No.5, November/December 2004


Responsible Editor: Mrs Renate HUSSEINI, member of the board.

For all questions and information requests, please contact our Coordinator:

Mrs. Najwa Malik, najwa-sgbg@eajb.com.sa
Tel. 667 2222 ext. 1119

Editorial

Dear member of SGBGJ,

This will be your last Newsletter before the Christmas break; some of us will stay here in Jeddah and enjoy the lovely winter climate with fresher air but still a lot of sunshine and a Red Sea cooling down very slowly. Others, like myself, will join their families in Europe and brace themselves against cold winds, rain and eventually some snow. The SGBG team wishes you all a pleasant and quiet end of the year and a promising beginning of 2005. From our side, as organizers of SGBG activities, we are doing our best to satisfy our members. Have a look into the chapter on "future events" to discover what we have in store for you. 
This leads me to recommend very strongly that everybody should renew his membership as soon as possible, because the planned events will be open to 2005 members exclusively.




Future Events

Red Sea Symposium :  04/05 december 2004
A two-day Symposium addressing the issues around the exploitation of the Red Sea environment and consequent challenges of conservation, organised jointly by the Saudi German Business Group of Jeddah and the Jeddah International Marine Sports Club. HRH Prince AbdulMajeed bin AbdulAziz, the Governor of the Mekkah Region, instructed the Jeddah International Marine Sports Club to launch the Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdulaziz Campaign for the protection of the marine environment. The symposium is our contribution to this campaign and we wish to thank HRH for the opportunity of being a partner in this process. Your are invited to participate in the two-day symposium consisting of panel discussions, lectures, presentations and a boat trip on the Red Sea to observe at first hand some of the best reefs in the world and some of the damage being done to them.

Week-end trip  (destination not yet decided)  in cooperation with the Saudi Geological Survey : 13/14th of January 2005
After the huge success of the guided tour to Northern Harrat Rahat (see report below)  we plan a second guided tour with the SGS in mid-January but the final destination is not yet decided. We might go the Northern Red Sea coast of SA or any other place of geological interest.

Social gathering in the Consul's Garden : mid- January 2005 (exact date not yet fixed)
As last year, we will have a nice evening get-together in the beautiful garden of the German Consul General's residence.

Lecture evening with Ambassador Dr. Mulack : 05.02 2005
Dr. Mulack is in charge for Dialogue with Islam at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and those between us who attended his lecture last year surely remember his very profound and knowledgeable speech on how a dialogue between Western and Islamic countries could be instaured to the greater benefit of both sides.

Highlights of the Past

Guided tour of the vulcanic area south of the city of Medina : 25/26.11.2004

A group of about 20 members of SGBG, including several children, set out at 6 o'clock in the morning towards the city of Medina, accompanied by several Geologists of the Saudi Geological Survey. At the Checkpoint on the small road leading straight into the heart of Harrat Rahat, one of the most astounding vulcanic areas in Saudi Arabia, several other personnalities from SGS joined our group as well as cars with military and police for our safety. The principal explanations were given by Dr. John Roobol and his Saudi collegues of the Saudi Geological Survey. The day's excursion was punctuated by several stops:  the Historic Lava flow (in fact a big eruption occurred as recently as 1256 A.D.), lava tubes and lava caves, an 11 km long fissure system, sometimes as deep as 21 m, as well as the visit of a trachyte dome complex;  and we learned a lot about different types of lava, of basalt, of cones and craters. After a short inspection of one of the SGS' seismic monitoring installations, we arrived exhausted but happy at the camp where we were to spend the night. SGS had provided all commodities for our well-being: big tents, real beds (no mattresses on the ground), brand new bed sheets, a nice dinner and a fire to sit around comfortably in the evening. We even had a lecture on vulcanism in one of the tents equipped with a computer and a screen.  The next morning a lavish breakfast was served and then started the waltz of the helicopters. In fact, 2 of SGS's 8 helicopters came to the camp to take us in turns up into the airs, overflying the craters and the lava flows which was really an extraordinary experience, especially for someone like me who had never before been on board a helicopter. Everybody enjoyed this very much and after a morning walk to a very nice crater with a secondary cone in its middle, and a farewell climb to a vulcano in the vicinity of the city of Medina, crowned by the remains of a Turkish Fort, we returned to Jeddah, dusty and tired but extremely satisfied by all we had seen during these two days.

