The Dubai Future Foundation, DFF, and UNESCO signed a partnership agreement to establish DFF-UNESCO Futures Literacy Hub, a global platform aimed at promoting futures literacy.
The partnership will contribute to UNESCO’s role as a laboratory of ideas by promoting futures literacy on a global scale, and position Dubai as a hotspot for futures literacy practitioners, researchers and key stakeholders.
The two organisations made the announcement at UNESCO’s High-Level Futures Literacy Summit that began on 8th December and concludes on 12th December, is online from Paris. The DFF is prominently represented at the virtual event, where it plans to introduce the offerings of Dubai Future Research, the Dubai Future Academy and Dubai Future Labs.
The agreement mandates members of the Global Futures Literacy Network, in particular UNESCO Chairs in Futures Studies and Futures Literacy, to work closely with participants from around the world to implement action-learning activities and deploy on-the-ground methods to cultivate futures literacy.
Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the DFF, said, "Our partnership supports UNESCO’s ongoing efforts to champion futures literacy, contributes to consolidating Dubai’s position at the cutting edge of knowledge creation and capability development, and promotes innovative policies and practices in the UAE and beyond."
He added, "The initiative aligns with the National Agenda of the UAE Vision 2021 and the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for driving global endeavours to build a better future."
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, said, "We are thrilled to join forces with the Dubai Future Foundation to scale up our efforts to make Futures Literacy available for all of us. This important 21st Century competency is of the utmost importance. The many challenges faced by humanity, further aggravated by the pandemic, require new approaches, new tools and new ways of anticipating and address existing and emerging challenges, including inequality and climate change."
The DFF-UNESCO Futures Literacy Hub, housed within the DFF’s premises in Dubai, will commence operations in 2021 by establishing a dedicated steering group to identify priority areas, followed by capacity-building and programmatic activities with a focus on foresight and policy-making.
The Dubai Future Foundation promotes global dialogue to create impactful disruptions in vital sectors through initiatives such as the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, C4IR, UAE and Palmwood, and in collaboration with partners in AREA 2071, including United Nations, IBM, Procter & Gamble, SAP, Emirates, Ernst & Young, Pfizer, Wamda Capital, GEMS Education, and other prominent entities.
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