attention. With leading associations like Essento and Grimiam we will not only discuss this topic but give you also the chance to taste edible insects and get a glimpse of our future. Please save-the-date.
Since the beginning of the year, SAN gained many new individual and corporate members. We only announce the corporate members who wish to be presented publicly. We are proud that we can attract not only promising but also very diverse member in terms of industry like the Group of Companies of H.H. Sheikh Al Hassan Bin Ali Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, International Arab Film Festival Zurich (IAFFZ), Junior and Teen Camp, Kompetenznetzwerk Ernährungswirtschaft, Magicfloor, TMF Group or Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB)
The ZHAW School of Management and Law will offer from the 23.10.-12.12. in Winterthur a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) International Mgmt. and Leadership in Middle East & Africa in cooperation with SAN, S-GE, Zurich Chamber of Commerce, Swiss-African Business Circle, Handelskammer und Arbeitgebervereinigung Winterthur, Kanton Zürich Volkswirtschaftsdirektion and Standortförderung Region Winterthur link
SAN and the ORYX FOUNDATION have organized at the 22.4.15 an Arab Literature Evening called Kalimat Arabic stories, with Mohamed Al Mazrouei (UAE) and Amor Ben Hamida (Swiss-Tunisian). The event was fully booked and we thank the authors and the audience for this wonderful oriental evening and the lively discussions. Some impressions can be found here link
On the 16.1.15, SAN met with the commercial attachés of two Arab countries in Geneva to present the association and to propose a business event of their country in Zurich to connect with the local business community. Discussions were continued at the WEF in Davos thanks to a SAN member.
28.1.15 SAN held its AGM at the Park Hyatt Zurich A review of last year’s achievements and an outlook was given. Last year’s board was re-elected. We were pleased to make a donation to the non-profit association Swiss Vision, a presentation on “what is really halal” and insights on “cultural similarities between Appenzell and the Arab world”. Thank you to all members and non-members who made it to the event.
Tuesday 17.3.15 in Winterthur, SAN, CEK together with Location Promotion Region Winterthur kindly invites you to a journey sharing insights of Middle East Business and Culture. We will have a wide range of attendees from government, embassies, executives and business owners. The event is nearly fully booked. Last seats are available, please contact us immediately if you want to participate.