First begun in 2004, and now its 2010 7^th edition points to its economic and business success. The secret behind the China Products Fair lies in its format. It’s a business-to-business (B2B) event where buyers, shop-owners, retailers and wholesalers from Jordan and the Middle East get to meet their Chinese counterparts, face-to-face and sign business deals.

While it is the organizers, Petra Events, a division of  Petra Travel and Tourism Company and the Meorient International Group, that must get the credit, the China Products Fair , has established its self as an economic and business propeller which the penchant for trade exchange.

In its 2007 edition, only 60 companies directly flown from China participated in the show to display their products, heavy goods and fine instruments. In that year, deals estimated at $30 million were signed.

It was upbeat and blustering and clearly, the point of economic take-off for the fair. By 2009, the fair surpassed all expectations generating $83.6 million in trade deals, foot-marking its presence as a regional and international event as visitors, businessmen and members of the public were registered at over 9000 from 33 countries.

The figures are expected to raise even further at this coming 2010 show with observers suggesting deals of over $100 million because of the 500 Chinese companies which are taking part which will surely mean a lot more business will be exchanged this year.

The show has always sought to offer variety, flexibility and dependability. There are 5000 items at this year’s show ranging from the building trade, machinery, automotive , energy and water, printing, packaging, food, household items, consumer electronics  to toys  and gifts, furniture, textile and leather and general commodities.

As in previous years, many business buyers—the figure topped the 3000 mark at the 2007 show—are expected to visit the fair not only from Jordan but  Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Arab Gulf countries to interact with the Chinese companies at the fair.

This will surely have a great knock-on effect as well in terms of tourism for Jordan is branded as a touristic country with many places to see not just in Amman but all over the country including Jeresh, Madaba, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba.

Part of the success of the fair may lie as well in the nature of the relationships that is being developed between the public and private sectors in both Jordan and China which is based on partnership.

The fair has the direct support of the Chinese and Jordanian government since the beginning, and this year the show is under the patronage of Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Al Rifai.

The team behind the “SFEAR” film experiment pulled out of the Sunny Art Fair, cthis week after learning that the event’s management will serve alcohol to attendees. “I was looking forward to the Fair, and to the chance to see how the audience would react to the concept of watching a short film shot with a fish eye lens and projected on a spherical object. But because of our values and out of respect for the public who is attending, we as a team wouldn’t be able to be part of the Fair this year,” says director Amr Toukhy

The “regrettable turn of events” surrounding the serving of alcohol started yesterday when Toukhy and his team were surprised to learn that spirits will be served at the inauguration day of what is supposed to be a public display of original artwork by local Jordanian artists

“The Fair is an open invitation to the public to come and enjoy the displays of local artists. I am not sure where they got the idea of serving alcohol in the first place!” wonders Rasheed Roussan, who acted in Toukhy’s short film along with Jordanian artist and social media activist Mohammad Alqaq.  “We have dedicated a lot of time and effort to complete this film. We even obtained permission from a Japanese production house in Tokyo to feature a famous Japanese song in the movie’s soundtrack,” explains Roussan. “We cannot be associated with an art fair that opposes our freedom and which attempts to censor our right to display our work in an ethical environment,” says Roussan.

“What surprised us most is the management’s passive reaction to our withdrawal. They seem to prefer featuring a local wine manufacturer at the Art Fair to showcasing our work,” says Mohammad Alqaq. “I have attended many art events in Europe, people there wouldn’t allow you to drink alcohol or any other beverage or food for that matter out of respect to the art displayed!” points Alqaq. “If you want to drink alcohol and enjoy art, you might as well go to a cabaret!”

Toukhy reiterated that he and his team are looking forward to screening the film in other venues soon. “I know the team behind Sunny Art Fair has put an enormous amount of work into it, and I am very sad about the regrettable turn of events surrounding the serving of alcohol, which we didn’t know about in the first place,” points Toukhy.

It’s probably the first made in the Arab world and throws the door open in front of the handicapped issue that is still being swept under the carpet because of shame and guilt. Through song and slick cinematography, the clip is about a growing up boy challenging himself to do all the things “normal” people would do and take for granted.

This is thanks to his mother ceaselessly engaging her son in school, endless home-work, private teachers, physiotherapists, and outdoor activities as swimming and horse-riding, to get the limbs moving and the mind going.

