Dubai - MENA Herald: The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) – part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives – is preparing to host the third Knowledge Summit on December 5-7, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Hotel.
Bearing the theme “Knowledge… Present and Future”, the Summit is set to tackle a host of knowledge-related topics in a series of sessions over its three-day schedule. The first session of day one, a panel discussion titled “Future Foresight and Decision-Making” will be moderated by Theodore Jay Gordon, Futurist and Founder and Board Member of The Millennium Project (a UN initiative that focuses on research to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women). The session explores methodologies and tools of future foresight; look at success stories from governments that succeeded in future foresight; examine new insights, methods and techniques for forecasting and decision-making; as well as future global trends that shape the future of knowledge in the world.
Day one is also set to host a session titled “Future Cities: Dubai … A Success Story”, which will explore the concept of future cities, their foundations and components, as well as their pros and cons.
Meanwhile, a session on day two titled “Youth… The Future” will see 20 Arab Youth Ambassadors (from the Arab Thought Foundation’s Arab Youth Ambassador Program) discuss youth-related, knowledge-focused issues. The session will be moderated by His Excellency Saeed Al Remeithi, Chairperson of the Youth Parliament Forum. Another day-two session (titled “Technology and Future Education”) will explore how new curricula and disciplines can keep pace with future prospects.
On day three, the session “The Future of Human Health... Between Mind and Matter” explores the impact of technological developments on the medical sector and their pros and cons, as well as emerging technologies in genetics, robotics, and nanotechnology. Meanwhile, the “Media and Making the Future” session will touch on a large list of topics, most notable of which is science fiction and its impact on the future of humanity.
The Knowledge is an annual event organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The Summit includes the announcement of the results of the Arab Reading Index, as well as the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Annual Knowledge Award, which honours individuals who’ve made notable contributions to the dissemination and production of knowledge around the world. A spectrum of events and workshops will also be organised on the sidelines of the summit – most important of which will be the University Fair and a number of specialised workshops.