Hamdan at the Helm: Dubai Future Forum 2024
The region’s largest gathering of futurists and innovation leaders came together at Dubai Future Forum 2024. More than 1,800 global experts from over 100 countries attended this groundbreaking event at Museum of the Future. His Highness Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, graced the occasion that showcased Dubai’s role as a global hub for tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
Sheik Hamdan’s presence highlighted Dubai’s steadfast dedication to encourage future-ready initiatives and technological progress. He shared valuable insights from the forum’s key sessions on social media platforms that emphasized Dubai’s strategic vision for sustainable development and technological breakthroughs. The two-day forum featured in-depth discussions about artificial intelligence, green practices, and the future of global economies.
Global Future Leadership Summit
The Global Future Leadership Summit opened with a compelling message from Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF). He spoke about the rapid advancement in future design and technology. “Over the next 12 months, we won’t just witness change—it will be a series of era-defining moments,” Belhoul declared. He emphasized how machine learning and live data analytics could reshape our future.
The summit focused on five key themes:
DFF’s first global sci-fi writing competition, ‘Echoes of Tomorrow‘, announced its winners at the summit. Writers imagined promising futures that lined up with the forum’s core themes. This competition showed Dubai’s dedication to welcome creative approaches in future planning.
Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Managing Director of DFF, highlighted Dubai’s role as a global hub for futurists who shape tomorrow. More than 150 prominent speakers shared their expertise across 70 specialized sessions. This summit set new standards for international collaboration in future planning and innovation.
Innovation Showcase Highlights
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation pledged AED 100 million to support innovation and technology advancement in Dubai through the ‘Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity’ initiative, marking its most important milestone. This showcase highlights 100 innovative student-led innovations chosen from 2,700 global applications that address key challenges in agriculture, energy, water, and environmental sustainability.
H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s leadership has helped create the world’s largest academic talent network in the past year. This network connects over 20,000 professors from more than 800 universities on six continents. Several outstanding innovations were displayed at AREA 2071, Emirates Towers:
- Oxara: A groundbreaking construction material that reduces concrete’s CO2 emissions by 90%
- Splash: A smart microplastic detection system powered by machine learning
- AkoFresh: A solution to reduce post-harvest food loss
- Seaweed Foam: An organic packaging alternative
Dubai Future Foundation CEO Khalfan Belhoul highlighted that this mutually beneficial collaboration strengthens Dubai’s innovation ecosystem and supports promising talent. Dubai’s steadfast dedication to enhancing local, regional, and global partnerships shows in this initiative, which launched alongside the Dubai Future Forum to create better futures for communities worldwide.
Future-Ready Workforce Development
Dubai Future Academy showed its new “FEEL: A Disruptive Futures Program” to the world. The program welcomed 42 visionary leaders from 15 countries for an intensive development journey. 33 interactive workshops and direct experiences make this program a vital step in Dubai’s dedication to building future-ready talent.
Omar Sultan AlOlama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, highlighted how quick changes across sectors create new opportunities to develop leaders. The program attracted 1,500 applications from nearly 100 countries, which showed its worldwide appeal.
The program’s detailed curriculum has:
- Strategic foresight and leadership development
- Direct experience with emerging technologies
- Dubai’s premier innovation hub access
- Work with global intellectual influencers
- Real-world impact projects
Expert speakers from MIT, Yale, and Stanford deliver specialized sessions. Professor Fadel Adib, who won the ‘Great Arab Minds Award,’ heads a team of 22 expert speakers. These experts explain disruptive innovations, entrepreneurship, and leadership principles.
Participants get special access to state-of-the-art facilities like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, Dubai Police Innovation Center, and Dubai Future Labs. These facilities showcase autonomous vehicle development and advanced robotics. This hands-on exposure helps participants turn theoretical knowledge into useful strategies for their sectors.
Dubai Future Forum 2024 shows the city’s steadfast dedication to innovative future-focused initiatives. The forum has set new measures for worldwide collaboration that shape tomorrow’s possibilities. Leadership summits, innovation funding, and detailed workforce development programs have made this possible. Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed actively participated and strengthened Dubai’s role as a driving force for technological progress and sustainable growth.
The forum takes a comprehensive approach to future readiness. The Global Future Leadership Summit hosted visionary discussions while the ‘Dubai Future Solutions‘ initiative showcased practical breakthroughs. The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation pledged AED 100 million to support this vision. Student innovations have lined up perfectly with Dubai’s future-focused goals.
Dubai Future Academy’s FEEL program draws talent from 15 countries globally. This program proves Dubai’s focus on developing leaders who can tackle tomorrow’s challenges. Dubai has become a global center for breakthroughs, technological advancement, and green practices. The city continues to set new standards for future-focused initiatives across the world.
[…] Dubai’s cultural landscape got a historic boost when Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced an AED180 million grant. This major investment shows the remarkable progress of Dubai culture and strengthens the emirate’s role as a global creative hub. […]