Dubai Future Forum to welcome 400 innovators

Event to be held at the Museum of the Future next Tuesday and Wednesday

Dubai's Museum of the Future will embody the forward-thinking spirit of the UAE's founding fathers, a senior Emirati minister said. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

The museum opened its doors to the public on February 22. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said that it would be much more than a museum, serving as a 'research lab' for the future. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

The museum will feature a dedicated space for children, helping to harness their love of learning. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed it as the "most beautiful building on Earth". Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Workers are dwarfed by the Museum of the Future in this November 2019 picture. The intricate design is inspired by Arabic script. Antonie Robertson / The National

The striking structure was years in the making. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The opening date was pushed back several times and a 2020 opening date came and went as the pandemic hit. Photo: Dubai Media Office

This 2018 image shows the unique design taking shape. Antonie Robertson / The National

A cyclist poses for a photograph in front of the museum in November. AP Photo / Jon Gambrell

The unique facade was voted among the most striking in the world in a recent poll. AP Photo

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visit the museum in September. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid tries out some of the museum's technological features. Wam

The inaugural Dubai Future Forum is set to take place at the Museum of the Future next week, with more than 400 of the world’s leading futurists, experts and innovators attending.

The forum will involve 30 sessions next Tuesday and Wednesday, and will focus on four main themes: the future of our world, mitigating existential risk through foresight, value and humanity, and hedging our bets through foresight.

More than 45 international organisations specialising in designing the future of different key sectors will discuss, debate and predict the future trajectory of the world.

“Hosting the Dubai Future Forum is a testament to Dubai’s efforts in fostering collaborations and attracting global experts to analyse and anticipate the future and the opportunities and challenges it withholds,” Dubai Future Foundation said on Tuesday.

“The forum supports the unique vision that has the potential to draw a clearer picture of the most impactful future transformations and ways to prepare for them.”

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Dubai Metaverse Assembly — in pictures

Presentations regarding different facets of Metaverse at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of the Future. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, speaks about The Building Blocks for WEB 3.0 and the Metaverse.

From left, Alex Gubbay, Head of Digital at 'The National', moderator Amin Al Zarouni, of Bedu, Abdelrahman Mohamed, of MetaCon Global, Abdulla Mohamed Al Dhaheri, of Chaintech Lab, and Haya Al Gussain, of Evolve Network Club take part in the UAE Metaverse Contributors' panel discussion.

From left, Jane Witherspoon of Euronews moderates a panel discussion on 'Which sectors is the Metaverse already impacting' with Yusuf Bahadir, of GoArt, Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii, David Clark-Joseph, of Pixelynx and Bradford Bird, of The Fabricant.

Tom Urquhart from Arabian Radio Network speaks about gaming with Ahmed Tehemar, of Gamefi.

From left, Mustafa Alrawi of 'The National' speaks to Adel Al Redha, CEO of Emirates about 'Opportunities in Aviation'.

A visitor tests a virtual reality headset at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly at Museum of Future.

From left, moderator Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief at 'The National', HSBC's Catherine Zhou, Alexander Chehade from Binance, Keith Jordan from Mastercard, DIFC Authority's Christian Kunz and Vinit Shah from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority discuss the role of governments in virtual worlds.

Ziad Traboulsi from Meta addresses the assembly.

Gabriel Abed, ambassador of Barbados to the UAE, speaks about the future of nations in the Metaverse.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, attends the event at Museum of the Future.

From left, Euronews moderator Laura Buckwell, Cathy Li of the World Economic Forum, Digital Dubai's Marwan Al Zarouni, Meta's James Hairston and Balsam Danhach of FTX discuss 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

Brandy Scott of the Arabian Radio Network, left, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World discuss 'How the Metaverse will Enable People and Operations'.

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, speaks about 'Unlocking Dubai's Potential'.

Asma Shabab of Accenture leads the 'Building the Responsible Metaverse' discussion with virtual speaker Anne Groeppelin, also from Accenture.

Ms Li, left, and Mr Hairston, right, listen as Mr Al Zarouni makes a point.

Mr Al Olama, who is also Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy in Dubai.

Moderator Ms Buckwell leads the panel discussion on 'Maximizing the Potential of Ecosystems on the Metaverse'.

From left, The National's Sarah Forster moderates a discussion with Samuel Hamilton of the Decentraland Foundation, Majid Al Futtaim's Joe Abi Akl, Damac Properties' Ali Sajwani and Guy Parsonage from PwC on 'Opportunities in Virtual Real Estate'.

Ihab Foudeh from Microsoft speaks on the topic of 'Unravelling the Metaverse and its Future'.

Khalifa Al Jaziri Al Shehhi gives a presentation on 'Metaverse and the Economy'.

Some of the audience at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

From left, Mr Abi Akl, Mr Sajwani and Mr Parsonage continue their discussion.

The audience takes in the discussion.

Front-row seats for the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq, second from left, joins a discussion on 'Metaverse and the Economy' moderated by Karl Tlais, left, founder and strategic advisor of iAdvisory, Accenture managing director Bashar Kilani, second from right, and BCG Digital Ventures managing director and partner Mark Zaleski.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation gives the opening address.

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It added that the forum aims to support the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a global destination for future experts.

The event follows Dubai's hosting of its first Metaverse Assembly last week, which also took place at the Museum of the Future.

About 500 expert attended the two-day event, with highlights including a look at the UAE Ministry of Economy's metaverse headquarters, where people can hold meetings and even sign legal documents, an appearance from Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed and a glimpse of Meta's new devices such as a haptic glove which allows users to physically feel things happening in the metaverse.

The Museum of the Future opened in February. Spanning an area of 30,000 square metres, the seven-storey pillarless structure stands 77 metres tall. The stainless steel facade, which extends to more than 17,000 square metres, is illuminated by 14,000 metres of Arabic calligraphy.