The World Government Summit is an annual event held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It brings together leaders in government for a global dialogue about governmental process and policies with a focus on the issues of futurism, technologyinnovation and other topics. The summit acts as a knowledge exchange hub between government officials, thought leaders, policy makers and private sector leaders and as an analysis platform for the future trends, issues and opportunities facing humanity. The summit hosts over 90 speakers from 150 participating countries, along with over 4000 attendees.
History
The World Government Summit was formed by a team of experts from different disciplines to bring government, business and civil society together with the goal of improving the future for the seven billion people on the planet. The chairman of the World Government Summit is Mohammad Al Gergawi with Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi serving as Vice Chairman of the organization. Omar Sultan AlOlama is the Managing Director of the World Government Summit. In 2015, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mohammad Al Gergawi, chairman of the summit's organizing committee and minister of the UAE Cabinet Affairs & The Future announced ten key changes to take the summit to a new global level. The changes included changing the summit's name from Government Summit to World Government Summit, changing the entity structure and adopting the goal of providing integrated knowledge services for over 150 governments and global organizations. In 2016, the World Government Summit Organization adopted a new year-round membership system. Members have exclusive invitations to attend the summit, communicate directly with its top speakers and attendees, receive reports issued by the summit ahead of general public, gain exclusive access to private functions held on the sidelines of events, and have access to training workshops and executive education programs hosted by the summit in collaboration with global experts. Reports for the public about issues explored at the summits are issued by Oxford Analytica, Mackenzie and Harvard Business Review, on the World Government Summit website, and conferences speeches are available on the Youtube Channel for the World Government Summit.
Themes
The first World Government Summit was held in Dubai in 2013, and has been held annually since then. In 2013, themes included building citizen trust in governmental entities, social media as a tool for civic engagement, private-public sector partnerships, and measuring development. In 2014, themes included partnerships and innovation in government service delivery, government smart toolboxes and digital government. In 2015, themes included smart cities, innovation, and better jobs. In 2016, themes included the Sustainable Development Goals, the state of sustainability, and advanced science and the future of government. In 2016, the summit included an inaugural Best Minister in the World award which was awarded to Greg Hunt, at that time Australian Minister of Federal Environment, later appointed as Australian Minister of Health. In 2017, the summit focused on four main themes: 1) climate change & food security, 2) citizen well-being & happiness, 3) government agility and geopolitics & humanitarian aid, with the goal of focusing on fundamental questions that aim to pave the way for that future across the globe. The summit was held under the patronage of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, and included participation of seven international organizations as strategic partners, including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, UNESCO, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Economic Forum. In 2018, the themes included artificial intelligence and happiness.
The Museum of the Future, is one of the exhibitions within the World Government Summit. The Museum of the Future features exhibitions exploring the future of science, technology and innovation. In 2016, the Museum of the Future's displays included an installment about a trip to the year 2035 where it showcased how technology could evolve and be used to manage complex social end economic systems. In 2017, the museum included a display with an air taxi, 3-D printed seeds and food, and an announcement by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to colonize Mars by 2117. In 2018, Dubai 10x 2.0 was featured, with expositions about plans to integrate A.I. into many aspects of government and rapidly develop Dubai's governmental and private sector services.
In 2018, the first Global Artificial Intelligence Forum was convened. The forum brought together approximately 100 people, including representatives of the OECD, IEEE, U.N., and the private sector. Discussion topics included a Global Strategy for the Governance for A.I., which will include policy recommendations. The AI Initiative which is part of The Future Society was contracted to steward the forum. The goal of the first forum was to identify guidelines for the global governance of Artificial Intelligence.
