Dubai (May 3, 2017)– Under the patronage of the Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department – Dubai, Advanced Conferences & Meetings (ACM) launched Mosque Design & Development Summit at Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai.

The summit was officially supported by the UAE Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Etihad ESCO and was inaugurated with a keynote address by Dr. Mohammad Ahmad Al Qurashi from the Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department – Dubai.

Mustapha Aanzi from Etihad ESCO shared a presentation titled “From Mosques with Liwans and Sahns, to energy efficient (green) mosque” whilst Jimmy El-Hajj presented about driving energy efficiency in mosques.

Sustainability in mosques was a hot topic that was discussed by Abdelkarim Ahmed Alhosani from Government of Sharjah Department of Islamic Affairs.

Another interesting presentation was delivered by Adel M. Mokhtar focusing on mosques contemporary architecture particularly the typology and design needs in the Middle East in terms of function, sustainably and aesthetics.

The summit included a networking lunch hosted by IDIA. It brought together all attendees, speakers and sponsors in a professional friendly atmosphere.

The first day of Mosque Design & Development Summit created the perfect platform for the attendees to build relations, exchange ideas and seize business opportunities throughout the ACMi+ interface that allowed for many networking breaks which created a dynamic, efficient and relevant learning environment.

Many key players participated in this event, to name a few: Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME Qatar), Masdar Institute, Urban Planning Dept. Qatar, Faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design International Islamic Architecture - Malaysia, Abdullatif Alfozan Award for Mosque Architecture, National Built Heritage Center at SCTA, RAWASEM consultants, Wanders Werner Falasi (WWFCA), 3dimension, X-architects, Naga Architects, American University of Sharjah and Architecture and pattern.

Solution providers like Honeywell, Lindner / DE, GSL Pro, Oriental Weavers, Kanafani Marble Industries, Alsorayai Group, Carpetland, Armstrong, Eslimi Carpet, Dutch Creative Industry / ONL BV, Precise Group, MAS Paints, Asfour Crystal, Al Yousuf Green Tech and IDIA showcased their newest technologies and solutions in the field of mosque design and sustainability.

Day two (May 4) of the summit featured many more interesting presentations, to name a few: Positioning mosques as points of excellence in implementation of Dubai DSM Strategy 2030, Zero Energy mosques and buildings - the future in UAE, a panel discussion on the future of mosque and beyond and many more.