MTE Studios, a consultancy firm well known for their lifescape architectural projects and world class interactive exhibitions on socio-cultural and scientific topics for museums, science and immersive experience centers, collaborated with Al-Aghar Group for strategic thinking, an independent non-profit think tank focusing on social, cultural and economic issues in Saudi Arabia, for World Expo in Shanghai.

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The six-month event brought under one roof many different cultures of the world. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, Exposition 2010 attracted governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme "Better City, Better Life."

Al Aghar Group showcased MTE Studios interactive exhibits at the Arab League Pavilion. Visitors had hands-on experience of Zheng He model boat, Elephant Water Clock (pictured) and two South-Facing Chariots encouraging visitors of all ages to discover and understand some aspects of the contribution of historic scholars to science and technology.

“This exhibition is very important for us, it showcases our legacy as Muslims and our contribution to the world in pioneering knowledge societies that have, over time, produced some of the most important technologies and discoveries of today’s world,” Said Fahad Abu Alnaser, CEO Al Aghar Group. The group has successfully developed the Knowledge Society Strategy for Saudi Arabia and it’s vision to be productive and competitive at the international level by the year 1444 H.

“Visitors were enthralled by the elephant clock which represented an example of the influence historic engineers like Al Jazari had through their various inventions and contributions and how some of the principles are still used in modern society,” said Ludo Verheyen, CEO, MTE Studios.

“This is our first collaboration with Al Aghar Group and we look forward to working with them in the future to strengthen scientific cooperation and cultural exchange,” added Verheyen.

MTE Studios, creators of ‘1000 Years of Knowledge Rediscovered’ permanent exhibition on display within the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai have also played a major role in the design, manufacture and installation of numerous interactive exhibits at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey and recently delivered a turnkey science museum for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

 More than 70 million visitors attended the Shanghai World Expo.

About Al Aghar Group:

Al-Aghar group for strategic thinking is as an independent non-profit think tank focusing on social, cultural and economic issues.

Our strategic goals
• Setting out visions and preparing strategic studies on economic and social issues.
• Conducting studies on national economic, social, and international issues that concern Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region and the Middle East.
• Preparing studies that contribute to organizing Saudi labor market and human resources development.
• Prepare and support scientific and specialized studies to create suitable atmosphere for transforming the kingdom into a knowledge society.
• Organizing workshops and scientific meetings and seminars with the participation of national and international experts.
• Building and preparing national expertise for strategic thinking.
• Preparing and integrated database to serve the group’s objectives and activities.

Our methodology

Al-Aghar Workshop Methodology for preparing strategies can be summarized in the following points:
• Conducting brain storming work shop that include different segments of Saudi Society (Business men & business women - intellectuals, officials, academics, government leaders – l – youth groups.
• The role of experts, stake holders, and social enabler in the work shop is to constitute the main source of input to develop the strategy.
• Al-Aghar role is to act as a facilitator, organizing, and guiding the discussion

Transforming the Kingdom into a knowledge society

Al-Aghar Group, in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank, has called for holding three workshops (in Jeddah, Jubail, and Riyadh) during the year 2006, to involve 300 of intellectuals from different sectors of the society to develop strategic alternatives for the Kingdom economically, socially, and culturally.

The KSS Vision

To be a knowledge Society which is productive and competitive at the international level by the year 1444 H.


About MTE Studios:

MTE Studios is a specialized consultancy firm focused on themed architecture and interactive learning experiences. The firm designs, prototypes and manufactures inspiring interactive exhibits for science centers, museums, shopping malls and corporate environments.

MTE Studios translates unique residential, commercial, educational and leisure projects into stimulating lifescapes.  Its scope of services ranges from creating a storyline, concept and detail design, documentation, project management and art direction during construction. MTE’s portfolio of completed projects includes museums, shopping malls, theme parks, FEC’s and residential developments.

With offices in Dubai, UAE and Cape Town, South Africa, MTE Studios has an interdisciplinary team of over 50 specialists, including architects, art directors, artists, engineers and interactive designers from over 12 countries. Visit www.mtestudios.com for more information.

About ‘Sultans of Science’:

‘Sultans of Science’ is a global travelling exhibition celebrating the contribution of Muslim Scholars in Science and Technology during the Golden Age of the Islamic World and the influence their inventions and contributions has towards modern society. Focused on increasing knowledge and understanding of these invaluable contributions, ‘Sultans of Science’ has been created as a global traveling exhibition in order to enable its message to be far reaching through science centers and museums around the world.

The content features interactive displays with information on inventions, innovations and discoveries covering a broad spectrum of science topics such as astronomy, mathematics, medicine, optics amongst others, which were ahead of its time.

Image: Elephant Water Clock displayed at the Shanghai World Expo