Dubai to kick off ‘World’s Largest Gathering of Futurists’ tomorrow

Dubai Future Forum, the world’s largest gathering of futurists, is set to kick off tomorrow and run for two days, November 27 and 28.

Organised by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), the forum takes place at the Museum of the Future under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of DFF.

The agenda includes four main themes: reimagining nature, empowering future generations, the human-machine relationship, and transformations in human life.

More than 150 speakers from the UAE and around the world will participate in 70 panel discussions and keynote speeches, in addition to workshops covering areas such as space, sustainability, environment, energy, food, health, medicine, education, technology, artificial intelligence, digital economy, governance, and many others. The forum will be attended by more than 2,500 futurists from 100 countries, in addition to around 100 international institutions.

Day 1
The first day of the two-day forum will host panel discussions, keynotes, fireside chats, workshops, and more, bringing together an array of specialists, including: His Excellency Ambassador Majid Al-Suwaidi, Director General & Special Representative of the UAE COP28 Presidency; Dr. Sultan Al Neyadi, Astronaut at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC); Hazza Al Mansouri, Astronaut at MBRSC; Stephen Bowen, Astronaut at NASA; Warren Hoburg, Astronaut at NASA; and Paul Savo, Assistant Professor at Stanford University.

Speakers will discuss topics such as the currency of the future, innovations in the energy sector, the role of strategic foresight in developing future policies, and preparing for the era of artificial intelligence.

Day 2
Her Excellency Ohood Al Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and Future, will start the second day with a keynote address on how to develop effective, sustainable policies. She will be followed by another keynote speech from Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO, Founder and Chairwoman of Openwater, in which she will discuss revolutionizing disease diagnosis and cures.

The second and final day will also host: Prof. Marc Buckley, Regenerative Futurist, ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation; whurley (William Hurley), Founder and CEO of Strangeworks; Prof. Matthew Agarwala from the University of Cambridge; Laurel Patterson from UNDP; Daniel Blume from the OECD and Dr. Grzegorz Ombach from Airbus; in addition to several artists.

They will discuss quantum computing, how nations will define success in the future, how nature and tech will change city planning, how we can foster ethical algorithmic decision-making, and what travel will look like in 2071. In addition, a workshop on day two will witness the launch of the UNICEF Youth Foresight Playbook.

Activations
On the sidelines of the Dubai Future Forum, Dubai Future Labs and its partners at Japan Science and Technology Agency and the MIT Senseable Dubai Lab will showcase work across robotics and automation as well as leveraging data to better understand our urban landscape.

Another activation will present a unique opportunity to safely taste cultivated meat, chocolate created in a lab, as well as eggs and milk produced completely animal-free, as part of ‘putting the future of food to the taste test’.

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