British Safety Council hosts successful Middle East Conference in Dubai

More than 125 senior leaders in health, safety and wellbeing gathered at the prestigious Conrad Hotel for the Leading Health, Safety and Wellbeing in a Changing World conference, alongside keynote speakers, panellists and British Safety Council representatives.

British Safety Council's chief executive, Mike Robinson, gave the opening address at the Middle East Conference. Photograph: Prime Vision Studio  

Delegates from a broad range of sectors arrived promptly to take advantage of early networking opportunities over coffee before British Safety Council's chief executive, Mike Robinson, officially started the conference with his opening address.  

He flagged some of the critical issues impacting businesses operating in the Middle East and spoke about the opportunities and risks that come with the rapid pace of change the world is witnessing.

“Humans have always lived with change at every stage of our development. Today, however, the change we are seeing is not just rapid, it’s meteoric. It’s being driven by technological advancements, changing workforce demographics, workplace culture and employee expectations, and regulatory and legal changes,” said Robinson. “Change of this magnitude, while also offering huge opportunity, could risk rolling back health, safety and wellbeing standards, and leave workers worse off.”   

Following an introduction from the event’s host, British Safety Council chair Peter McGettrick, Nick Wharton (a British Safety Council trainer) took to the stage to focus on Leadership and Culture within health and safety. A key take from his presentation was the tendency for organisations to emphasise the negatives, without acknowledging all the good things that might be going on.  

The conference was sponsored by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), which was well represented among the delegates – including its own deputy senior manager, Marcéll Greeff, who also took part in a lively ‘Safety Culture’ panel discussion, alongside Eng. Sultan Aldahmani, British Safety Council’s Dr Audrey Fleming, David Robinson CMIOSH and Nicolas Gougenheim. 

Following a packed coffee and networking break, Dr Fleming shared her insights into Wellbeing Psychosocial Risk, bringing the concept to life through real-life case studies. The session wrapped up after a round of participation from members of the audience, who clearly felt connected to the topic. 

Recognising the rapid advances in technology, innovation and artificial intelligence (AI), Prakash Senghani, founder and chief executive of Navatech, shared eye-opening examples of use cases, encouraging the adoption of the latest developments to benefit our combined endeavours in health, safety and wellbeing. 

The afternoon leg of the conference kicked off with John Dunne, group head of health & safety at Red Sea Global, discussing H&S for Giga projects. During an impressive presentation of large-scale projects, Dunne brought us back to thinking about the basics, including a great example of how the introduction of a highly visible uniform helps Red Sea Global’s teams to work more effectively on site.  

The final keynote session, delivered by Dr. Waddah S Ghanem Al Hashmi, was all about ESG, and how these initiatives need to be woven into the fabric of our health and safety strategies.  

British Safety Council chair Peter McGettrick closed the conference by rounding up what had been an inspiring and thought-provoking day.

“In a time marked by rapid change, uncertainty and disruption, what we do – what all of you here do – has never been more important,” said McGettrick. “Indeed, ensuring our people go home from work well, safe and happy means we can all build a future that is not only survivable, but sustainable, and one where we can all thrive.”