Members' Corner: membership card and discounts

Reminder : The below mentioned discount offers are strictly limited to SGBGJ members, holders of a valid membership card.

New:

Tell Communication is very proud to introduce special rates for SGBG members with all new models of Siemens Mobile.
Contact :

 

Same list as in the previous Newsletter for memory :

Mövenpick Resort Al Nawras Jeddah
Special Corporate rate offer for members of SGBGJ. The offer extends for the moment to the end of the year 2004. The resort consists of 35 Two Bedroom Suites and 56 One Bedroom Suites, luxuriously equipped with a private swimming pool. These facilities might be rented for the week or only a weekend. Several restaurants overlooking the Red Sea complete the offer. For all details, please refer to our Coordinator, Mrs. Najwa Malik

Al Bilad Hotel (Golden Tulip)
One of the most popular hotels in Jeddah, Al Bilad is offering SGBGJ members very substantial discount rates (about 40%) for rooms with or without breakfast. This offer runs up to the end of 2005. Please ask our Coordinator, Mrs. Najwa Malik, for detailed information.

Linked to our planned visit to the facility:
Eed Clinic for Plastic Surgery (near Erfan & Bagedo Hospital)
This very well renowned clinic offers one free consultation and 50% discount on all services including operations. Our contact is Dr. Mamdouh A. Aziz Ashy, who will give us a lecture on 10th of October and guide us through the visit of the clinic. (For appointments and information please call : 639 88 58 62).

Soleil d'Or SPA
15% on all services for SGBGJ lady members. Contact : Mrs. Fatin Salah, General Manager. Tel. +966 2 283 22 33, Fax .+966 2 284 07 30;   
mobile  +966-50-5348015, e-mail  sibiedist@awalnet.net.sa


Discounts by different units of Juffali Group :

Juffali Automotive Company (JACO), Mercedes Benz :
Vehicles 6% discount, excluding periodical special offers; Spare parts and service : 10% discount

Juffali Auto Parts Company (JAPCO) :
 20 % Discount on all purchases throughout the Kingdom

JAHACO (Air conditioning, refrigeration, home appliances etc.) :
Special discount for SGBGJ members, the discount rate varies from 14.5% up to 25%, depending on the purchased product. Jeddah Showroom on Madina Road Kilo 7, contact person in the showroom : Mr. Mohammed Abdul Fattah (Tel. 669 38 81). For any enquiry or clarification about products, SGBGJ members might contact the Marketing Manager Mr. Sharif al-Nahas on 667 22 22, ext. 1252 or mobile 050 463 42 95.

	National Company or gifts and Sweets, shop "Le Bonheur", Prince Abdullah Street, Jeddah . 25 % on porcelaine, crystal, silverware.... 10 % on chocolates and sweets
	Lufthansa 10 % on Business Class and 5% on Economy Class flights
	Saudi Business Forms, Industrial City Phase 3 Street, No 401 10 % on all printing jobs
	Jeddah Marriott Hotel Special Corporate Rates 2004; Special meeting packages
	Erfan & Bagedo Hospitals Substantial discounts (50% and 25%) on all medical examens, surgeries etc. Please ask our Coordinator, Mrs. Najwa Malik for details.

Saudi German Business News



German Language Center
The German Language Center which is currently holding its second course session of the ongoing academic year, is doing a very efficient and successful job. Several students are continuing after the beginners' course and hope to obtain the "Zertifikat Deutsch", which is the official certificate accreditated by the Goethe Institute. As the teachers are all native German speakers and the classes quite small, the efficiency of the courses is very high.