The five-minute clip inspires and shows. Launched on 22 December 2010 in Amman, Jordan, it is the brainchild of the Rahaf Organization in Jordan and produced by Shadda TV, part of the Al Majd Satellite Television in Saudi Arabia.
The “Koli Amaal” video clip loosely translated from Arabic “I am all hope” screens the boy in his different daily life trials. The song was especially developed by Saudi singer Amer Alomair who composed the track especially to underline the handicap case in the Arab world.
Rahaf, a private organization works in cooperation with the Higher Council of Persons with Disabilities (HCPPD) in Jordan which is supported by His Royal Highness Prince Raad who takes direct interest in physically-challenged individuals, and in fact it was under his patronage the video clip was launched, underlining private-public sector cooperation.
On the day of the launch, Dr Amal Al Nahass, Secretary-General of the Higher Council of Persons with Disabilities (HCPPD) and accompanied by Dr Ahmad Al Lowzi, HCPD board member and President of the Society of the Blind for Western Asia, deputized for the prince.
Because the video clip is about making people more aware, Rahaf wants as much publicity as possible on the local, regional and international levels as it subtitled into English. On the day’s launch, it invited a wide variety of media organizations of satellite television stations, community radio stations in Jordan and daily newspapers come for coverage.
The director of the clip Mohammad Hafeth Jaber appeared at the launch and so was Marwan Zeinaldin who made the scenario. Ahmad Damous, presenter at Radio Al Balad, a local community radio in Amman, hosted the event.
He states the handicapped are unknown soldiers, they exist but are not recognized by society, and through our local radio station we can contribute to making people more aware of their plight.
The Department of Public Statistics in Jordan states that the percentage of the physically challenged in Jordanian population is estimated to be between 7% to 10% . Some statistics suggest that the number of handicapped in the country is around 600,000 people out of a population of six million. The world percentages stands at 10%, 600 million, and 9% to 10% in the Arab world.
The clip shows Mohammad photographed at his family home, in school, swimming pool and among and playing with his friends. One other handicapped boy appears in the clip and there are shots of other children playing.
Director Jaber says that the making of the video clip was worthwhile, and its airing on the satellites should go a long way to making people across the Arab world, more aware of people with physical difficulties and to understand this sector is have lives, they need to work and have aspirations.
Alomair, an up-and-coming Saudi talent, especially came from Saudi Arabia to help put together the clip. He said he was very glad to take part in a worthwhile cause which will surely improve the plight of the handicapped.
In addition to local community radios like Farah Al Naas and Radio Al Balad, big satellite television stations as Aljazeera Direct, MBC, the Saudi ABS Cultural Station, Normina, Watan TV and and Shada TV of course, were all at the launch. A Representative from the Jordan Press Agency, Petra, was present for coverage as well as national newspapers like Addustour, Al Ghad and Al Arab Al Youm.
“We are very glad that the media came, as they are crucial in airing out the video and help towards changing how society views those with physical disabilities, says Rahaf director Kholoud Asmar.
“There must be greater understanding on part of society for these segments who need to be properly cared for, rather than left in the home with many parents feeling ashamed, hiding them away as if they are a sort of an ailment, she points out.
Pepsi Jordan came for the launch, underlying the corporate social responsibility issue. The soft drinks company have backed Rahaf in previous activities that deal with children with disabilities and underprivileged backgrounds.
“We are glad to be at this video launch that underlines this very important sector of society, and is a reflection of our commitment to support such causes,” says Mohammad Arabyat, Public Relations Director in Pepsi, Jordan. They have already decided to employ six persons with disabilities.
Mohammad’s Arabic teacher in the Al Manhal School Mr Mohammad Al Duwaik also attended the launch, emphasizing his school’s policy to support and facilitate the teaching of children with special physical difficulties.
People with disabilities came to the video clip launch. Adnan Al Kafreini, who has athetoid cerebral palsy, and calls himself “Ambassador for the Handicapped.” Adnan has worked hard to gain his BA degree in Social Studies from one of the local universities and works hard through an NGO to support his wife and baby daughter.
Bilal Samoor, a person with deformity in his hands is an IT expert. He says despite his IT BA degree from Jordan University, employers will not hire him because of his hands despite the fact that he uses the keyboard to type on the computer and surf the Internet. He previously had a job in IT, but says his employer sacked him once he got what he wanted from Bilal.
Nevertheless, his IT expertise maybe his passport to greater things for he seriously wants to go to places like Britain where he says there is a big market to help people like him with physical difficulties.
The lyrics of the video’s song was subtitled into English by Ibtihal Asmar, the deputy-director of Rahaf. “Our organization and the video clip director felt it was important to produce English subtitling so it reaches maximum audiences as it is aired on the satellites,” she says.
“With English subtitling even non-Arabic speakers can listen to what is being sung.”
Despite the difficulties there are encouraging signs society is changing albeit slowly. Presently, Bassam Abdo is a blind person who had his own radio show at Farah Al Naas, Osama Al Sayed has a show on A One TV while Rami Zaloum has a show appropriately called “We are all the same” in Radio Al Balad.
These steps suggest the bright future in Jordan and maybe the Arab world is just around the corner, and challenged individuals will definitely have a positive role in the development of their societies with the help of such organizations as Rahaf.
See link of video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OvM5DUvsLg

