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I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about Techleb, a conference about the tech sector in Lebanon taking place at Boston, MA. The conference is organised by the Lebanese club at MIT and will take place in May.

From their site:

From the Lebanese private sector, government, diaspora, academia, and NGOs, to international organizations, experts, and success models, the conference will feature a roster of premier speakers and domain veterans representing the major players integral to technology development in Lebanon.

The TECHLEB|06 Conference Program is being designed to ensure that the conference objectives and attendees are best served with the most appropriate content, structure, and format. Specific themes addressed by keynotes and panelists in TECHLEB|06 are:

• Accurate survey of current situation in Lebanon: constraints, efforts underway, and planned initiatives
• Challenges facing entrepreneurs, startups, and direct VC funding in Lebanon
• Strategies for combating brain drain, retaining human capital, and attracting expatriates
• Success stories of Lebanese technology companies competing globally
• Lessons learned from other technology-related economic booms
• Potential for commercial Research & Development and R&D outsourcing
• Success stories of multinationals offshoring technology development to Lebanon
• Key drivers needed for a thriving export-driven technology sector
• Highlights of a Lebanon 2025 vision
• Requirements for indigenous companies to achieve global market access
• Respective expectations/pledges from the Lebanese government and other players
• Need for business and technology incubators

The conference will span two days over the weekend of May 20-21 and will feature a number of sessions (registration, orientation, plenary, breakout, and closing) and communication vehicles (keynotes, presentations, panels, colloquies, workshops, case-studies, poster sessions, and/or roundtables). The first day of the conference will culminate in a high-profile dinner and one-of-a-kind networking opportunity for all conferees.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been chosen as the venue for TECHLEB|06 because of MIT’s internationally-acclaimed reputation as a leader in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, all of which are hallmarks of the conference. Also, given the high hopes placed on Lebanon’s youth and human capital, a leading academic institution has been selected to cradle and launch TECHLEB’s mission.

For more info visit www.techlebconference.com.

Chief