Knowledge Summit to Explore Sustainable Solutions to Future Challenges
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the directive of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF), the sixth edition of the Knowledge Summit 2019 was held under the theme “Knowledge for Sustainable Development”, at the Dubai World Trade Center, on November 19-20.
The Knowledge Summit 2019 hosted 120 speakers from 20 countries in 50 sessions. It brought together a group of experts, academics and decision makers from all over the world to discuss the global vision and policies to achieve sustainable development as well as regional and international challenges of sustainable development in various sectors including health, education, economics, tourism, energy, food, and innovation among many other vital areas.
For the first time, the summit witnessed the organization of the first “Knowledge Exhibition”, which presented innovative services, technologies and research in the field of sustainability in most sectors and for various entities from the government and private sectors in the country. The Summit also hosted the Seventh Annual Clean Energy Summit by the Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC) where several topics focused on the map of renewable energy and energy efficiency trends in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
On the other hand, the Knowledge Summit honored the winners of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Knowledge. The winners are individuals and institutions from all over the world who made significant contributions and knowledge achievements to the world that contributed effectively in enhancing the paths of disseminating and producing knowledge in various fields. The Summit also reviewed the results of the 2019 World Knowledge Index in partnership with the United Nations Development Program.
“For the first time in history, we
are living in an era where over
half of the global population live
in cities.”
Confronting the challenges
Solving energy, climate, and health challenges is the most pressing task of the 21st century, asserted His Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Chairman of Arctic Circle and former President of Iceland (1996-2016), as he kicked off the first session of the sixth annual Knowledge Summit at the Dubai World Trade Center.
During his session titled ‘The Icelandic Geothermal Model: A Solution to the Urban Energy Challenge’, H.E. Grímsson outlined the successful model Iceland has adopted adding that other countries such as China were now following suit.
“For the first time in history, we are living in an era where over half of the global population live in cities,” he noted. “The challenge is how – when billions of people live in urban areas – are we going to heat and cool these cities?”
Education and youth
“We still haven’t figured it all out in terms of education,” said Hassan Damluji , Deput y Director of Global Policy and Advocacy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, during a session titled ‘Education Accelerators: Sustainable Solutions.’.
“For example, when money was donated for polio eradication (including a substantial amount from the UAE), it resulted in a 99.9% reduction of the disease,” he said. “However, injecting cash into education cannot guarantee results. Great progress was made in terms of ensuring children were attending schools, but 617 million children around the world were still unable to read a single sentence.”
“The way you develop skills is by using the knowledge that you have,” Damluji added. “Googling lets you confirm what you believe. People who know the most are the ones who do the most research. We do need to build skills, but learning facts is a crucial part of education.”
Working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will enable the UAE to become more competitive on a global scale, asserted H.E. Hanan Ahli, Executive Director of Competitiveness, Research and Studies Department, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), in a ‘Know Talk’ session on day one of the Knowledge Summit.
H.E. Ahli added that SDGs help pave the way for achieving the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071 as she discussed how the UAE has embraced the SDGs at the core of its vision for the future.
“People who know the most are the ones who do the most research.
We do need to build skills, but learning facts is a crucial part of
education.”
Speaking during the ‘Youth: The Cornerstone for Sustainable Development’ session, H.E. Saeed Al Nazari, Director General at the Federal Youth Authority, UAE, stated that youth are at the heart of strategies being developed to empower them now and in the future.
The panel also was attended by Rosemary Mbabazi, Minister of Youth and Culture in Rwanda, Dr Thabet Al Nabulsi, Secretary General of Jordan’s Ministry of Youth, Prince Kwame Agbata, the Co-founder and CEO of Coliba Ghana Limited, and the Youth Ambassador to One Young World, and Tenzen Seldon, founder and CEO of Kinstep, a social platform for migrant communication.
