The UAE is 40 years old this month. Few would have believed back in 1971 that the country would look the way it does now. But here it is: thriving, modern, dynamic and a much-loved home to people from all over the world. Its future is bright, but what will that future look like? We asked several young, prominent Emiratis to envision the UAE in the year 2051. Here's what they had to say.
Saleh Al Braik, founder of www.ThinkUp.ae
I believe that our future in the UAE is one to look forward to. Allowing myself to interact with many inspiring individuals of our up-and-coming generation, I don't have any doubt that the world we are about to create for future generations is a safe, bright and exciting one. My vision for 2051 is a UAE that is more peaceful, more daring and more diverse than it is today. I take pride in knowing that the UAE is concerned with the younger generation and their aspirations to dream bigger. The emphasis on youth and education may still have a long way to go but in the next 40 years I don't see this being a problem at all. I would like to see my generation taking more of an active role in careers that they are passionate about, even though it may be out of the norm. Sectors that I wish to see take off are art, film, animation, design, fashion, and even sports. All in all, the UAE will continue to break records.
Elham Qasimi, the first Arab woman to set foot on the North Pole
Forty years may seem like an arbitrary number in the grand scheme of how nations develop. Indeed, international benchmarks may suggest that a limited number of structural or fundamental changes occur in a country in under 50 years. But a benchmark doesn't need to be a limit. If there is one thing the past 40 years have proven it is that our imagination and determination are the UAE's only true limits.
With that in mind, I picture the UAE by 2051 as one of many different types of countries depending on the vision that drives its development. For me, the UAE has the potential to become a global leader in sustainable development (like in infrastructure, policy, transportation, and housing). Economically speaking, I see the UAE becoming a knowledge-based economy over the next 40 years, with intellectual property and leading academic institutions underpinning the related industries locally while serving economies globally. And finally, in terms of social development I see the UAE becoming a better integrated cosmopolitan society based on the principles of its local heritage and open to the talent it attracts from around the world, especially from those who truly want to become a valuable addition to its social fabric.
Qais Sedki, children's author
It's the year 2051 and I'm getting ready to board the recently inaugurated Dubai Metro Grey Line, the seventh line in the world's largest fully automated public transport system. The Grey Line added 11 new stations to the network bringing the total number of stations to an impressive 112.
With the population rapidly catching up to geographic giants like our neighbour Saudi Arabia, our country's expansion has seen people move inland, with public transportation of each of the seven emirates feeding into and out of the newly built developments. As cities creep into the desert, harnessing the harsh weather has become of utmost importance and so the mind-boggling 375 sq km Zayed Lake was built 100km south of the capital, Abu Dhabi, right in the middle of the desert to help cool the climate. Like oases that once attracted the bedouins long ago, the lake ushered in a new age for the UAE.
So where will 40 more years take us? I suppose I'd best leave that to someone more adept at looking into the future.
Peyman and Mohamed Parham Al Awadhi, founders of the Wild Peeta restaurant chain
Thanks to the foresight of our rulers, the UAE has developed radically in just 40 years. This is a huge feat. In a few decades, the UAE has completed the infrastructure that has taken other nations hundreds of years to develop. Yes, with it has come a learning curve but we have demonstrated that we can adapt and evolve.
Certainly, there is a very positive energy here that drives people to do great things. Forty years down the line, we’ll see the impact the people of the UAE will have on the rest of the world. We will continue to raise benchmarks, inspire great ideas and be thought leaders. There will be an abundance of UAE-based brands in all sectors of business and culture and it will be because of the spirit and persistence of small businesses. A number of them will even compete in global markets. Driven by social media, the population of the UAE will form into a social tribe that transcends any ethnicity or citizenship. The result will be connections with each other and the land. We may have started in a desert but we will have transformed into a fertile soil, so rich in culture and so uniquely UAE.
Desert Heat, home-grown hip-hop pioneers
Over the last 40 years the UAE has become a testament to the progressive and forward-thinking vision of our leaders. And in just the last 15 years the UAE has developed into a major force within the financial, technological and media industries in the Middle East.
In our opinion, there are no boundaries to what the UAE can become. If in such a short while we have come this far there is no telling where we will be in 2051. These are some of the areas that we anticipate will be fully developed by the year 2051. We will have Emiratis leading and driving the economy and working across all sectors in the country.
The UAE will become a major food exporter. It will be a self-sufficient industry driven by creative agricultural technology developed in the country.
We will be world leaders in clean and renewable energy. All buildings and infrastructure will contribute to a greener world. And last but not least the UAE will be a force to be reckoned with amongst the major players in the film and music industry worldwide. We hope to have a creative industry that effectively fosters and nurtures creativity within our society and the people that live amongst us, inshallah.
Khalid Mezaina, illustrator
By 2051, I think the UAE will look like a page out of a sci-fi comic book! Buildings will rise in weird forms and people's dress will evolve. Traditional attire will become modernised, silhouettes will evolve and fashion will adapt to harsh climate change, making people go back to basics, wearing what their ancestors used to.
Ali F. Mustafa, Film director
In 2051 I can see people from the UAE film industry receiving their Oscars at a ceremony held on the moon. OK, so I'm exaggerating slightly but the film industry here will have progressed to the extent that we have representatives from the Gulf and the Emirates getting acknowledged by the Academy Awards. I'll be an old man sitting there watching it on TV and I'll be able to tell my grandchildren: "I was there when it all started." By this time Hollywood and Bollywood will be using our production facilities because they'll be the best in the world and it helps that we're so centrally located. I see both Qatar and the UAE having a huge influence across the film industry over the next 40years, with the UAE going from strength to strength in all other areas too.
