WGS 2017 Convenes Global Leaders, Futurists, and Experts
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 fifth World Government Summit (WGS) 2017 will take place from February 12-14, 2017.
The World Government Summit will bring together leaders from around the world to ask important and perhaps unconventional questions about the economic and social imperative of building happy societies.
His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Government Summit, said: “The Summit gathers together the largest international organisations with the most prominent technology firms, on a stage in front of 138 governments from all over the world. They will shape the future of the world and boost the readiness of governments across all sectors.”
He added: “We believe that the tools to build the future are within our reach and we believe that making the best use of these tools will create a future that is suitable for our nations and the nations of the world.
“The path is clear for a better, more stable and prosperous future and the greatest doorway to this path is cooperation between governments of the world and their organizations and entities, based on knowledge, innovation and science which will lead to developing solutions for imminent challenges such as environmental sustainability, food security, social development and developing countries.”
A day-long series of pre-sessions happening Saturday, February 11th will centre on the business of happiness and the role of Government in putting the well-being of its citizens at the heart of its growth agenda.
On Sunday, the Summit gets underway proper with an opening address on the Challenges of Globalism by World Economic Forum chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab.
Main addresses will then be delivered by a high-profile line up including António Gutierres, Secretary General of the United Nations, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, and Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO.
From there, day one builds on the opening day’s theme of citizen well-being with a core set of three tracks which focus on Governments and Disruptive Technologies, The Psychology of Extremism, and Reinventing Education.
Track 1 kicks off with a talk on data privacy and prosperity - and how governments strike a balance between prosperity and privacy - by renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier. This is followed by a session with Steven Kotler on Agile Governments.
After a brief networking break, esteemed CNN anchor and journalist Richard Quest discusses the situation in African governments with the president of the African Development Bank, Ashish Thakkar.
Track 2, on extremism, offers sessions by distinguished psychology professor Arie W. Kruglanski and anthropologist Scott Atran before world famous leadership expert Robin Sharma offers his thoughts on the anatomy of a future leader.
Track 3, on education, features sessions with Hanan Al-Hroub, the Global Teacher of the year in 2106, before Dr Scott Barry Kauffman’s thought provoking session on problems with our current system. Joseph Aoun then looks at a look at a future model before Tomoko Kitagawa puts the spotlight on the Japanese model.
Bringing the three distinct tracks together, Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, will address the audience as part of the official opening.
In addition, the opening day will feature an address from Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde on navigating the shifting global landscape.
