Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), the educational arm of Dubai Land Department (DLD), has announced that it is organising an ‘Urban Thinkers Forum’ in strategic partnership with the United Nations (UN), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The three-day forum will focus on exploring technological solutions for future cities and take place at the Meydan Hotel, Dubai from 2nd to 4th October 2017. 

The forum will attract high participation from architects and engineers across a variety of disciplines, in addition to directors and CEOs of major real estate companies from the UAE and beyond. It is expected to secure the presence of international representatives from United Nations agencies and other world organisations, including policy makers, academics and developers, while also opening its doors to school and university students who are interested in watching the panel discussions.

Mahmoud El Burai, Executive Director of DREI, commented: "We are pleased to be hosting and organising the ‘Urban Thinkers Forum’, which will emphasise Dubai's status as a knowledge destination for planning smart cities and finding proactive solutions to ridding cities of their current issues. We are confident that the forum outputs will promote the sustainability initiatives supported by UN agencies, international universities and prestigious academic institutions. This event is of great importance at a time when the world is transitioning from traditional city-planning systems to adopting the latest technologies and cooperating with nations and peoples to establish sustainable development.”

The importance of this event lies in the topics that will be raised, in particular how to plan the future of cities with the participation of all stakeholders from private, government and academic sectors. Participants will contribute to drawing up an action plan to implement the world’s urban development goals, and also launch initiatives and projects aimed at achieving sustainable development in the region.

El Burai added: “The past decade has witnessed a remarkable rise in technology and digital services, which has contributed to a massive change across the world at all levels, including education, health care, society, politics and the economy. This revolution has produced an exponential quantity of data and even given rise to new terms like ‘The Internet of Things’. Cities were at the forefront of this techno-digital revolution, with smart cities and their future potential playing a central role in the discussion.”

The forum will be the largest real estate brainstorming session to focus on the future of cities, and invites participants from a wide range of disciplines to explore the future to find the best ways of achieving real sustainability. The discussions will take the opinions of customers, partners and all segments of society into consideration, in order to find smart and innovative solutions for planning the future of the real estate sector. The forum will also issue a report containing the most important ideas and recommendations put forward, which the UN will include within its new urban agenda strategy.

The first day will feature speeches from a number of specialists led by HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of the Dubai Land Department, who will deliver the opening speech of the forum. A keynote address from Farouk Mahmoud, President of FIABCI, and Osman Sultan, Du CEO, will follow. The first day activities will also include the celebration of World Habitat Day, as well as a number of panel discussions on ‘Real Estate Investment and Innovation’, ‘Wellness and Happiness’, ‘Smart and Sustainable Living’, ‘Real Estate Policies and Regulations’, and many other important topics.