UAE 'Future Map' to use the youth energy, creativity

 

The Future Map allows partners and government officials to make effective use of the creativity and imagination of the youth, and to explore ideas that young people consider to be a priority. This, in turn, serves to support decision-making on the topics of most importance to youth.

 

An initiative by the Education Affairs Office of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, the Future Map breaks down the complex and intertwined issues that can affect the future of the UAE, and offers a platform for the youth to share their ideas and priorities for the future in a challenging world.

 

Mohamed Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Director of the Education Affairs Office at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, said: "The virtual Jubilee Lab of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generations shed light on just how passionate the UAE youth are to make a positive impact in their communities, and to make use of advanced technology to come up with novel solutions. Their perspectives and eye-opening discussions may lead us to rethink our own conversations about change and the future and compel us to think more strategically moving forward."

 

"The Future Map will come into effect as a dynamic digital tool for visualising new ideas," Al Nuaimi explained. "Changing the course of events with the UAE youth requires us to change the way we perceive their contribution to the dialogue. The Mohamed Bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generations is committed to expanding the scope of communication to cover all aspects and to write stories tailored to the requirements of the future."

 

The Future Map features takeaways from the virtual Jubilee Lab, which brought together more than 100 university students from the UAE – studying in the Emirates or abroad – over a period of three days to visualise scenarios about the UAE’s future agenda, exchange ideas, examine risks, and discuss values that could guide decision-making amidst the rapid developments around the world. Participants reached a set of conclusions on four main topics that constitute the basic features of the map: New Ways of Learning; Greener, Smarter, Stronger; Digital Worlds and Creativity Superheroes; and Opportunities in The Next 50 Years.

 

The ideas discussed during the Virtual Lab revolved around five principles that were later included in the MBZMFG Future Map. By highlighting trade-offs and stimulating new ideas, these principles can help facilitate future dialogues, inform decision-making, and identify promising new directions.

 

The first of the five principles was Stories and Data, where technology can offer useful operational tools and insights, while reserving the role of human beings in weaving values, beliefs, and hopes into the narrative of our future scenarios.

 

Secondly, Creativity Beyond Expertise, where participants concluded that when it comes to addressing the world’s biggest problems, we need a creative combination of different kinds of expertise in order to continue to innovate. Meanwhile, the third principle – Risk over Certainty – underlines that embracing risk over certainty allows people to become protagonists in creating a better future for themselves and their communities.

 

Principle number four – Adaptability Before Predictability – discussed the fact that as the pace of change increases, it is not the strongest who survive, but the most adaptive communities and organisations. The fifth and final principle – Connectors and Hubs – argued that as complexity grows in every aspect of life, the need arises for more capable connectors across sectors and disciplines to enhance our capacity to innovate and create impact.

 

The Jubilee Lab of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generations aims to gain insight into the opinions of UAE youth about the future they wish to create, in an effort to empower a new generation of future leaders.