Coronavirus: Ai Everything and Careers UAE postponed

Two major events scheduled for March have been postponed in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ai Everything, one of the region’s most high-profile AI summits, hosted by the UAE National Program for Artificial Intelligence, originally scheduled to take place from March 10-11 has been postponed, the organizers revealed on the event’s website.

Read: UAE confirms six new coronavirus cases; total tallies 27

However, it hasn’t indicated a date to which the event has been shifted and said that the new date will be communicated within a few weeks.

The statement on the Ai Everything website added: “In light of the global developments around the COVID-19 virus, Dubai World Trade Centre has been closely monitoring the situation, particularly as it pertains to its key stakeholders and participating delegations from around the world across all the upcoming shows. Our decision comes after much deliberation in consultation with the event’s main participants and industry stakeholders, who have strongly endorsed our prioritization of the collective interests of all our partners.”

Another major show, Careers UAE, scheduled to be held from March 10-12, has also been postponed to October 11-13, 2020.

Read: Dubai International Boat Show postponed

A statement on Careers UAE website read: “In light of the recent directive by the UAE Ministry of Education, and Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) calling for a nationwide suspension of all school activities like excursions, trips and events at the present time, Dubai World Trade Centre is rescheduling Careers UAE – the largest recruitment and training event for UAE Nationals that caters for over 15,000 university students to later this year.”

All schools and colleges within the UAE will be closed for four weeks beginning from Sunday, March 8.

Read: Schools, colleges in the UAE expected to close for four weeks from March 8

There have been a slew of other high-profile events that have been postponed in the UAE including the Dubai International Boat Show, Art Dubai and Ultra Abu Dhabi which have all been cancelled as precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Read: Art Dubai postponed due to coronavirus

The organisers of another major trade event, the Arabian Travel Market Show, which is scheduled to take place from April 19-22 in Dubai, has not yet declared plans to reschedule the event. A statement on the event’s website issued by the event organisers Reed Exhibition stated: “Our events are running as scheduled. Reed Exhibitions is actively and continuously monitoring the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak, in line with local and national authorities and public health advice and WHO guidelines, and our policies reflect those of the country authority in which our events take place.”

The UAE reported six new cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of the Covid-19 coronavirus infections to 27.