My Key Takeways From The Dubai Future Forum
I attended the Dubai Future Forum 2023 at the Museum of the Future in Dubai last year.
It did a remarkable job bringing together visionary thinkers and futurists from all over the world.
It also left an incredible mark on my perspective as a futurist and it continues to influence my work to this day.
Credit to Patrick Noack and his team for organising it and executing it so well.
The key takeaways for me include (my further reflections post event are in bold);
1. "The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it". I can’t recall who said this, but this emphasised the proactive nature of shaping our tomorrow.
2. A blank canvas for my thoughts on the evolving landscape of culture, law, business and technology. So may new ideas and ways of thinking about things emanated.
3. Discussions around the enormity of issues such as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), climate change and sustainable economic growth prompting me to re-evaluate my thinking on the way of dealing with these.
4. Jerome Glenn's adage, “It is the job of the futurist to be premature,” particularly struck a chord with me. It encapsulates the essence of being steps ahead in thinking, even when others are not. This really continues to sit and resonate with me to this day.
5. Joanna Lepore's emphasis on having CEO buy-in and stay-in which are so important for getting ongoing commitment and results, for foresight work within an organisation. I realise over and over again the significance of this post event.
6. The experience underscored the importance of raising awareness about how futurism intersects with professional practice - this is and will continue to be a key focus for my work for this year.
7. Patience in realising visions - dreams about the future require time and perseverance to materialise. I often underestimate what I can do in year and overestimate what I can achieve in a month
8. Thoughtful action towards future goals - every decision today is a step towards a better tomorrow. Again the importance of doing something, anything each day, to move dialogue into action.
9. The significance of global governance which requires constant real attention, collaboration and co-operation, not just lip service.
10. International collaboration - how building bridges across borders is vital for a harmonious future & can be done. I still remember seeing eight astronauts on stage from around the world, showing me that this can be done - this really left a mark on me about how the same we all are at the end of the day.
11. Empowering youth, recognising them as tomorrow's leaders and beneficiaries & the importance of cultivating and positioning them as leaders, including them in everything we do. I am trying to listen both more and more carefully to our youth as much as I can.
12. Balancing present needs with future goals - addressing the current reality of the exhaustion of people after the pandemic, while trying to get them to focus on a future that is more than a few months or years ahead.
13. Sustainable economic growth - focusing on both the quality and quantity of growth. I am thinking more and more about purpose over just profit.
The above just made me realise more and more that I am still a work in progress.
