A remarkable two million people from around the globe tuned in to watch the world’s largest gathering of futurists tackle some of humanity’s most pressing questions, it was revealed at the conclusion of the Dubai Future Forum.

 

In his closing remarks, Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Deputy CEO of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), said: “This forum was not just a gathering; it was a catalyst for transformative thinking. It showed what is possible when diverse voices unite with a common purpose. It showed that the future is all about action; that foresight is action.”

 

He added: “All the faces, thoughts, and concepts of the past two days have sent a powerful question across the world: How do we reshape human lives with foresight?”.

 

Day 2 Highlights

The second and final day of the forum concluded with a series of thought-provoking plenary sessions, including ‘The Future of Curation: How Must We Adapt to Engage Diverse Audiences in the World of Tomorrow?’. Majed Al Mansoori, Executive Director of the Museum of the Future, spoke on combining compelling content with state-of-the-art technologies to inspire people to imagine new future scenarios and strive towards them. Al Mansoori was joined by Refik Anadol, Media Artist & Director, and Hugh Forrest, Co-President & Chief Programming Officer, SXSW.

 

In a session titled ‘In Conversation with Foresight Great’, Jay Ogilvy, co-founder of the Global Business Network, discussed the importance of envisioning optimistic future scenarios.

 

“Positive scenarios are psychologically very satisfying, but they are intellectually extremely difficult to write because to make them plausible, we need to solve problems that nobody has ever solved,” Ogilvy said.

 

He emphasised the need for inspiration in foresight: “When you create a set of scenarios, there should always be one that inspires—one that energises people to create a better world.”

 

The forum also served as the launch platform for Ogilvy’s new book, ‘Coming Together: How the Emergence of Life, Evolution, and Language Shed Light on the Emergence of Consciousness, Love, Wealth, and Artistic Creativity’. The book explores the concept of emergence, focusing on how complex systems arise from simple interactions. Ogilvy argues that understanding these systems requires innovative approaches beyond traditional scientific methods to fully grasp their intricacies.

 

Winning with foresight

In the panel ‘Winning with Foresight: How Do You Know You’re On Track?’, Jennifer Brace of Ford Motor Company discussed strategies for inspiring people to take positive action.

 

Melanie Subin from the Future Today Institute shared insights on overcoming scepticism toward foresight.

 

“The key to overcoming scepticism is creating psychological safety in dialogues,” she said. Subin outlined qualitative ways to measure the impact of foresight, explaining: “One measure is whether foresight is integrated into the strategic planning process, connecting short-term actions to the long-term vision. Another indicator is whether leaders are being blindsided. If frequent surprises or ‘fire drills’ occur, it suggests foresight is not functioning as intended.”

 

The Dubai Future Forum, hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation at the Museum of the Future from November 19 to 20, 2024, has cemented its position as the world’s largest gathering of futurists. Over the course of two days, the forum brought together more than 2,500 experts from 100 countries, fostering dialogue and collaboration on the most critical global challenges.--TradeArabia News Service