GMIS 2020 to go virtual

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, GMIS - a joint initiative by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, today announced that the third edition of its Summit, GMIS 2020, will be converted into a series of digital sessions.

The summit invited thought-leaders from the global manufacturing community to virtually come together, for the very first time, to discuss, debate and shape the future of the manufacturing sector.

GMIS 2020 was initially planned to take place in April alongside the Hannover Messe 2020 in Germany under the theme of #GermanyConnects – inspired by the country’s leadership in connecting the global manufacturing and industrial community with its transformational digital and technological solutions.

The digital series was announced in coordination with its co-chairs Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, and LI Yong, Director-General of the UNIDO, and alongside its partner in Germany, Deutsche Messe, following the evaluation of the growing economical and logistical uncertainly surrounding the escalating Coronavirus pandemic.

Reinforcing the physical and digital convergence of Industry 4.0, the ‘#GMIS2020 Digital Series’ will leverage technology to virtually convene a truly global, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder dialogue around issues that are at the heart of the manufacturing sector and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the Organising Committee for GMIS, said, "Our highest priority has always been to arrive at the safest and most practical outcome in light of the current situation while staying true to the vision and mission of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit. The #GMIS2020 Digital Series takes a transformational approach towards ensuring a risk-free environment for participants to engage in shaping the future of manufacturing."

"As the pandemic sweeps across the world, paralysing many aspects of normal life, attention must now turn to how the Fourth Industrial Revolution can be leveraged to restore our economies and our society, taking us from an era of ‘digital disruption’ to an era of ‘digital restoration’," he added.

There have been many debates around the disruptive, and in some cases, the destabilising nature of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with regards to employment, business sustainability, and global prosperity. However, the crisis surrounding the current pandemic is casting a new lens on the power of technology to assess how it can be utilised as a force for global restoration.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.