The UAE and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday announced three new initiatives, including a first-of-its-kind centre to turn economic opportunities into legislation, a $1 million artificial intelligence award and a list of 20 young leaders to watch.
Speaking at the Plenary Session at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders in Dubai on Wednesday, Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the country was moving “from discussing the future to shaping it”.
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Set up jointly by the UAE government and the WEF, the Centre for Global Future Opportunities – the first of its kind – is designed to translate economic opportunities into legislation.
The Global Innovation Challenge AI Award, launched in cooperation with Dubai Municipality, carries a prize of $1 million to reward intelligent solutions that improve services in cities. The winner will be announced next year, with the aim of showing how one city can become a successful model for others.
The third initiative, Future 20, will spotlight 20 leaders under the age of 30 who have the potential to drive major transformation over the next 20 years.
Al Gergawi said the UAE’s partnership with the WEF began in 2008 with the Summit on the Global Agenda, followed by the Global Future Councils, which have brought together more than 1,200 experts and leaders. A new chapter now opens with Global Future Leaders, a community of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs from more than 100 countries.
“Eighteen years ago, we asked how we prepare for the future. Today, we ask how we lead it,” he said, adding that the rules of change themselves have changed. A single economic decision in one capital can affect millions of lives, a cyberattack can disrupt a country’s services, and technology can reshape any economy.
Alois Zwinggi, President and CEO of the World Economic Forum, also delivered a keynote address at the forum on Wednesday.
Three transformations
Al Gergawi outlined major transformations facing the world.
The first is a shift in the global balance of power.
He noted that the world saw more than 60 armed conflicts in 2025, the highest number since 1946, while global military spending reached $3 trillion, the highest since the end of the Cold War. “Trade restrictions are redrawing supply chains and manufacturing, and global debt is approaching 94 per cent of global GDP, expected to reach 100 per cent by 2029, which limits governments’ ability to invest in the future,” he said.
The second concerns human capability and technology. He said that if technology can invent and produce new machines and tools, the human role and skills in innovation must be redefined.
The third is the future of resources and energy. The world has just experienced its 10 warmest years, yet renewables account for 80 per cent of additional global capacity. Al Gergawi said previous generations lacked such solutions, and progress depends on turning transformation into reality.
He identified five qualities required of new leaders: the ability to anticipate change, to learn and adapt continuously, wisdom, the ability to build partnerships and the ability to turn vision into results.
Leadership, he said, is ultimately measured by its impact on people’s lives.