Mr. Kawar’s honoring was amidst a grand reception of more than 400 leading personalities of Jordan’s tourism sector at the Marriott Hotel including those who put their own distinctive touch on the growth of Jordanian tourism over the past decades.

In a ceremony under the patronage of Tourism Minister, Mr. Zeid Al Qussous, Mr. Kawar was recognized for his contribution and development to tourism in Jordan as he established Petra Tours in 1965 in downtown Amman at a time when there were very few tour operators in the Kingdom.

The Tourism Award Ceremony is an annual event where prizes of distinction and shields are awarded to organizations and personalities in various sectors of the tourism industry according to international standards and criteria such as outstanding performance in the tourism sector and professionalism.
Petra Tours today is a leader in the outbound and inbound business of tourism, having different divisions for hosting international events, exhibitions and conferencing, representing many international airline companies as well as a major shareholder in hotels across the country.

“I was looking forward to the Fair, and to the chance to see how the audience would react to the concept of watching a short film shot with a fish eye lens projected on a spherical object. Because of our values and out of respect for the public attending, we made the decision not to participate in the Fair because of the serving of alcohol,” says director Amr Toukhy.

The ‘regrettable turn of events’ surrounding the serving of alcohol started one day before the art fair was due to start when Toukhy and his team were surprised to learn that spirits will be served on inauguration day of what is supposed to be a public display of original artwork by local Jordanian artists.

“The Fair is an open invitation to the public to come and enjoy the talents of local artists. I am not sure where they got the idea of serving alcohol in the first place,” wonders Rasheed Roussan, one of the actors in Toukhy’s short film with the other being Mohammad Alqaq, a Jordanian artist and social media activist.
“We have dedicated a lot of time and effort to complete this film. We even obtained permission from a Japanese production house in Tokyo to feature a famous Japanese song in the movie’s soundtrack,” explains Roussan. “We cannot be associated with an art fair that opposes our freedom and which attempts to censor our right to display our work in an ethical environment,” he adds.
What surprised us most is the management’s passive reaction to our withdrawal. They apparently prefer featuring a local wine manufacturer at the art fair instead of showcasing our work says Mohammad Alqaq. “I have attended many art events in Europe, people there wouldn’t allow you to drink alcohol or any other beverage or food for that matter out of respect to the art displayed!” he points out. “If you want to drink alcohol and enjoy art, you might as well go to a cabaret.”
Toukhy reiterated he and his team are looking forward to screening the film in other venues soon. “I know the organizers of the Sunny Art Fair has put an enormous amount of work into it, and I am very sad about the regrettable turn of events surrounding the serving of alcohol, which we didn’t know about in the first place

The “Koli Amaal” video clip loosely translated from Arabic “I am all hope” is about a growing physically-challenged teen boy, in his different daily life situations. The background song has been especially developed by Saudi singer Amer Alomair who composed the track especially to underline the case of the handicap in the Arab world.

The clip is produced by the Rahaf charity in cooperation with the Al Majd Satellite Channel and directed by Mohammad Hafeth Jaber with scenario from Marwan Zeinaldin. The clip shows Mohammad video photographed in different social situations: At his family home, in school, among his friends and playing with his friends.

The lyrics of the song by an up-and-coming young Saudi talent who flew especially from his country to help put together the five-minute clip, highlights the plight of those physically challenged and the extent of their abilities through patience and persistence to overcome the challenges they face and difficulties they encounter in their everyday life.

“The video is based on a real story of a mother living with her 15-year-old physically-challanged, day and night, a handicap that has been with him since he was born,” says Rahaf director Kholoud Asmar.

“There must be greater understanding on part of society for these segments who need to be properly cared for, rather than left in the home with many parents feeling ashamed, hiding them away as if they are a sort of an ailment, she points out.

It is precisely to make society more aware of the plight of the handicap, and the fact they can lead a normal functional life in society that the video clip is being shown. Deputy-director of Rahaf, Ibtihal Ahmed says: “We hope many satellite channels will take the video and air it on stations which is a very important way to start changing perceptions towards the handicapped.”