Please find below the announcement of the next course session planned for February 2005:
The German Language Center is happy to offer new language courses for everybody from the age of 16. To join the courses you should master English and the latin alphabet.

Start February 13, 2005.

courses           Sunday & Tuesday 5.30 p.m. – 7.00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
location          will be announced
end of term    March 22, 2005
teachers         German native speakers
fees                SR 1.030  (textbook included)
                       
enrolment      February 6,7 & 8, 2005
                        7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel 8^th floor

The full course fee must be paid in cash before the start of the course.
Please provide copy of your iquama or ID and a photograph.

                                                                       

For further inquiries, please contact

Ms. Fasser (Coordinator German language courses):
Tel.:      0508 61 01 74           
e-mail:  sgbg_germancourses@hotmail.com

Assistant
Mrs. Kamuran                    sgbg_kamuran@yahoo.ie
phone 691 0828 x 4317
consultation                        Tue – Wed 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.



Miscellaneous: Found on the Internet

AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry
www.auma-fairs.com
This important website gives you all information needed about trade fairs worldwide, where we learn for instance that in 2005 25 trade fairs are planned in the different cities of the Kingdom (as compared to 94 trade fairs in the UAE for instance).
Informations provided include : venue, interval, city, date, organiser, sponsor,  industry sectors,  main product group, opening hours, space available, statistics on exhibitors and visitors.
AUMA represents the interests of the trade fair industry on a national and international level in dealings with parliament, ministries, authorities and other organizations.
informs exhibitors and visitors about dates, product ranges, exhibitor and visitor figures of German and foreign events by internet, printed media and individual information.
supports the international marketing of the German organizers.
conducts marketing pro trade fair
is involved in training and further education. AUMA supports universities and technical colleges as well as other facilities which are concerned with training and further education for the trade fair industry. It has itself played a part in the development of the training and further training course of study "International Event Organiser" and was involved in the conception of the job description "Event Manager".
coordinates the German participations at foreign fairs.

AUMA, in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour and also the Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, prepares the official German trade fair programme abroad. Within the framework of this programme, the Federal Government provides export platforms where German companies can participate at foreign events, but also supports separate presentations by German industry abroad.

AUMA's members are

• the central associations of German business (industry, trade, skilled trades etc.),
• trade associations of the exhibiting and visiting industries who are interested in trade fairs,
• the German trade fair and exhibition organizers as well as the companies organizing foreign trade fair participations,
• associations of companies providing services for the trade fair industry, such as stand construction, design and logistics,
• associations of the congress industry.

Around 3,500 international trade fairs worldwide are covered by the AUMA Trade Fair Guide Worldwide for 2005, which AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, has just published.

The English-language reference work which is addressed to internationally-operating companies all over the world, includes nearly 1,600 trade fairs held outside Europe. The main focal point is Asia with 893 events, of which no less than 638 are held in East Asia. It is followed by North America with 347 and Latin America with 170, Africa with 140 and Australia with 44 trade fairs. In Europe, including the 142 international trade fairs in Germany, a total of 1,911 are covered.

For each trade fair, the guide presents basic information such as title, dates, year of foundation, rotation, main product ranges, organizers’ addresses and – insofar as they are available – the exhibitor, space and visitor statistics for the last event. A classification shows the user whether and in what quality the organizer makes statistics available. Furthermore, all foreign trade fairs which are organized by AUMA members, are specially marked.
Supplementary and updated information about the individual trade fairs can be called up on the Internet at www.auma-messen.de.

The AUMA_Trade Fair Guide Worldwide 2005 costs Euro 39.00 incl. VAT + package and posting, on subscription Euro 35.00. It can be obtained from AUMA media + service gmbH, Littenstraße 9, 10179 Berlin, Tel: +49 (0) 30/24 000-0, Fax: +49 (0)30/ 24 000-330, email: info@auma.de.