Theme: Shaping Future Governments

The third Government Summit, which begins on February 9 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will offer a new perspective to the government sector, presenting it as more dynamic than the private sector in terms of innovation.

The third Government Summit, organised under the theme ‘Shaping Future Governments’, offers a global platform that brings together prominent experts and specialists to discuss the most relevant issues related to the lives of people such as health, education and future governments in an effort to create citizen happiness and well-being of the community at all levels.

The summit will be attended by more than 3,000 participants. On the occasion, over 100 high-profile speakers, including world leaders, decision-makers, ministers, CEOs, thought leaders in government innovation, government officials and experts, will share ideas and visions on the future of government services, taking part in more than 50 interactive sessions.

Highlighting the future of education and its key role in supporting the innovation process, the summit will host Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, on the third day in a session to discuss ‘Innovation in Education’.

In addition to this major session, Huang Wu Yi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education in South Korea, will deliver a keynote speech on the first day of the Government Summit under the title ‘Education, the driving force for the development of Korea’. In the session, Wu Yi will explain how innovation and excellence in the education field fast-tracked the process of development and modernization in his country.

The Government Summit will explore possibilities in the education sector further through panel discussions and round tables to highlight it as a key element in stimulating creativity and promoting talents and innovation. Sir Ken Robinson, a renowned education and creativity specialist, will try to answer a number of questions in this area during the session ‘How Schools Kill Creativity’.

Jim Shelton, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Education, Dino Varkey, CEO GEMS, and Anant Agarwal, CEO Edx, will also discuss a number of issues related to the development of education, focused on ‘The Future of Online Education’.

Mohammed bin Rashid opens Museum of Future Government Services

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday welcomed guests at the third Government Summit, held under the theme, "Shaping Future Governments,’ and attended by heads of state, senior officials of international organisations and high-ranking government officials.

In a statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said that the Government Summit has evolved as a major international platform and established the UAE as a global hub for government development.

Sheikh Mohammed, accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, also inaugurated the ‘Museum of Future Government Services,’ showcased as part of The Government Summit.

Built around a futuristic, interactive, life-sized street, the Museum of Future Government Services showcases how technology over the coming years will radically transform government services in areas such as healthcare, education, mobility and smart city planning. It also features a laboratory for research, design and innovation, particularly for government entities.

The Museum of Future Government Services has been developed by an international team of 180 researchers, designers and experts from around the world, and serves as a new approach that will pave the way for citizens and governments to work together to address future concerns.

At the opening of the Museum, Sheikh Mohammed, said: "Innovation is the key to prosperity, and governments must invest in research, development and innovation more than other sectors because they are closely related to the development of human life. Innovation is the best way to improve the quality of lifestyle, and it is not an option any more but an imperative, especially with the changes and rapid evolution witnessed by the world."

He added: "The real development of people is fundamental to the stability of nations. The development process cannot be sustained without creating an encouraging environment to stimulate innovation to identify the best solutions for all the challenges."

"We are confident that The Government Summit serves as a solid platform for the world to join hands in strengthening government development. We hope this annual meeting of the world’s governments will mark the beginning of a new era in international cooperation to focus on the development challenges that the world faces through an innovative model of partnership between governments, the private sector, educational institutions and research centres.

"The Museum of Future Government Services highlights that the future will belong to those who can imagine it, design it and implement it today. We cannot wait for the future; it has to be designed and built today," added Sheikh Mohammed.

The opening was attended by Mohammed Al Gargawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and President of the Organising Committee of The Government Summit; Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director-General of the Department of Protocol and Hospitality at Dubai Government; and Ahmed bin Bayat, Chairman of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company "du". 

The Museum of Future Government Services represents a new approach to government innovation, pioneered in the United Arab Emirates. Representing a significant, design-led approach to policy and innovation, the museum uses design, prototypes and foresight to create real examples of change by engaging citizens and governments in a new way to tackle tomorrow’s critical issues. Although the museum is the first of its kind, it represents a leading example of entrepreneurial governments embracing change and creating futuristic visions for a better world.
Sheikh Mohammed toured the Museum that presents a compelling vision on the next generation of future governments and the new technologies that will be used for the first time to provide future government services as well as innovative applications that will form the pillar of the next generation of government services.

ASIMO, the most advanced robot in the world developed by Honda, displayed its capabilities before His Highness, and is a part of the Museum.
The Museum of Future Government Services includes several sections, for example a "smart street" as an outlook for the future by using virtual reality that illustrates how the person will interact with the world around him and how to connect the world with its needs. It also helps governments to understand the public effectively and provide immediate information.

The museum also includes a section on "laboratory for future services," adding interactive experience with future services describes cooperate opportunities between government and private sector to explore ways to develop new technologies of future services to reach customers effectively and quickly.