This year’s show is much more comprehensive, and stands on the level of the Middle East region. The floor plan is proving very convenient, allowing the companies, especially those displaying bulky items the necessary space so that visitors can move around at their pace.
As well, business booths are deliberately designed to allow business visitors, merchants and buyers to negotiate with the sellers in a congenial atmosphere. The China Products Fair is known as a business-to-business meet, but many are visiting the show from the general public who want to look around and see what is on offer.
In the first two days of the fair, more than 4000 business visitors came to the show creating a lively event that resembled a sea deluge of people essentially coming for different reasons.
On the opening day of the show the phone never stopped ringing with businessmen, company owners, executives, those who owned shops phoning to enquire further despite the fact that the Petra Events and their co-organizers the Shang Hi-based ME Orient, advertised widely for the Products Fair, in Jordan and regionally through newspapers, television and radio and in using latest technologies via the internet and through sms messages.
Businessmen phoned from Syria, Palestine, and as far as Dubai and Abu Dhabi to ask for further details about the offerings and content in the Products Fair. One said he was an investor who was looking for valuable economic opportunities. In the show itself, some Chinese companies openly said they were looking for local and regional distributors of their products.
Also on the first day of the show, people were phoning to ask for directions to the show; some were locals but others came from different parts of the region like Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq. Some appeared to have just left the airport after landing and were crossing territory into Jordan.
It was a dynamic atmosphere. In the 2009 show for example, around 9000 people visited. This year, the figure is expected to increase further still and is reflecting itself not only between local businessmen with their Chinese counterparts, but also from the ordinary people, husbands and housewives inquiring about the nature of the show and whether they can visit and buy from the show.
The fact it is a B2B event did not stop them from seeing for themselves, considering the event as an outing. It was true for many others from the region. In one case, a doctor was mulling around with his wife in the fair grounds. He said, he came from Hebron and was here for medical treatment and wanted to have a look around with his wife. China Fair is MICE tourism in action.

Although not clear to the general viewer, it was the jest of the proliferating television spread experienced in that country at one particular time and epoch. It was the era of what is becoming politically correct in the world. Presenters, although not many, from different minorities like West Indies and Indians, were hired to reflect Britain’s multi-ethnic population.

Fast forward the mid-1990s and into the new millennium—the age of satellite television enters the Arab world throwing wide open territorial borders asunder. Suddenly the world became beautiful again despite the political doom and gloom in the region. And as satellite television stations were literally mushrooming across the Arab world, producers were busy picking very special news readers with all the baggage of good looks to hoist a new visual stage of communications.

Men and women were being sought after and interviewed from across the Arab region, Morocco to the Gulf, with Lebanon and Egypt included to become the new stars of the satellite television world. Today their stature have risen so much among Arab audiences that they are being compared to television and film stars and even with pop idols as it is probably the case with those in western countries.

Satellite news television became about faces and beautiful faces to reflect a new more hip modern Arab world. Arab audiences were being forced—and willingly so—into a different visual framework, one previously dictated by terrestrial television but no longer, being far-flung by space with the reliance on barefaced images, color, action, and fast, slick journalese, which for a while, had to be learned.

With that of course, came beautiful women announcers and anchors. As more satellite stations came on the scene, more female announcers were called for. To attract more readers to news channels, as if the Arab man in the street is not a news-junky by instinct, more beautiful women, were hired to get the masses hooked!

Pretty, prettier, prettiest, lovely, lovelier and loveliest—these became the media catchwords. And with that came the sophisticated, beautiful look, the bold and the beautiful. Beautiful announcers became the cliché, the stock-in-trade, the one you never tire of looking at, examining, cajoling, trying to almost-grab what is behind the television screen.

Indeed, a foreign viewer, merrily flicking through the Arab satellites, could be forgiven by suggesting Arab women are the most beautiful in the world: “You can see it through their news anchors”, and they are; some look gorgeous or have gorgeous faces; women that simply sparkle on the television set.

Although it has never been said or suggested, except in private, there is a subliminal feeling in the process of news-watching with the viewer mentally “tuning out” what is being said and starts weighing up the female anchor, looking at the contours, facial expression, lighting on the skin, right down to the delivery, how the mouth and lips move when the news is being read out or commentary made, hearing the right voices and echoes.

The long term affect of this can be very serious because audiences can end up trivializing what is being said by news readers. They, the audience become non-the-wiser in terms of the value they receive.

