Search: “kuwait”

[YouTube]

Nuqat is currently taking place right now and finishes in 2 days time so if you still want to attend a workshop or lecture you still might be able to. [Link]

According to the 2012 Happy Planet Index, out of 151 countries researched, Kuwait came in at 143! ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE out of 151! The index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint to calculate this score. The happiest place? Costa Rica. If you want to check out the full ranking as well as more details on how the whole thing is ranked you can download the PDF file from [Here]

Back in 2009 Kuwait was 128 out of 143.

The Guardian published the photo above of Kuwait at night taken from space. The photo was one of many photos captured by the European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last month. The description of the photo says:

A night view of Kuwait City, the coastal city which serves as Kuwait’s political and economic capital. The metropolitan area has a population approaching 2.5 million

Check out The Guardian article [Here]

Below is another photo taken from space back in August also showing Kuwait at nigh. It was previously featured as a NASA image of the day.

NASA have a pretty good writeup on the photo above as well as a higher resolution photo which you can check out [Here]

Thanks Khalid

BurgerFuel is a New Zealand based fastfood chain with branches already in UAE and Saudi Arabia. As part of their expansion they’re now planning to open a branch in Kuwait. [Link]

I admit, I’m really terrible when it comes to business in general so I don’t understand how more burger places are opening in Kuwait, a small market thats already over-saturated with burger places. Am I missing something? Is there really still room for more burger places?

If you’re at the Avenues pass by the Kuwait Heart Foundation area setup since along with the Faculty of Medcine Students they’re attempting a Guinness World Record today and need your help. Invite your friends and family along as well since they’re trying to break the record for the highest number of BMI testings in 8 hours.

They’re starting from 12pm and ending at 8pm so pass by when you can.

Thanks BuYousef

Update: Just heard the record was broken.

Update2: Not only was the record broken but it was shattered with 9,023 measurements which is more than double the previous record. I’m curious to know if they’re going to end up sharing the total average BMI. My guess it’s going to be pretty high based on the fact we’re one of the fattest nations in the world.

Picture by The Avenues

Alshaya announced today that they’ll be bringing the franchise Katsuya by S+ARCK to Kuwait and the region. Unlike the other brands they’ve previous acquired this is probably the first one I haven’t heard of before. This is the description of what Katsuya is on their website:

Featuring the dynamic pairing of Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi and design impresario Philippe Starck, Katsuya by Starck is truly a feast for the senses. With specialty cocktails, unique rolls and spectacular sushi and sashimi platters, Chef Uechi skillfully translates Japanese flavors to the American palate. Signature dishes include Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño and Miso-Marinated Black Cod. With superb talent and exacting precision, Katsuya by Starck is changing the face of Japanese cuisine.

For the press release click [Here]

Update: Katsuya is now open [Link]

Doss and I love Kuwait. So to show our appreciation for a place that has opened up so many opportunities for us we decided to make Kuwait his dance floor. We hit Mahboula, Fintas, Hawalli, Salmiya and Shaab. So enjoy and a big thanks to you all of our friends and fans! tjcfilms.com

[YouTube]

The NUQAT design conference is taking place this year from October 4th to October 9th. There will be a ton of lectures and workshops to suit everyones interest. Below are the speakers participating this year:

SULAYMAN AL BASSAM
Theatre Director

DR. NASSER ABULHASAN
Architect, founder and partner of AGI architecture – Kuwait

RANA SALAM
A world renowned branding designer, based

TAREK ATRISSI
Internationally acclaimed graphic designer and typographer based in Holland

ELIE BOU JAMRA & MIRNA HAMADY
Co-founders at Kashida, Lebanese product design studio

