Ali Al Farai during the workshop

Knowledge Oman recently took part in a new-graduates training workshop held at The College of Economics, Management and Information Systems (CEMIS), University of Nizwa. Knowledge Oman was represented by Mr. Ali Al Farai, dynamic and vibrant public speaker and trainer who led  training sessions on life skills, managing work-life and importance of self-confidence and motivation.

This workshop is the fourth graduate training program to be organized by the college, this one was for students graduating in fall 2011. The training was conducted for students from Information Systems, Accounting, International Trade and Finance, Marketing and Management major. During the three-day workshop, focused discussions were facilitated on in such topics as academia-industry transfer. Major focus was on work-life balance and Career Management. Other topics covered were Software Project Development using SQL Server and ASP.NET, Hardware and Software organization, Accounting using Tally, Banking operation skills, Entrepreneurship and Tourism and career opportunities. These sessions were led by experts from Ministry of Education and some of the University faculty members.

Preparing for the Royal Horse Show

Guido Louis’s life story is the stuff that movies are made of.  When he was a teenager, he joined a circus, then trained with the famous Cossack trick riders. Today, he is top trick riding instructor for His Majesty’s Royal Cavalry. To watch Guido lead his team at the Royal Cavalry Horse Shows is exciting, entertaining and heart-stopping. Guido’s understanding of horses, and his skill and charisma as a performer are extraordinary. But although admitting to a certain love of the limelight, Guido insists that he is nobody special, and when not on show, is perfectly content to be at home watching TV just like anybody else.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Could you please introduce yourself to KnowledgeOman.com

My name is Guido Louis. I’m Dutch by nationality. My father is from Indonesia and my mother is Dutch, and I was born and grew up in Holland.  I’m a trick and stunt rider instructor for the Royal Cavalry Oman, as well as a show choreographer and producer.  I have my own company , Rockin’ Horse Productions, in the UK.

2. How old were you when you first sat on a horse?

I first sat in a saddle at the age of five, in front of my mum. . . but I didn’t start riding lessons until I was 8. Although my family all love horses and have sat on a horse at some point in their lives, none of them has ever been professionally involved with horses.

Guido and Cyrano

3. How did you get into trick riding?

By the age of 12, I was doing whatever jobs I could, such as distributing potatoes, delivering newspapers, working at local equestrian schools, mucking out stables – always hoping that someone would let me ride his horse, of course! Then when I was 15, I joined a circus. I spent a whole year doing anything and everything – assisting with acts, performing whenever I could, doing a somersault here, a back flip there – and all the time learning as much as possible. Experience wise it was a very rich year, but I was always hungry because I had very little money. We performed in Holland, and then went to Belgium, and there I saw a Christmas show. That show changed my life because for the first time I saw Cossack riders performing tricks.  I was 16 years old and absolutely spellbound by those Cossacks and their equestrian skills such as going under the belly of a horse.

4. How did you get trained?

I approached one of the Cossacks in his caravan and asked if they needed any new recruits. The guy had a file and he said , “OK, look, I’ll put you down under R for rider, but if I don’t contact you within a month, don’t expect to hear from me.” A whole month went by and I waited and waited, but I didn’t hear anything from him, so finally I decided to call him, and he said, “Oh, I’m glad you called, I was trying to get in touch with you all day yesterday.” I don’t know if that was true or not, but he invited me to go to Germany to train at the Cossack school there. I received training under the guidance of George Golgojew and his wife, Monica. That was a turning point for me, and from that time I’ve never looked back.

Guido and Xiado

5. Where’s the most exciting place you’ve performed?

Well, it’s certainly very exciting when you’re in Wattayah in Muscat with almost 2000 horses and 900 camels all around, and HM is there with his international royal guests – you can’t get much more exciting than that. It’s an amazing thing to be part of. But strangely enough, it’s also exciting when you’re doing a local show back home where you know everyone in the crowd – they’re all your friends and acquaintances from your village and you’ve had coffee or dinner with most of them. The guy who organizes that local show puts the same kind of passion into it as the guys who organise the big show in Wattayah. And that makes me want to put the same amount of effort intomy performance, and get it right, and entertain people the best I can.

6. Where would you like to perform?

Everywhere! I’d particularly love to explore countries like Japan and China and produce shows there. It’s really not about money for me, but it is important for me to have different places I can go to and keep my options open. I really love coming here to Oman. I love Oman because there’s so much variety of places to go, not just shopping malls. The people make me feel very welcome; they are so friendly and kind – there’s a lot to be learned from the Omani hospitality.

