Eight honoured for being most innovative

The Future Capitals World Summit ended its first day with a ceremony that applauded eight categories of innovators selected from a list of more than 1,000.

Sam Hamdan, Chairman of the Global Leadership Team and chief architect of the summit, said: "An important ingredient of our summit is to celebrate the achievements of innovators who are creating a new generation of products, services, solutions and experiences that shape our world. The success of future capital depends on innovation; they all need resident geniuses and mavericks. Today's honorees are their models."

The summit's emphasis on developing standards and partnerships for future capitals – those that will emerge from today's economic crisis as the next set of great cities. They are the places that will attract the greatest share of business.

Honorees

The Most Innovative People honorees include Dr Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan, Chairman of Etihad Airlines, for Business Innovation; Hector de J Ruiz, Executive Chairman of AMD, for Improving Lives; Professor Stephen Hawking, Theoretical Physicist, for Science Innovation for Peace; TH Leopoldo Lopez Mendoza, Mayor of Chacao, Venezuela, for Resiliency; Emilio Ambasz, Global Award Winning Architect and Industrial Designer, for Architecture Innovation; Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, for Visionary Global Leadership Across Cultures; William (Bill) H Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, for Technology Innovation; TH Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana, Albania, for Transforming Cities.

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