First-ever Dubai Metaverse Assembly starts on Wednesday to blur boundary between real and virtual worlds
300 futurists, 40 organisations gathering for two-day event showcasing latest technologies
Dubai: The inaugural two-day Dubai Metaverse Assembly will kick off on Wednesday at the Museum of the Future and Area 2071 at Emirates Towers.
The event supports the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for technology and innovation to drive positive change for humanity.
Dubai Metaverse Assembly will host activations showing real experiences of the metaverse and latest digital technologies by global specialised organizations such as Microsoft, Meta, MasterCard, Accenture, Bedu, Binance, and Metamall, and others. The activations will host topics such as augmented reality training, future of medicine, building the social gaming metaverse, space tourism, NFTs, and virtual retail and real estates.
“The global event aims to help governments, technology companies, and international organisations explore the opportunities, capabilities and applications of the metaverse, said Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF).
Innovative model
Al Gergawi said: “Dubai Metaverse Strategy, launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the DFF, represents a leading and innovative model for governments in implementing initiatives and strategies that employ technologies and future innovations, developing digital and legislative infrastructure, and supporting innovative ideas based on the Metaverse.”
“Dubai Metaverse Assembly will contribute to the international efforts aimed at harnessing Metaverse applications. It will help to enhance the readiness of governments, companies and society for the major transformations that we will witness in the coming decades, which will impact how we live and work,” he added.
What to expect
The two-day event will host more than 300 experts and specialists as well as 40 local and global organisations and technology companies participating in more than 25 sessions and workshops with more than 30 international speakers.
Many international organisations and companies will participate in the assembly, including the World Economic Forum, META, Binance, MasterCard, The Sandbox, Bedu, PwC, Accenture, BCG Digital Ventures, Dubai Blockchain Center, and DeCentraland, among others. The assembly will also witness participations from government entities and local organizations, such as the Dubai International Financial Centre, VARA, Majid Al Futtaim, DAMAC and Dubai Digital, among others, with the aim of evaluating national projects and exchanging experiences on the Metaverse.
The sessions on the first day of the assembly will witness the participation of UAE ministers and senior officials, including Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; and Sultan bin Sulayem, the Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and the Chairman of the Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation.
Speakers will highlight the most prominent trends associated with designing and building the virtual worlds of the Metaverse, as well as virtual training and education, e-commerce, virtual medical technology, arts, electronic games, organising events and conferences in the metaverse, and digital assets such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The second day will discuss several interesting topics including diving into the metaverse by META, the future of nations in the metaverse, the role of governments in virtual worlds, opportunities in aviation, sectors impacted by the metaverse, the UAE metaverse contributors, aging in the metaverse and the building blocks for web 3.0 and the metaverse.
Workshops
The assembly will also feature specialised workshops on various future technological sectors to be held in the Ministry of Possibilities, Coders HQ, Government Accelerators, and Youth Hub at Area 2071. Those workshops will be organised by several global organisations such as the World Economic Forum Accenture, Emirates Airline, META, The Economist, Asiarath, Outlier Ventures, EVERDOME, VERSE, MasterCard, MetaDecrypt, MetaCon, Crypto Oasis, SiaPartners.
The workshops will discuss topics such as accelerating value creation in the metaverse, aviation in metaverse, road to the metaverse and innovating governance, decoding metaverse, taking the leap from web 2 into the metaverse, brands in the metaverse, metaverse as a game changer, how shopping, banking, and gaming are spearheading the metaverse, immersive learning experiences in the metaverse, and venture capital for the metaverse, among other topics.