Hat pick ups

7. What’s the worst thing that can happen during a show?

The worst moments are when things don’t go as planned, especially if you end up actually breaking something and having to be carried out of the arena, or the horse gets hurt – that’s not good at all!

8. What do you do to have fun?

I love music, especially drums – if I wasn’t a trick rider, I guess I’d like to have been a drummer. And I really enjoy salsa dancing, and doing a bit of salsa teaching. Apart from that, I relax by just sitting at home watching TV and DVDs.  I love travel too; I’m very keen to get an impression of what a country is about.

Rockin'Horse The Show! Roman Ride fire jump

9. How do you keep yourself in shape?

Eating sensibly – I love fish and have fish a few times a week. Regular exercise is also important, and means I’m in far less pain after a show. But although it’s good to go the gym, you really don’t need to do exercises involving expensive gym equipment and high skills – you can just do simple stretching and bending and warm-up exercises in the morning.

10. Who’s the most inspirational person in your life?

The French equestrian, Jean Francois Pignon. He’s amazing. I met him when we were doing the big Wattayah show in 2010. He’s not only a top equestrian, but he’s also a very spiritual kind of person. He’s both “horse wise” and “people wise” – a rare combination.

Omani Pyramid at Sultan Qaboos 40th Anniversary Show

11. How can the equestrian scene in Oman be improved?

By improving riders’ awareness  of what they expect from their horse – of what they are asking their horse to do. There’s too much aggression and too many misunderstandings between horses and riders, and not enough mutual trust, confidence and respect. A rider should be able to understand what a horse is feeling and what it’s going through. If a horse isn’t responding to a command, it’s no good shouting at it – that’s not going to make it want to do something better. Sometimes I jump onto  riders’ backs so they can experience what it’s like for the horse.  I’ve even on occasion put a bridle round a rider’s neck and jerked it to give the rider a better understanding of how the horse feels when they’re being rough on its mouth. Since I started coming to Oman in 2004, I’ve seen riders develop a much better understanding of how to get a horse to do what they want

12. Any final word for KnowledgeOman.com?

With anything you want to do in life, not only trick riding, make sure you do it properly. Don’t take short cuts; do things in the proper way, even though you may get bored and impatient. Believe me, the only way to benefit in the long run is by taking things slowly and doing them thoroughly. You can’t be a trick rider immediately. You have to first learn how to look after a horse and clean it before you can ride it. That’s the only way to develop a true understanding.  Also, don’t put things off – you can always find an excuse for not doing something, but that’s not the way to succeed!

You can find out more about Guido Louis through his website http://www.rockinghorseproductions.co.uk Email:  info@rockinghorseproductions.co.uk
 

Interview by Anne Collins

Photography by Paul Henocq & Alan Fairhust

KnowledgeOman.com, the leading community and knowledge sharing initiative in the Sultanate, has successfully completed a series of events specifically to support the formation of a children’s library in Musana. On behalf the Knowledge Oman team, Aysha Al Wahabi, Project Manager of the initiative, handed the donation to the Let’s Read Campaign organizers part of the Dar Al Attaa institute, highlighting the role of the events in raising awareness in the country for children's learning and reading habits.

"Childrens early year's of learning lay foundation for all that is to come in their future's learning and reading habits. We are pleased to have successfully completed a number of events to raise a donation that simply support the noble cause", said Tariq Hilal Al-Barwani, founder and president of knowledgeoman.com

The Dar Al Atta’a Let’s Read Campaign, led by Jane Jaffer, has set up reading corners for children in hospitals and supplements school libraries and community centers with books, computers and equipment. The campaign also features a monthly book sale to raise funds for the project, with the children’s library being a central part, and is currently working to set-up a mobile children's library to further spread knowledge for children across the Sultanate.

Jane Jaffer, Project Manager of the Let’s Read Campaign, said, "We greatly appreciate the support of Knowledge Oman for contributing towards our Let's Read projects to promote the love of reading to children in Oman.”

KnowledgeOman.com, established in April 2008, has grown with over 13,000 members reaching both the English and Arabic speaking community in the country. Knowledge Oman is committed to spreading knowledge and free education across the country through various projects and volunteer-driven initiatives.

