Proposals for a major new design school in the Middle East and the first ever pan-Arab professional design association are two ideas that will be discussed at the International Design Forum, which takes place in Dubai next week.

The IDF has also called on the public to set "design challenges" for the Arab world. These too will be debated at the forum.

Details of the proposals can be found on our blog for the International Design Forum, while people are invited to submit their design challanges via the Design Challenge website.

Also on the blog are images and info about Abu Dhabi Central Market (shown here) - a major new development by architects Foster + Partners and which includes a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Arab souk.

The IDF blog has also been updated with a summary of the brainstorming session attended by Marcel Wanders, Karim Rashid, Stefano Boeri, Marcus Fairs, Sheikh Majed and Peter Zec, among others, which was held in Milan last month.