UAE, Davos to host 2nd Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils

The UAE Government is partnering with the World Economic Forum – Davos to host the second Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, AMGFC on 11th and 12th November 2017, in Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the event gathers more than 700 scholars and future experts from 75 countries. Attendees will convene in 35 Councils, each of which addresses key issues in a vital strategic sector, and work to propose practical solutions for the challenges that are likely to arise.

"The Councils represent the largest gathering of future experts in 35 vital sectors," asserted Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future and Co-Chair of the AMGFC. "It is an important opportunity for the UAE and the region to learn about the latest global trends and best practices, and to play our part in shaping the future of the most strategic sectors."

Al Gergawi continued, "This grand international forum reflects the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has called on government and private entities to prioritise future-readiness, work to forecast the future and prepare for the transformations heading our way. This resonates with the UAE’s leading and active role in building the future, in collaboration with countries and organisations around the world."

"The second edition of the Future Councils gathers a high-profile group of researchers and experts in future-centric sciences to look into the future of 35 strategic sectors," Al Gergawi explained, "these include the Fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, energy, water, technology, transport, space travel, health, and high-tech education, among others. Building on the UAE’s status as a global hub for the future industry, the event provides a platform for attendees to exchange knowledge, expertise, best practices and success stories in order to develop proactive solutions to the challenges in the near, medium and long term."

"The Councils’ outcomes are the valuable raw material that governments around the region and the world can use in developing their strategies and programmes for the future," the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future noted, revealing that the findings of the first Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils led to the formulation of strategies and action plans, foremost of which is the six-pronged executive plan to embrace the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The plan is being rapidly implemented with the formation of the world’s first Council for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the UAE.

The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, which held its first edition in November 2016, was attended by 700 international experts on the future, as well as high-ranking government officials, 252 innovators and businessmen, 203 academics and experts, and 245 representatives of governments and international organisations.

Last November, the UAE hosted the first Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, where experts on the future looked into proactive solutions to the most pressing challenges ahead. The Councils outlined likely scenarios for the future of sectors that most affect people’s lives, such as healthcare, education, energy, transportation, water, food security and others.