KnowledgeOman.com, the country’s leading knowledge-based community initiative, is supporting Oman Symposium on Management OSOM 2012 -‘An Awesome Experience in Knowledge Sharing’ event organized by Ibra College of Technology in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), which is scheduled for the 4^th of March 2012. KnowledgeOman.com will support the event by bringing the community closer to leverage the awareness on the compelling issues facing the corporate world, industry and academia. OSOM will be held under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Muna bint Khalfan Al Jaradaniyah, Undersecreatary for Technological Education and Vocational Training, Ministry of Manpower.

Tariq Hilal Al Barwani, President and Founder of KnowleddgeOman.com, said, “KnowledgeOman.com is pleased to support initiatives that promote and generate knowledge in the country. We trust the OSOM event will have an outcome of a fruitful way of examining the issues so as provide viable solutions to how knowledge in every discipline of life is created, managed, shared and disseminated in our world and especially Oman today”

The symposium theme ‘Inspiring Oman towards New Horizons of Growth’ will provide a great opportunity for all the concerned stakeholders to reach a common platform culminating in brainstorming various knowledge sharing related issues facing the world today. The forum would provide a unique plinth for practicing managers, academicians and students across the Sultanate to deliberate on a variety of topics including, but not confined to The Role of Entrepreneurship in the growth and development of Oman; People Management in Oman; Education and its role in economic development of the country and Identifying key sectors for growth in Oman.

Dr. Khalid Abdulazeez AmBusaidi, Ibra College of Technology Dean said ‘We are confident that the symposium will create a synergy between the Industry and Academia and will certainly enable knowledge sharing that will be mutually benefitting’ 

KnowledgeOman.com, the leading knowledge-based community platform, has paved a renewed direction with its community seminars initiative now held in both an Arabic and English platform. The community seminars are set to cater to various segments of the country, both nationals and residents from various countries. The series of planned seminars for the year will showcase both local and regional speakers and remain free for all to enable the exchange of knowledge in the country and community development.

"Since the roll-out of the first seminar, KnowledgeOman.com listened to the community and collected feedback. We are accordingly introducing Arabic-based seminars to complement the English seminars and bilingually cater to areas that contribute in building the nation and the people," says Rym Aoudia, Head of Community Affairs and Media at KnowledgeOman.com

Jamal Al Asmi and Ali Al Farai, appointed in the KnowledgdeOman.com team to facilitate the community seminars, come from extensive experience of public speaking, training, and community engagement. Jamal overlooks the English seminars while Ali overlooks the Arabic seminars working closely with other volunteer team members.

Ali Al Farai, leading the new series of Arabic seminars, notes, "The purpose of launching the Arabic seminars is to grow an even wider reach and to make strides towards our vision of transforming Oman into a knowledge based society. The Arabic language itself contains much of the local knowledge that makes our culture and understanding of the world unique. It defines us."

With the 2012 seminars roll-out, the first event of the year is on January 17th at Middle East College of Information Technology, with the topic of 'Wellbeing and Life Balance'. The event invites prominent speaker and member of the state council Sheikh Khalfan Al Esry to share his knowledge on the topic and engage with the audience.

Jamal Al Asmi, adds, "The next seminar on Wellbeing and Life Balance will help members achieve what is probably the most important thing in life, and that is how to spend your energy and time. It is too easy to get in the rut of old routines. This seminar will give people a chance to switch off for three hours and reflect at the amazing possibility of reshaping one's life in a much more fulfilling way."

The KnowledgeOman.com seminars continue to grow with impact across the country as an open knowledge-sharing platform, now presented bilingually in 2012 to further extend the community outreach and benefit a larger number of people.

The KnowledgeOman.com Management, leading the country's knowledge-based volunteer platform with a multi-national team, has recently honored its Volunteers who have participated in different social and learning activities throughout the year. The honoring ceremony was held at Grand Hyatt with appreciation certificates presented and a word of thanks on how volunteers bring impact to the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Tariq Hilal Al Barwani, Founder and President of KnowledgeOman.com, says, "We are indeed grateful to have a committed and competent team of members who are dedicated to making a difference for a knowledge society. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each one of them and encourage the nation's talent."

The team members have contributed to a variety of online and offline initiatives aimed at disseminating knowledge and learning. This includes the first bilingual video sharing platform, the first bilingual social network platform, free educational community seminars, a platform for writers and columnist to share their views and knowledge online, electronic library hosting knowledge books, electronic school offering classes and courses online, and talent-driven events on a periodical basis. Going forward in 2012, an emphasis will be on the community led initiatives to further connect with and empower the people.

Khalfan Al Mahrazy, Vice President of KnowledgeOman.com, adds, "The achievements at KnowledgeOman.com today are due to the great team we have in place volunteering enthusiastically with their time and effort."