ALFRED TARAZI
Political mixed media artist from Lebanon

JASSIM AL SADDAH
Kuwaiti Architect, Founder of Bab Nimnim

KHALID SHAFAR
Emirati product designer

SH. ALANOUD AL SABAH
Kuwaiti jewelry designer, founder of the label, Octium

AHMAD ANGAWI
Up & coming product designer from Saudi Arabia

PLUS AZIZ
Senior Trend analyst at NYC based marketing company Fathom+Hatch

LAMYA GERGASH
Emirati Photographer and Artist

HALEH ANVARI
Iranian published Writer & Photographer

NUR KAOUKJI
Fashion Designer, owner of Noon

YOUNES DURET
Global design agency creator from Marakesh

SALEM ALQASSIMI
Graphic Designer, Artist, Instructor, and Founder of Fikra

PASCAL ZOGHBI
Acclaimed Type Designer Founder of “29 Arabic Letters”

L’ATELIER NAWBAR
Jewelry Designer

For more information or to register visit the NUQAT website [Here]

The Kuwait Little League Baseball and Softball is an organization that has been working with the children of Kuwait since the early 1980s. They function strictly with the efforts of volunteers and are a non-profit organization with all the income going towards the maintenance of the field and the equipment needed for the players.

Last year due to the kind support of sponsors they were able to get television quality lights on two of their baseball fields and scoreboards installed on three of them. They are of course as I mentioned a strictly volunteer organization that is 100% dedicated to providing children with a great, inexpensive, sport experience. This past year they took teams to international tournaments in Qatar, Dubai, Poland and the US. This was all achieved with the help of volunteer coaches, who not only gave up their evenings and weekends to work with the kids but also give up vacation time in the summers to go to competitions. The video above is their year in review video.

If you’re interested in signing up your children to the Kuwait Little League they’ve just opened registration for the 2012/2013 season. Below is the list of divisions with their ages:

Tee Ball – Boys and Girls – 5 to 7 years old
Minors – Boys and Girls – 8 to 10 years old
Majors – Boys and Girls – 11 to 12 years old
Juniors – Boys and Girls – 13 to 14 years old
Seniors – Boys and Girls – 15 to 18 years old
Softball – Girls only – 11 to 18 years old
Challenger* – Boys and Girls – 7 to 12 years old

*This is a division for children with special needs

To sign up visit the Kuwait Little League website and click on “Register Online Now” [Link]

The U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the State Department is sponsoring the Kuwait Leadership Mastery to teach men (17-24) and women (of all ages) leadership skills.

There are seats for only 50 participants and these 50 participants will work in teams to develop a campaign for change to benefit Kuwait. Each team will have the benefit of a mentor who will guide them over a 5-6 month time period as they develop their campaign. At the end of the program in March, the media will be invited to a presentation that highlights the Campaigns for Change. In April the 50 participants will graduate and each receive a special certificate that certifies their leadership skills.

The regular fee for this training is usually around KD700 to KD900 but since it’s being sponsored you don’t have to pay. If you’re interested in applying for this program visit their website at kuwaitleadershipmastery.com. Registration will end 15 October.

Want to help make a difference? Using Instagram take pictures the good, the bad and the ugly and hashtag the shots with #welcometokuwait

Spread the word.

The new iPhone 5 uses new “nano” sim cards that are smaller and slimmer than micro sim cards. Luckily it seems all local telecom providers will be getting nano sim cards and we won’t have to do any cutting or card slimming to get it working with our iPhone 5’s. Wataniya already posted on twitter that they will have nano sim cards and Viva just confirmed to me that they will also have nano sim cards available. I’ve contacted Zain as well but I’m still waiting for a reply from them.

I was under the impression that this was already available but I guess it wasn’t. It still doesn’t work with iPhones but if you have Android 4.0 and above then you’re in luck. [Link]

Thanks Rami

I’ve driven by the site and I have to say it’s going to be HUGE. [YouTube]

Yousef is a 17 year old Kuwaiti kid with a thing for backflips. He went around Kuwait and shot clips of himself backflipping in front of different landmarks and inside different places with the idea to show Kuwait in a different way.

He makes backflipping look so easy. [YouTube]