[E100 Alert] – WSIE and Oman Progress 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Building Worldwide Collaborative Advantage – 
Seminal Reports, Books and Award

Muscat, Oman April 3, 2006

Today at the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE), Debra M. Amidon, founder and CEO of ENTOVATION International Ltd., and Mr. Alawi M. Baharoon, CEO of Integrated Visions Group (IVG), announced the preview of the worldwide report on the State of Knowledge Innovation Zones. Knowledge Innovation Zones are enabling new forms of enterprise, collaboration, cooperation, research and development, knowledge sharing and commercialization of ideas between the private sector, government, and academia.

A Knowledge Innovation Zone, commonly known as KIZ, is a geographic region, a company or industry, or a community of practice within which knowledge flows from its origin to the point of need or opportunity. These Zones, modeled after free trade zones and focusing on knowledge creation and application, are rapidly expanding the worldwide agenda for knowledge transfer and technological innovation. Examples include the Dubai Knowledge Village, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah, the Leiden Knowledge Cluster, the Baltic Sea Knowledge Region, the Barcelona Knowledge District 22@, Shanghai City of the Future, Hyderabad Knowledge City, The Oman Knowledge Oasis and the trans-border Øresund Region linking Malmö, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark – just to mention a few.

Releasing the preliminary findings, Mr. Alawi M. Baharoon explained the rationale for IVG Platinum sponsorship of this study as integral to his plans to establish the Knowledge Region of Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah. “IVG as a knowledge economy program developer has signed a 10 year PPP agreement with Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah, Saudi Arabia, to develop a holistic integrated regional development program (the Digital Economy program). This program is a socio-economic development, aiming to achieve a productive knowledge society by the year 2025. The program will develop 30 major knowledge-based projects including 2 smart cities (knowledge innovation zones), in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah and Yanbu. We partnered with ENTOVATION as a platinum sponsor on a comprehensive global study to examine the future visioning of Knowledge Innovation Zones, (KIZ) benefiting from state-of-the-art academic research and practical experiences. The study covered an assessment of existing global KIZ in developed and developing countries. This gives IVG and Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah an excellent opportunity to develop a strong localised business model for Al-Madinah KIZ.”

Using the intelligence analytics of Bryan Elliott Davis, CEO of The KAITEUR Institute (Canada) and co-author of the report, this intensive examination of hundreds of geographic areas, companies and virtual communities resulted in the emerging trends, modern management principles, examples of knowledge innovation champions, a blueprint for implementation, unprecedented indicators for the knowledge-based economy, society and infrastructure. At the close of the WSIE, delegates from 58 countries were invited to sign the KIZ Declaration that was signed by World Summit participants.

Author of The Innovation SuperHighway, Ms. Amidon claimed, “It is fortuitous that the launch was held in conjunction with the WSIE and in the country of Oman. The world is at your doorstep and you can provide knowledge leadership for the region and the rest of the world. KIZ are the way to build collaborative advantage that leads to the sustainability of customers, enterprises and countries. Together, we will explore, design and execute for prosperity and sustainable wealth in all economies of the world.”

Simultaneously and together with Abdulla AlSubyani, Founder of the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association (AKEA), a tri-volume set of books on Knowledge Economics: Principles, Practices and Polices, was launched. One of the co-editors and Dean of the Center for International Entrepreneurship of the Emirates CERT (UAE), Professor Piero Formica outlined the opportunity: “These books – the result of 31 practitioners from 17 nations - provide a foundation for the new knowledge dynamics needed to educate the next generation of local and global managerial leaders.” According to Dr. Martin Curley, INTEL Director Innovation, “These books are likely to become the definitive texts in the field of Knowledge Dynamics.”

On the closing day of the Summit, Ms. Amidon and Professor Leif Edvinsson, Lund University (Sweden)  presented the 2006 KEN Practitioner of the Year Award to Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology and Vice Chairman of CERT (UAE) for “decades of knowledge leadership creating the opportunity for collaborative advantage.” Dr. Kamali was recognized by the ENTOVATION 100 – a global network of thought leaders in innovation strategy for the knowledge economy. 

ENTOVATION International Ltd. (Wilmington, MA. USA) is a global network of theorists and practitioners from 90+ countries. Expertise covers 10 dimensions of knowledge innovation strategy from modern IC measurement indicators, methodologies for networked enterprise cultures through strategic alliances, market image and computer/communications technology. Among the clients have been the leaders in the field – research, technology and consulting firms as well as societal organizations, such as the World Bank, the UNDP and the EU.

ENTOVATION enjoys unique positioning having convened the 1^st conference in the world on the topic and now providing research and prototype guidance on architecting Knowledge Innovation Zones (KIZs) with its Triple Knowledge Line (TKL) integrating the Knowledge-based Economy, the Knowledge-based Society and the Knowledge-based Infrastructure into a distinctive and progressive strategy for Millennium knowledge leadership positioning. Additional information may be found at www.entovation.com and www.inthekzone.com or by e-mail to C. Ackerman - c_ackerman@entovation.com. Phone: (+1) 978-988-7995.

ENTOVATION® and Knowledge Innovation® are trademarks of Debra M. Amidon and ENTOVATION International Ltd.

Integrated Visions Group International has achieved presence in 12 countries with 30 vertical activities in Knowledge Based Industries (KBI) as a result of a process started in the mid 90’s involving 6 years of capacity building providing end-to-end knowledge economy services from concepts to implementation and operation. These include regional development programs, E-Government services, Project Management, connectivity, data services, infrastructure, ERP solutions, ICT operation & maintenance, incubation etc.

IVG seeks to replace competition with creation, isolation with collaboration, local scope with global scope, standard concepts with localized concepts, pure foreign investment with joint ventures, controlling with sharing, the project-based approach with a holistic approach, accidental opportunities with sustainable opportunities, political territory with economic territory and replacing imitation with innovation.

Additional information can be found at http://www.iv-group.com/.

"Innovating our future...together."

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