His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Basis (DFF), attended the opening day of the Dubai Future Discussion board 2025, the world’s largest gathering of futurists. Organised by the Dubai Future Basis, the Discussion board, being held on the Museum of the Future till 19 November, options greater than 2,500 individuals from round 100 international locations, together with over 200 audio system together with futurists, ministers, CEOs, lecturers, researchers, decision-makers, and thought leaders.
His Highness affirmed that designing the long run has turn out to be probably the most strategic priorities shaping the work of countries and governments, and a core pillar within the long-term plans of organisations and establishments throughout all sectors. He harassed the significance of strengthening integration between world capabilities, disciplines, and futurist experience to maintain progress and be certain that humanity continues advancing in the best route.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed additional stated that Dubai’s world mannequin for future design is based on worldwide partnerships and collaboration with all who share the values of optimism, proactivity, and readiness. He added that Dubai works with like-minded companions from around the globe to think about, design and implement the long run that societies aspire to.
He famous that the Dubai Future Discussion board, launched in 2022, was designed to function an annual world platform that brings the world’s main futurists and future-focused establishments collectively in Dubai to determine nationwide and world priorities, examine rising alternatives, unify private and non-private efforts, and develop future-ready companies and options to form a greater future for humanity.
His Highness affirmed that Dubai will proceed to strengthen its place as a world centre for harnessing future alternatives and launching forward-looking initiatives constructed on collaboration between specialists, establishments, governments, younger skills, innovators, and artistic thinkers. He emphasised that Dubai stays dedicated to creating options to future challenges by leveraging superior applied sciences and making certain that societal wants stay on the coronary heart of all progress.
Dubai Foresight Awards
Through the Discussion board, His Highness, accompanied by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, honoured the primary place winners of the inaugural version of the Dubai Foresight Awards, aimed toward celebrating excellent futurists, innovators, visionaries, and future designers from around the globe. The awards recognise excellence throughout three classes that advance the foundations, purposes, and affect of foresight on societies and the atmosphere.
Within the Foresight Change Makers class, first place was awarded to Fiji’s ‘Pasifika Futures Report’, which highlighted the significance of embedding indigenous Pacific knowledge and data into foresight to reshape how futures are imagined. Second place went to the UNICEF Innocenti Youth Foresight Fellowship (UYFF) Program in Pakistan, whereas third place was awarded to France’s ‘Sustainable Futures’ initiative for its contribution to creating foresight a each day follow and a shared world language.
Within the Foresight for Folks class, Italy’s ‘Metropolis Longevity’ initiative secured first place for its pioneering integration of AI throughout essential sectors to assist more healthy, longer lives in future city communities. The ‘Futures that Heal’ initiative from Greece earned second place for using foresight to beat social fragmentation and strengthen cohesion. Third place went to Australia’s ‘For Our Future’ initiative for embedding foresight as a basis for cooperation and solidarity throughout generations.
Within the Foresight for the Planet class, first place was awarded to Cameroon’s ‘Congo Basin Futures’ initiative, which underscored the significance of anticipating biodiversity futures to protect one in all Africa’s most important ecosystems. Second place went to ‘Cool Local weather Collective’s Three Futures Check’, a US-based venture creating foresight-based experimental instruments to determine sensible pathways for mitigating world warming. The third place winner was Egypt’s ‘Seeding the Future’, which offered forward-looking situations that open new strategic alternatives for sustainable agriculture and superior resilience within the Nile Delta.
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Synthetic Intelligence, Digital Financial system, and Distant Work Functions and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Basis; His Excellency Lieutenant Common Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police; Her Excellency Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Director Common of Dubai’s Group Growth Authority; His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of the Dubai Worldwide Monetary Centre and senior officers.
Subsequent era of futurists
His Highness additionally attended the commencement of the second cohort of the ‘FEEL: A disruptive Futures Program’, the area’s first worldwide initiative of its form developed by the Dubai Future Academy. The Program equips executives, entrepreneurs, strategists, policymakers, buyers, innovators, and specialists from around the globe with superior instruments to anticipate and form future transformations.
His Highness emphasised that capacity-building throughout all fields, together with future sensing, is crucial to advancing human data and bettering high quality of life. He known as on graduates to play an lively position, from Dubai and thru their tutorial, management, {and professional} positions worldwide, in opening new horizons for analysis, improvement, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The cohort included 30 individuals from 15 international locations, chosen from 401 purposes acquired from 68 international locations. Over 4 weeks, the Program offered an built-in studying journey designed to construct foresight capabilities and improve individuals’ capacity to maintain tempo with fast developments in innovation throughout a number of sectors.
His Highness additionally met with graduates of the fifth cohort of the Dubai Future Consultants Program (DEEP), the world’s first government-led foresight capacity-building initiative, developed by Dubai Future Basis in collaboration with the Common Secretariat of The Government Council of Dubai. The Program empowers Emirati expertise working in center and senior management positions throughout authorities and semi-government entities to turn out to be future specialists of their respective fields.
His Highness highlighted the significance of foresight abilities in advancing Dubai’s management, noting that Dubai has all the time aimed for first place. He affirmed that the emirate’s expertise advantages from an built-in assist ecosystem constructed on teamwork and pushed by a shared purpose: strengthening Dubai’s competitiveness, readiness, and world management in keeping with the aims of the Dubai Financial Agenda D33.
The fifth cohort included 21 individuals from 16 authorities entities in Dubai, who acquired sensible and theoretical coaching from main world specialists in future research, superior evaluation, and situation design.
Discussion board classes and themes
Day 1 of the Dubai Future Discussion board featured keynote speeches and panel classes throughout 5 themes: Foresight Insights, Exploring the Unknown, Empowering Societies, Reimagining Well being, and Optimising Programs. Discussions addressed main world transformations within the age of AI, the character of future societies, long-term decision-making, the position of training in constructing world readiness, the contribution of business sectors to future economies, the importance of scientific alliances in analysis and improvement, the subsequent leap in proactive medication, and different rising subjects.
Workshops
The Discussion board additionally hosted 4 workshops together with ‘Anticipating the Future Collectively: How can we Assess the Futures Pulse of Residents?’ by Copenhagen Institute for Futures Research; ‘State of affairs Lab: What Occurs When Creativeness Turns into the World’s Most Precious Useful resource?’ by technique&; ‘Foresight to Motion: What Will the Way forward for Migration Look Like?’ hosted by the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM, UN Migration); and ‘Different Futures Strategies: What Can We Be taught from Across the World?’ by Faculty of Worldwide Futures and Subsequent Generations Foresight Practitioners.
Parallel to the classes, the Discussion board offered immersive AR and VR experiences and a various set of artistic activations designed to have interaction individuals in interactive ecosystems for exploring future alternatives and designing revolutionary options.
Day 2 will function classes on the way forward for cities, developments in area exploration, the evolving relationship between people and the planet, the position of youth in reworking foresight into innovation, strengthening group partnerships, enhancing sources resilience, and constructing world readiness for the long run.