The Dubai Future Forum has revealed the agenda for its fourth edition, featuring over 70 keynotes, panels, and activations
Dubai Future Forum, the world’s largest gathering of futurists, has unveiled the agenda for its fourth edition, featuring more than 70 keynotes, panels, and activations that will explore the most powerful forces shaping humanity’s future. The two-day event will also include public experiences and award ceremonies honouring global pioneers advancing future readiness and innovation.
Organised by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) at the Museum of the Future, the forum will convene more than 200 speakers and over 2,500 participants from 100 leading institutions and organisations worldwide. Discussions will span five key themes: Exploring the Unknown, Empowering Societies, Reimagining Health, Optimising Systems, and Foresight Insights.
Immersive Experiences in AI and XR
This year’s forum will expand beyond dialogue to include interactive foresight activations leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications — offering participants an experiential glimpse into the frontiers of innovation.
Day 1 Highlights
The forum will open with a keynote address by His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, setting the tone for discussions around global foresight, innovation, and human progress.
The opening plenary session — “Building a Regenerative Society: How Do We Redesign Our Foundations?” — will feature Dr Alaa Murabit, Managing Partner at 500 Global, in conversation with Indy Johar, Co-Founder of Dark Matter Laboratories.
A keynote session titled “Governance for the Long Term: How Can We Ensure Intergenerational Fairness?” will bring together Her Excellency Lucie Berger, EU Ambassador to the UAE; Esala Nayasi, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat; and Dr Cécile Aptel, Deputy Director of UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight. The discussion will be moderated by Dr Florence Gaub from NATO Defense College.
Further highlights include: “Mapping Inner Worlds: Can We Decode Human Consciousness?” featuring Dr Giulio Tononi, Director of Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness; Dr Anil Seth, neuroscientist and author; and Dawn Nakagawa, President of Berggruen Institute; and a session titled “Teaching Futures: What Does It Take to Build Foresight Capacity Worldwide?” featuring Sobhi Tawil (UNESCO), Dr Doris Viljoen (Stellenbosch Business School), Dr Kuo-Hua Chen (Tamkang University), and Dr Sohail Inayatullah, UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies.
These also include “Innovation Without Borders: How Do We Unlock the Full Power of Global R&D?” featuring Khalifa Al Qama, Director of Dubai Future Labs; Max Mirgoli (imec); and Carlos Nizam (Emirates Global Aluminium) and Tuya Altangerel from the United Nations Development Programme; and “The Precision Leap: Is Healthcare Ready for the Age of Anticipation?” featuring Dr Yacine Hadjiat (Dubai Health), Dr Jeffrey Glenn (Stanford University), and Tina Woods (International Institute of Longevity), moderated by Dr Andy Poh (University of Birmingham).
Sessions will also explore the intersection of culture, society, and markets, including “The Global Consumer 2035: What Are World Markets Telling Us About the Future?” featuring Linda Arvidsson (H&M Group), Anuradha Chugh (The Bio-Leadership Project), Michael Costigan (Salesforce), and Meabh Quoirin (Foresight Factory); and a session titled “Ocean Breakthroughs: What Futures Await Beyond the Depths?” with Dr Ulrike Pfreundt (rrreefs), Karim Iliya (Kogia), and Dr Juan Antonio Romero (Dubai Economy & Tourism), moderated by Emily Sharp (The Pacific Community).
The day will conclude with the “Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity” Awards Ceremony, celebrating groundbreaking innovations that contribute to building a better future for humanity.
Day 2 Highlights
Day 2 will open with plenary sessions spotlighting cities, nature, and human creativity.
His Excellency Marwan Bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, will deliver a keynote titled “Urban Futures in Action: What Is Dubai’s Model for People-Centric Cities of the Future?” followed by “From Molecules to Stars: What’s Next?” featuring Dr Nikku Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge) and Dr Lorie Karnath (Molecular Frontiers Foundation).
Later, Anand Varma, of WonderLab and National Geographic Society, will present a keynote titled “A Future with Nature: Why Wonder Is Our Superpower.”
Parallel thematic sessions will delve into foresight as an engine for inclusion and collaboration, featuring discussions such as “From Inclusion to Innovation: How Are Youth Redefining Foresight?”, “Collaborative Foresight: How Can We Create Strong, Lasting Connections?”, and “The Art of Curating Tomorrow: How Can Spaces Enable Inclusive Futures?” with Marina Piquet (Museum of Tomorrow), Megan Tamati-Quennel (Modern Maori and Indigenous Art Curator), and Hassan Ragab (Hsnrgb Studio).
Immersive Experiences
This year, the agenda includes several inspiring immersive installations and creative experiences, including Future Botanica (AR) and Aura Forest (AR), multisensory experiences linking digital nature with physical space; alongside The Art of Change (VR), a hand-painted exploration of identity and memory, and Keepers of the Forest (VR), an immersive journey into traditional knowledge and biodiversity.
Workshops
This year’s Dubai Future Forum will also feature a diverse program of workshops held across the two days of the event. These workshops will explore vital topics such as “How can we Assess the Futures Pulse of Citizens?”, “Scenario Lab: What Happens When Imagination Becomes the World’s Most Valuable Resource?”, “Foresight to Action: What Will the Future of Migration Look Like?”, “Alternative Futures Methods: What Can We Learn from Around the World?”, “Roundtable on Foresight and Scenario Planning”, “The Achievable Futures”, and “Future Narratives: How Do We Harness Storytelling to Empower Societies?”. The program also includes a specialised workshop hosted by the Global Futures Society (GFS), titled “GFS Pitch: What if Connections Became Commitments for the Future?”.
Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity 2025
Alongside the Forum, the Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity 2025 initiative will be held from 17–20 November at AREA 2071, Emirates Towers. Recognised as one of the world’s largest and most diverse gatherings of innovators and academic talent, this year’s edition will showcase the top 100 innovative projects selected from more than 3,000 submissions by students, recent graduates, and professors representing over 1,200 universities across 120 countries.
At the conclusion of the event, five exceptional innovators will be honoured and supported to further develop their groundbreaking ideas and transform them into real-world applications.
Dubai Foresight Awards
The global event will also witness the announcement of the winners of the inaugural Dubai Foresight Awards, launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to celebrate visionary thinkers, innovators, and designers of the future from around the world. The awards highlight exceptional achievements in three main categories: Foresight Changemakers, Foresight for People, and Foresight for the Planet.
Future Stories Awards
The Forum will also host the Future Stories Awards Ceremony, honouring authors and writers whose works inspire new generations of futurists and foresight practitioners around the world.
Book Corner
For the first time in the Forum’s history, a dedicated Book Corner will feature book launches and signings with global authors, thinkers, and publishers, celebrating foresight literature and expanding the dialogue on the ideas shaping humanity’s future.
Learning Days
Preceding the Forum, a Learning Day on 17 November will address five key topics: Foresight & Global Security, Foresight & Strategic Philanthropy, Foresight & Wearable Technologies, Foresight & Urban Resilience, and The Future of Media.
An additional Learning Day featuring a series of specialised forums on 20 November 2025 will spotlight topics influencing the future of humanity, gathering experts, researchers, and institutions from around the world to translate foresight into action.