Self-driving car concepts have been developed to give a glimpse of the future of the automotive world, integrated with intelligent systems that will bring the concept of mobility to new levels. They include "portal office for more comfortable and productive", "services car to provide better government services to your home," and other practical applications of self-driving cars.

It also includes the innovation "personal cloud", developed in collaboration with MIT University, which aims to provide energy efficiency in cooling and heating the place, this section includes sensors determining the position and presence of each person to provide the needed cooling or heating to this exact point and to follow people wherever they move.

The museum also has a section called "Fitzania: a healthy and enjoyable life," that encourages children to play fun games while conducting a comprehensive medical examination by medical devices that include, for example, heartbeat measurement, blood pressure and others.

The Museum is also explores the future of travel services and health care through the "Health Cafe" that represents the future look of the clinic and pharmacy at the same time. It is equipped with the latest tools that create an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation as well as for the manufacture of personalised medicine based on the results of individual laboratory tests.

The "immersive virtual-reality interactive learning lab" explores the future of learning to shed light on how education can travel while we are in the same place by sending a robot to places like Mars to study and analyse the location and then send back data from which students can learn. Through this laboratory we can interact with the teacher robot that explores the surrounding environment, ask questions, study the place analytically, and give students integrated data of any place via information in videos and audio format.

The "exoskeleton" is the characteristic structure was synthesised to serve humanity as it helps elderly or disabled people who face movement difficulties, doing the work of fire fighters to protect lives workers as well as assist in the complex construction operations.

UAE Drones for Good Award announces winner of $1m international prize

The winners of the first ‘UAE Drones for Good Award’, the largest award of its kind in the world, were announced on Sunday in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, UAE ministers and international dignitaries.

The competition, launched at the 2014 Government Summit, took place in Dubai Internet City in front of a large crowd of visitors. The Government Summit focuses on how technology will radically reshape government and public services through the introduction of drones, robotics and other innovations; the 2015 Summit, taking place from February 9-11, will feature exciting new initiatives.

Flyability from Switzerland won the $1 million grant in the International Competition. The Flyability team has developed Gimball, a drone that can enter confined spaces and safely fly close to humans, proving to be highly effective in rescue missions. It is protected by a rotating cage which makes it capable of colliding with obstacles in challenging environments without losing stability.

Flyability team lead, Patrick Thevoz, said, "We struggled to find funding to develop our search and rescue drone but this UAE Government Summit initiative, Drones for Good, means we can commercially develop our project within a year, and with Flyability able to go where it is dangerous for rescuers, help save lives. 

"The Drones for Good Award is the first-of-its-kind. It is inspirational, because while there are many awards for academic research, there aren’t many for the social application of new technology. It allows passionate teams like us to move forward and make this a reality. The Drones for Good Award is a unique opportunity to help people realise that these flying machines are capable of positively impacting society," he added.

Over the course of the two-day event, 39 semi-finalists in three categories presented live demonstrations of their projects to a panel of international judges. There was also a division for national competitors who won Dh1 million.

The other finalists in the International Competition include drones for reforestation, urgent transportation of organs, delivery catchment systems and monitoring of crop conditions.

"The UAE Drones for Good Award is a tangible outcome of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make optimal use of innovation and technology for the service of humanity. The UAE Drones for Good award exemplifies our commitment to setting global benchmarks in this endeavor," said Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs.

“I congratulate the winners of this great competition, which showed the amazing ways we can use drones for good. All the entries have the capability to transform the world to make it a better place to live in and we are optimistic that they will continue to inspire new breakthroughs",  Al Gergawi added.

The winners of the UAE Government Entities Award and the National Competition were Etisalat and Wadi Drones respectively.

Egypt call to adopt UAE model

Ibrahim Mahlab, the Prime Minister of Egypt, said that the UAE serves as a unique model for governments globally and has a leading position internationally in efficiency of government services.
 
Mahlab thanked the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for the invitation to attend The Government Summit.
 
He observed that the Summit is a truly international platform that brings together heads of state, ministers, and representatives of government departments to exchange experiences and knowledge to strengthen governance and administration.
 
Mahlab is leading a high-profile delegation at the third edition of The Government Summit held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, under the theme, ‘Shaping Future Governments,’ from February 9 to 11, in Dubai.
 
Mahlab said: "It is my pleasure to participate in the third Government Summit held in the UAE. I extend my sincere thanks to our brothers in the UAE and its leadership, especially to the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
 
He added: "Our participation in The Government Summit will further strengthen the friendship and close cooperation between the UAE and Egypt. The UAE, under its wise leadership, has a prominent position globally in the field of government services, underlined by indicators issued by various international organisations. It is a unique model for governments of other countries, who can leverage the UAE’s experience across various fields. This is the ultimate goal of The Government Summit - to exchange experiences and knowledge."

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