12th World Islamic Economic Forum

Building cultural bridges between all Islamic nations and communities through business

August 18th, 2016

Georgi Zografov, CD News, CD News

The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIFE) began in 2003 as the business forum of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The main plan for the OIC Business Forum was to develop a business image of the OIC and to bring together high level government and industrial leaders and academic scholars, regional experts, professionals and corporate managers to discuss opportunities for business partnerships in the Muslim world.

Between August 2nd and 4th 2016 the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum was held in Jakarta, focusing on the theme of “Decentralising Growth, Empowering Future Business”. The central topics of the forum were connected with the small and medium businesses, which are the driving force of economic growth in national economies around the world.

The 12th WIEF forum provided a platform for exchanging ideas and opinions between CEOs, managers of small and medium companies and leaders of governments about new business opportunities in and around the Muslim world. This year’s forum concentrated on decentralising growth and empowering future business.

Nowadays cultural and economic relations go hand in hand and are crucial for providing and stimulating good international relations. Every year interest in the forum is growing with more and more delegates from Asian countries participating. The business landscape is evolving and the global Islamic economy is moving towards decentralisation.

The forum provided a meeting place and the opportunity to forge new partnerships between governments and businesses, as well as between start-up players and investors. It also brought not only economic engagement but also included cultural exchange, providing an opportunity to motivate the younger generation to consider doing business and to build intercultural relations with people from other countries and nations.

In conjunction with the 12th WIFE, MOCAfest (Marketplace of Creative Arts) international arts and culture festival, was held between August 3rd and 4th. It aimed to show the potential of the creative industries and the role that they play in the lives of millions of people across the globe in terms of economic empowerment and social enterprise.

MOCAfest played a role as a platform for the establishment and exchange of works and ideas related to the arts and culture. It contained dialogues, a networking session, master classes, workshops, entrepreneurial trainings, film screenings, visual art exhibitions and artistic collaborations. During MOCAfest all kinds of arts were showcased, including music, films, visual arts, literature, poetry and dance.

During the 12th edition of the World Islamic Economic Forum the MOCAfest signature MOCAfest Soundscape Concert was held. It was an evening performance of cross-disciplinary, multi-media, artist collaboration, impromptu and fusion works. At the time of the event a dialogue of cross-cultural exchange was held between Indonesian artists from the fields of poetry, music, multi-media, dance and martial arts.

In the future the World Islamic Economic Forum will continue to be a platform for discussing global economic problems and to provide intercultural exchange. It will be used as an important tool for building cultural bridges between nations and communities through the medium of business.

References:

• http://foundation.wief.org/

See more at: http://www.cd-n.org/index.php?12th-world-islamic-economic-forum