It might be too cynical to say, as it has never been admitted, there is an obvious targeting of choice on the part of Arab television managers and producers who are looking for a paradigm of features that go to the heart of beauty, good looks, sensuality and so on. It is to do with being photogenic, beautiful, attractive, whilst having the knack for delivery and intellect, although the last one, possibly two choices, go down the hiring scale considerably.

Of course there might be an ulterior motive in that which is to attract wider viewers and audiences and glue their eyes to that particular channel. Apart from the fact political correctness has not really penetrated the Arab world, “plain” or “comely” looking young women are seldom hired to read the news, and are mostly left as background staff.

Of course this might be a wrong assumption because of the “technicalities” of becoming an anchor when you are taught how to deliver news, voice and intonations, how to stress certain things, and lighten up different words.

Added to that is the dress-wear, hairstyle, make-up, powdered nose, the flushed cheeks and forehead. There is a very definite style to make you look good on television for both women and men which sparks constant accusations in the West that even men anchors are made to look “effeminate” for the spotlight necessary to give one the celebrity status needed for the visual media.

Because of cultural reasons, men don’t go through the make-up routine, or not to the same extent in our part of the world, but this is certainly not the case with Arab women news-readers.

Leaving the make-up factor, aside however, Arab female announcers seem to be exceedingly beautiful, ones to feast your eyes on, but is this really beauty or a camouflage, and isn’t it the case even beautiful women have to sit under the brush of the make-up artist?

And further still, there might be the prejudicial social side to consider, making us feel guilty of seeing these women as mere dolly birds, a slang British-English expression regarded today as plain sexist? Are our Arab television managers and producers perpetuating that theme by not tipping the balance and hiring more Arab female newscasters from across the broad spectrum of society rather than narrowing it to the body beautiful?

Whilst this may seem too harsh a judgment to make because many of these “beautiful” female news announcers are competent as they look good and “speak” the news well, and if they make an occasional “error” then well it could be because of the producer with the earpiece.

All of the above can be attributed to the prevailing political culture in the Arab world and the “messaging” it is trying to convey. In a political culture where many things are frowned upon including the very notion of democracy and political practice, putting so-called “dolly birds” on the screen can be seen as an appropriate flushing safety-valve to issues and problems that are being swept away under the carpet.

In an official ceremony that was attended by Father Ibrahim Hijazin, the books are part of the so-called library, Maktabati, project in Jordan to enhance school libraries in different areas of the Kingdom and learning among youths and the surrounding community.

The books handover included illustrated Atlases and encyclopedias and in Arabic and English, which is part of the aid program by the government of Poland towards the completion of the library project. Since 2008 three school libraries were set up beginning with Anjara and Samakiyeh and now in Aqaba.

A reception marking this occasion will be held on 8 December to celebrate Independence Day of the Republic of Poland at the Aqaba Gulf Hotel.

The Greek-Catholic School in Aqaba is a coeducational institution teaching about 700 children from both the Christian and Muslim faith and the books handover involved a complete refurbishment for a library that includes a computer corner with internet access.

While it is the organizers, Petra Events, a division of  Petra Travel and Tourism Company and the Meorient International Group, that must get the credit, the China Products Fair , has established its self as an economic and business propeller which the penchant for trade exchange.

In its 2007 edition, only 60 companies directly flown from China participated in the show to display their products, heavy goods and fine instruments. In that year, deals estimated at $30 million were signed.

It was upbeat and blustering and clearly, the point of economic take-off for the fair. By 2009, the fair surpassed all expectations generating $83.6 million in trade deals, foot-marking its presence as a regional and international event as visitors, businessmen and members of the public were registered at over 9000 from 33 countries.

The figures are expected to raise even further at this coming 2010 show with observers suggesting deals of over $100 million because of the 500 Chinese companies which are taking part which will surely mean a lot more business will be exchanged this year.

The show has always sought to offer variety, flexibility and dependability. There are 5000 items at this year’s show ranging from the building trade, machinery, automotive , energy and water, printing, packaging, food, household items, consumer electronics  to toys  and gifts, furniture, textile and leather and general commodities.

As in previous years, many business buyers—the figure topped the 3000 mark at the 2007 show—are expected to visit the fair not only from Jordan but  Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Arab Gulf countries to interact with the Chinese companies at the fair.

This will surely have a great knock-on effect as well in terms of tourism for Jordan is branded as a touristic country with many places to see not just in Amman but all over the country including Jeresh, Madaba, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba.

Part of the success of the fair may lie as well in the nature of the relationships that is being developed between the public and private sectors in both Jordan and China which is based on partnership.

The fair has the direct support of the Chinese and Jordanian government since the beginning, and this year the show is under the patronage of Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Al Rifai.