Today's Edition
DUBAI (ALETIHAD)
His Highness 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 Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), has directed Dubai Future Week be held from 18 to 21 November 2026.
Dubai Future Week represents the next chapter in the evolution of Dubai Future Foundation’s global events and initiatives.
Building on the communities, conversations and outcomes created by its established platforms, the week will bring them together in one connected, human-centred experience across Emirates Towers and the Museum of the Future.
Designed as a global platform bringing together government leaders, scientists, futurists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, creators and innovators, Dubai Future Week will explore what the future holds for humanity and what it will mean to be human in the decades ahead.
The event will examine the future as something that will shape how people wake up, move through their cities, learn, work, care for their health, build relationships and make everyday decisions.
It will move the global conversation from anticipating change towards developing ideas, partnerships, policies and solutions that place people at the centre and translate foresight into tangible impact.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed affirmed that Dubai’s journey to design and shape the future continues under the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and in line with his directives to make future readiness a strategic priority and place humanity’s future at the centre of long-term plans, initiatives and policies.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said, “Dubai continues to strengthen its position as a global hub for the world’s most ambitious ideas and future-focused visions – a platform where impactful partnerships and initiatives take shape, and a destination for leading minds, experts and future shapers from around the world.”
He added, “Dubai calls on the world to embark on a new era of international collaboration that accelerates the use of technology in the service of people and societies. This requires directing investment and strategies towards technologies and innovations that advance human wellbeing, enhance quality of life, and help secure a better future for generations to come.”
Dubai Future Week's programme will feature keynote addresses, debates, fireside conversations, workshops, international challenges and competitions, idea pitches, exhibitions, immersive future experiences, closed-door discussions, specialist sessions, public activations and other formats designed to explore the forces shaping the decades ahead.
Held under the tagline ‘For the Human of the Future,’ Dubai Future Week will place people at the centre of the conversation, exploring how they will live, think, innovate, feel and do business as scientific, technological, economic and social transformations accelerate.
The week begins from a simple premise: the future is personal. Its impact will be felt not only in laboratories, institutions and industries, but in people’s homes, schools, workplaces, hospitals, neighbourhoods and relationships.
Dubai Future Week will bring together more than 10,000 participants, including leading inventors, innovators, experts, investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, technologists and specialists.
The week will build on the success of established global events hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation, including the Dubai Future Forum and Dubai AI Week, bringing their communities, ideas and areas of expertise together as part of a broader, connected platform.
It will also bring together major initiatives including AI Grandmaster, the Dubai Foresight Awards and the Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity exhibition, while featuring inspirational TED Talks.
Dubai Future Week will also address a wide range of critical sectors, including foresight and futures thinking, artificial intelligence, healthcare, education, fintech, logistics and infrastructure, mobility, robotics and automation, policy and regulation, sport, energy, climate and sustainability, space and other fields shaping the decades ahead.
These sectors will not be treated as isolated areas of technical progress, but as interconnected forces that will shape the texture of daily life: how long and how well people live, how they understand the world, how they move, work and create.
Dubai Future Week will be structured around five main tracks: How We’ll Live, How We’ll Think, How We’ll Innovate, How We’ll Feel and How We’ll Do Business.
How We’ll Live will explore the homes, cities and world we are building, examining how everyday life and the places people inhabit could change in the decades ahead.
The track will address the future of housing, urban design, mobility, longevity and people’s relationship with their surroundings. It will also explore climate resilience, net-zero infrastructure, nature-based urban solutions, rewilding, ocean health and ecosystem regeneration.
Discussions will extend to the future of security and defence, as well as culture, identity and the evolving meaning of belonging in a changing world. At its centre will be a deeply human question: What will an ordinary day feel like in the cities, homes and communities of the future?
How We’ll Think will explore intelligence, learning and knowledge in an age of AI, examining how education, human cognition and decision-making may evolve as technology reshapes the ways in which people understand and interact with the world.
The track will consider the skills future generations will need, the impact of artificial intelligence on how people access and interpret information, critical thinking in increasingly complex information environments, the future of schools and universities, media literacy, cognitive enhancement, and how future generations may understand and engage with knowledge and truth.
How We’ll Innovate will examine robotics, automation and the technologies transforming society, including the role of algorithms and intelligent machines in the next wave of technological progress.
Discussions will consider how robotics and automation could reshape work, logistics and everyday life, alongside advances in quantum computing, synthetic biology, materials science and space technologies.
How We’ll Feel will explore health, wellbeing and what it means to thrive as a human, examining the relationship between food, the human body, health and quality of life.
The track will explore emerging opportunities in food and agriculture, including vertical farming, lab-grown proteins and AI-enhanced supply chains, alongside the evolving relationship between culture, taste and identity.
It will also examine advances in healthcare, diagnostics, longevity science, mental health and biotechnology, as well as the future of sport, human performance, and the wellness economy.
How We’ll Do Business will explore money, markets and the investments of tomorrow, bringing together perspectives from entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders on the forces reshaping business, finance and capital.
The track will examine the rise of decentralised economies, responsible applications of artificial intelligence in business, start-up ecosystems, evolving policy and regulatory frameworks, and the changing relationship between risk and return in the future economy.
By convening the people shaping science, technology, policy, business and society, Dubai Future Week will turn foresight into collaboration, emerging ideas into practical solutions, and technological progress into better lives for people and future generations.
