DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Officials are gearing up for Dubai’s inaugural school transportation conference, with more details and registration now available.

The event stems from the partnership between the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai and the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) in the U.S., which was announced last year.

“The event constitutes the first school transportation conference in the region and will be a unique platform attracting hordes of transportation professionals hailing from all over the world,” according to the conference website. “The Dubai 2013 edition welcomes all visitors from different sectors and invites over 40 countries from different parts of the world to participate.”

On the agenda are seven key workshops, covering such pertinent pupil transportation topics as safety, regulations, technology and security, special-needs students and student management.

The event, to be held April 21 to 23 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, will also include an intentionally small and focused trade show, with about two-dozen vendors.

For more information and to register for the conference, go to www.schoolconference.ae.

To hear NAPT Executive Director Mike Martin’s insights on the conference and on Dubai itself, see SBF Publisher Frank Di Giacomo’s latest editorial.