About one month back when GITEX announced its official dates, we immediately cleared everything from our schedules. All our appointments, meetings and family birthdays could wait; nothing was going to stop us from attending GITEX 2017. And it’s a good thing we did because this year’s Technology Week was the best one yet. Now admittedly, we say this at the end of every year’s GITEX week, but we can’t help it because they continue to surpass our expectations every single time. In its 18th installation, the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition had its best line of speakers yet, along with truly innovative displays of technology. What we found most notable this year was the immense diversity in its themes, right from advances in health care to ownership of music rights. This just goes to show just how technology impacts each and every one of us in almost every aspect of our lives. GITEX Week was also a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit that has swept through the Gulf countries and has led to some amazing, creative inventions in almost every field. Every single event at this year’s GITEX week was memorable, however here’s our pick of the top six moments.

1. Dr. Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon delivers the keynote speech

There’s rarely a week that goes by without an Amazon delivery agent knocking on our doors. Amazon.com today is the world’s largest e-commerce company and a tech giant; however, few people remember its small beginnings 23 years ago as an online bookstore. There could have possibly been no better choice than Dr Werner Vogels, Chief Technology Officer of Amazon, to kick-off this year’s GITEX Week. Speaking to a room full of young entrepreneurs and tech geeks, Dr. Vogels talked about how the ability to think outside the box drove Amazon’s meteoric growth through the years. The most exciting part of his speech was when he announced that Amazon has every intention to expand their presence in the Middle East. This is big news for us because, with the advances in technological infrastructure, this would change the way we conduct our businesses.

2. Sophia Amoruso speaks about the importance of technology for entrepreneurs

We are no strangers to the anxiety that comes with making a drastic career change and starting something new. While this can be a very exciting phase, it’s also filled with nervousness and uncertainty about the future. Sophia Amoruso knows just what this feels like. After quitting her job to start Nasty Gal (once valued at $350 million), which ultimately went bankrupt, she had to start all over again to form a new successful business called Girlboss. Addressing an audience of budding entrepreneurs like she once was, Amoruso shared her own struggles and the lessons she’s learnt through her experiences. She urged every person who was starting out on their own, to be fully aware of their strengths and weaknesses and to persist no matter how difficult things got.

3. Dubai Internet city showcases the ‘smarter journey’

Dubai is the city of superlatives. It has the world’s tallest tower, the world’s fastest police cars and now, it wants to be the world’s most efficient city. The Dubai Internet City (DIC) marked its 18th appearance at GITEX by unveiling its plans for making Dubai a smarter city. The event called, ‘The Smarter Journey’ was a joint venture between DIC, Samsung, Uber, Visa and Canon to showcase to the audience what the future of Dubai would look like. The highly interactive exhibit took us on a field trip to four major localities in Dubai and a demonstration of the various technologies that would make life for every citizen and visitor easier. With innovations in every field from transport, work to leisure, we are certainly excited about the future of Dubai.

4. The World’s first smart police service justify is unveiled

The Dubai Police is famously one of the most efficient police departments in the world. With the unveiling of the world’s first Smart Police Service justify, the Dubai Police looks all set to beat its own impeccable record. The exhibition included a ‘drive-thru’ service and ‘walk-in’ service so we could see for ourselves the advances in crime prevention. The Police Service justify is a stall that will be open for 24 hours every day of the week. Citizens like us can use it for 27 services including to report crime, traffic violations and to bring attention to community services. Through the drive-in services, citizens can even pay traffic fines with ease. Long queues and waiting times are clearly soon going to be a thing of the past in Dubai.

5. Benji Rogers speaks about how blockchain technology will transform the music industry

Blockchain technology and the music industry are two entities that we would have never thought to connect before. However, after this session, we realized that they actually benefit each other more than we knew. Today, music distributed through the internet can be easily copied and distributed illegally. There is also a lot of ambiguity in the distribution of music and rights that often leaves artists at the losing end of the bargain. Benji Rogers, the founder of dotBlockchain Media and Pledge Music aims to change all of that. In his talk, he spoke in great detail about how blockchain technology can revolutionize the music industry. Rogers explained how through blockchain technology, it’s a lot easier to have a common database of record labels, performing rights, writers, artists and publishers all in one place. This ultimately gives artists greater control over their work and prevents illegal copies from being created and distributed.

6. GITEX future stars speak about the growth of startups in Dubai

Saudi Vision 2030 was launched last year with a mission to decrease the kingdom’s dependence on oil, to introduce diverse sectors into its economy and to provide its citizens with better public services like healthcare. One year since the announcement, the slew of startups sprouting up in Saudi Arabia is testament to how well the plan is working. A panel of successful Saudi startups participated in the event, ‘Saudi Accelerator Day’ hosted by GITEX Future Stars to discuss the changing landscape of the Saudi Arabian economy. The event was also a showcase of the success of the Nine Tenths Startup Accelerator program that was launched with the support of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

At the close of the action-packed five days of GITEX Week, every young entrepreneur, tech-enthusiast and curious visitor was filled with amazement over how far technology has advanced. It’s only been a few days since GITEX Week concluded, but we already can’t wait for the next installation.