World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee will deliver the opening keynote for the 2013 Abu Dhabi Media Summit.

Berners-Lee, director of the World Wide Web Consortium, will deliver the opening address at this year’s Abu Dhabi Media Summit (Oct 22-24) about “the state of the digital planet”.

The session, which will be delivered remotely, will be hosted the Matthew Garrahan of The Financial Times.

Another opening day speaker will be Walt Disney International chairman Andy Bird, talking about emerging markets and storytelling in a global marketplace.

Chairman of the 4th Abu Dhabi Media Summit and chairman of twofour54, H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak said: “This year’s Summit will focus on the ways individuals and organizations can harness the limitless potential of digital technologies.

“People like Tim Berners-Lee have made that conversation possible, and I can’t think of a better way to open the Summit than with his insights.”

Berners-Lee added: “This is a key moment for the UAE and countries in the Middle East region to determine how they can make the best use of the internet and take advantage of all the opportunities it offers.

“It is with great pleasure that I have accepted the invitation to participate remotely at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, a digital global meeting of minds, where I am looking forward to discussing the potential of the internet and its positive benefits to humanity with such a digitally connected audience.”

Speakers at this year’s event include:

  • Mark Hollinger, president and CEO, Discovery Networks International
  • Shailesh Rao, vp, international operations, Twitter
  • Anant Agarwal, president, edX
  • Konstantin Wolff, founder, payleven
  • Dean Kamen, founder, DEKA
  • Eric Gertler, head of NYCEDC
  • Dan Senor, author ‘StartUp Nation’
  • Nart Bouran, director of news, Sky News Arabia
  • Ahmed El Alfi, founder and chairman, Sawari Ventures
  • Tarek El Kazzaz, CEO and founder, Qsoft Group
  • Khaled El Mufti, head, ELibya
  • Usama Fayyad, executive chairman, Oasis500.

The Abu Dhabi Media Summit is being held at the Yas Viceroy, to examine the latest trends and challenges in the sector, with a focus on leveraging opportunities in the digital age.

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