Sheikh Hamdan honours winners of the Dubai Foresight Awards 2025
Dubai recognises global innovators using foresight to improve communities and the planet
Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, awarded the winners of the Dubai Foresight Awards 2025 on Tuesday during the Dubai Future Forum, recognising pioneering work shaping long-term solutions for people, communities and the planet.
The awards drew hundreds of submissions from 50 countries, reflecting the growing significance of foresight as governments and institutions confront increasingly complex challenges. The winning and shortlisted projects represent work that blends science, culture, community participation and long-term systems thinking.
Foresight for People
The City of Longevity project from the United Kingdom received the top honour in the People category. Its AI-powered foresight platform helps policymakers shift from reactive, age-friendly planning to proactive cities that actively shape how citizens age throughout their lives. The initiative aims to design urban environments that support longer, healthier lives.
Other finalists addressed healing and resilience in divided or recovering societies. Futures that Heal combined scenarios from Hawaii, Cyprus and Ethiopia to help communities navigate political tension and post-conflict recovery. Australia’s For Our Future initiative was also recognised for embedding intergenerational fairness into governance and widening public access to futures thinking.
Foresight for the Planet
The winner in the Planet category, Congo Basin Futures, brought together participatory foresight, indigenous storytelling and scientific research to map possible futures for one of the world’s most vital ecosystems. The project is rooted in protecting the Basin’s biodiversity, cultural heritage and climate importance through community-led future scenarios.
Other shortlisted work included the Three Futures Test from the United States, which helps climate-tech innovators stress-test solutions against different climate scenarios, and Seeding the Future from Egypt, a foresight-driven redesign of agriculture in the Nile Delta, one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change.
Foresight Changemakers
In the Changemakers category, the top award went to the Pasifika Futures Report from Fiji, which elevates Indigenous Pacific knowledge systems within global foresight practice. The work challenges Western-centric models by grounding futures thinking in relationality, place-based wisdom and shared responsibility across generations.
Other recognised initiatives included the UNICEF Innocenti Youth Foresight Fellowship, the UN’s first youth-focused foresight programme that empowers adolescents to participate in long-term decision-making, as well as Sustainable Futures from France, which integrates planetary limits into foresight and uses academic research to drive real-time social impact.
Background
The Dubai Foresight Awards were established under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan. The initiative was first announced at the conclusion of the Dubai Future Forum 2024 and was designed to recognise global excellence in foresight through three categories: Foresight Changemakers, Foresight for People and Foresight for the Planet.
The awards form part of Dubai’s ambition to build a world-leading foresight ecosystem, encourage long-term thinking and support innovations that strengthen resilience for future generations. With the first winners now honoured, the programme will continue to expand its global reach as the next edition returns to the Museum of the Future in 2026.
