Dubai: ‘Innovation Talks’ start on February 6 to highlight success stories in government work

Dubai: The Innovation Talks series, organised by The Executive Council of Dubai, will start tomorrow, February 6, bringing together heads and representatives of Dubai government departments, and experts from major private sector companies to discuss how they can work together to develop a common vision for the future.

The series forms part of Dubai’s participation in the eighth edition of UAE Innovates 2023, the largest national event that celebrates innovation and innovators across the country, featuring the participation of government and private sector organisations.

The three-day Innovation Talks series to be held in Dubai will include keynote sessions and knowledge seminars delivered by government and private sector officials focused on highlighting the importance of innovation at a time of rapid global change.

Maha Al Suwaidi, Senior Consultant at the Dubai Government Excellence Programme, said: “The Programme has embraced innovation as an effective tool for developing government capabilities, and included it as one of the main criteria for evaluating the performance of government agencies.”

The Innovation Talks series emphasises the importance of innovation, especially in providing services, increasing the effectiveness of procedures and keeping pace with recent technical and technological developments.

The first day of the session will feature an opening speech by Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary-General of The Executive Council of Dubai; a knowledge seminar that will see Mona Ghanim Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council and Director-General of the Government of Dubai Media Office, and Malek Al Malek, Director-General of the Dubai Development Authority and Member of Dubai Media Council, discussing ‘Innovation and Economy in the Media Sector’; and a keynote speech by Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation that will shed light on the UAE’s ‘Journey Towards the Future’.

The first day also features seminars on ‘Space Science and Innovation’ led by Mohammed Al Harmi from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, as well as a seminar on Amazon’s Culture of Innovation.

The second day’s agenda includes a keynote speech by Sultan bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World, Chairman of The Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, on ‘Dubai’s Story in Sustainable Innovation in Shipping and International Logistics’; knowledge seminars on Microsoft and ‘Open AI’ Artificial Intelligence; and a panel discussion on ‘Innovation in Social Media’ hosted by Ferjan Dubai and SocialEyes. The second day will conclude with a session conducted by SIA Partners on the topic ‘Innovation for Organisational Agility’.

On the final day, Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director-General of Dubai Digital and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment, will deliver a keynote speech on the ‘Role of Data in Innovation and Future Shaping’. This will be followed by knowledge seminars delivered by DEWA on ‘Sustainability Innovation’ and a seminar on the ‘Power of Data for Effective Decision Making’ conducted by Visa. The final session of the event will be a panel discussion on ‘Social Innovation Towards Sustainability’ featuring Goumbook and Nadeera.