KnowledgeOman.com is uniquely driven by the community and for the community, run voluntarily by a team of local and expatriate team living in Oman coming from different backgrounds, nationalities and professions of both private and public institutions. Established in 2008, KnowledgeOman.com has received both local and international recognition for the excellence rendered, including an award winning status with the Oman Web Awards international standard web technology prize for its online presence in the country and the Global Brand Leadership Award for its community projects.

Speaking about being awarded five times, Tariq said “Through experience I learnt that one can easily become an MVP by constantly learning new things, applying the learnings and then sharing knowledge openly and freely for others to prosper. Your value as a person is recognized when you share what you learn in order to create more winning individuals in the nation” Over 100 million people participate in technical communities around the world but fewer than 4,000 receive MVP status award due to rigorous review process undertaken by Microsoft Panel of experts on existing and potential candidates every year. In Oman, only one person among hundreds of people from the business and government sector has been awarded for 5 years consecutively since 2007 for contributing solutions that catalyze change and innovation that enhances people's lives and industry's success.

"MVPs represent technology's best and brightest who share a deep commitment to community and a willingness to help others, we are honored to welcome Tariq as one of them" said Rich Kaplan, Microsoft Corporate Vice President. 

Currently working at the Information Technology department in the telecom industry, Tariq previously served as the department head of Corporate Affairs overseeing the public relations, sponsorship, events and media relations team which reflects his exposure to various discipline. Tariq also founded knowledge sharing community portal, KnowledgeOman.com, which today has over 13 thousand members registered and a diverse team of local and expat professionals working voluntarily together to share knowledge openly across the Sultanate. In relation to his experience in marketing, IT and innovation with over 13 years of experience in the professional business and technical fields, Tariq notes, "It really helps to understand the function of a business when you move around the departments within an organization. I was privileged to work in marketing and run a department within for two years. While always being involved in IT initiatives, I'm now further focusing on it to hone my technical expertise." 

Tariq is also completing his Doctorate studies in the Management of Organizations and has created a number of successful projects in his personal and professional capacity that aim to support the greater vision of His Majesty the Sultan Qaboos of Oman towards transforming the Sultanate into a Digital Knowledge-based Society. A number of these projects have received various prestigious local and international awards.

Shatha Al Maskiry, Managing Director, Protiviti

KnowledgeOman.com, the country’s leading knowledge-based community initiative, is supporting Oman’s IT Leadership Conference, organized by the global firm Protiviti Member Firm (Middle East) for the first time in the country. Held under the patronage of Dr. Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, the event under the theme of “Leadership in IT: What it takes to take the lead?” is scheduled this November 20^th at Shangri-la with an exclusive list of Business and IT leaders in Oman.

Shatha Salim Al Maskiry, Managing Director, Protiviti, says “We are organizing this event to inspire leaders of today and tomorrow in IT excellence and innovation, to engage in thought provoking topics such as Security, Green IT, and governance; and to share rich experiences and deep insights in today’s rapidly changing and challenging landscape.”

The IT Leadership conference is set to convey a strong message to foster leadership and innovation in IT based on international standards and leading practices. Key speakers from organizations such as Microsoft, Cisco and Protiviti will provide deep insights on current IT trends that demand an agile strategy, innovation, change, and confidence. Topics include Information Security & Privacy, Internet Governance, Mega Trends, role of IT in National Competitiveness, e-government, IT challenges in the 21^st century and an HR perspective in attracting, developing and retaining talent.

Tariq Al Barwani, President and Founder of KnowledgeOman.com, adds, “Every organization today has an information and communications technology department yet not all of them are effectively lead and utilized as a business enabling and facilitating tool. We are proud to be supporting this unique event which will bring knowledge closer to IT leaders in Oman.”

In line with KnowledgeOman.com’s mission of connecting communities with knowledge, the support of Protiviti’s IT Leadership Conference promotes the sharing of knowledge, building market ties, and paving the way for solutions and innovations in the country.

Protiviti, a global consulting firm, helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit. Protiviti has a network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries globally with its team of professionals and advisors.

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Conference Agenda (click to enlarge):

Toyota is bringing the people an interesting contest where users can drive in the Facebook race track and put their fastest lap in an exciting game with advanced 3D technology features. Among a range of valuable prizes, the Winner receives the leading gift of an exclusive painting from the FT-86 (Toyota’s New Upcoming Sports Car) designer.

Get into the game at: Toyota Oman Facebook Page

New car models and contests will also be announced at the page.