More than 500 leaders and experts gathered in Dubai for the inaugural World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026, advancing new initiatives on artificial intelligence, economic resilience, innovation and next-generation leadership.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 15 October 2026 – The three-day meeting, held from 13 to 15 October, brought together 78 senior officials from governments and international organisations and more than 150 CEOs and chairs to explore solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with the Government of the United Arab Emirates, the meeting focused on preparing societies and economies for rapid technological, demographic and geopolitical changes.

“The future should not be governed by yesterday’s assumptions,” said Alois Zwinggi, President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. He emphasised the importance of translating dialogue into practical initiatives that create opportunities and strengthen resilience.

Advancing Economic Growth and Resilience

A major feature of the meeting was the introduction of Opportunity Labs, collaborative sessions designed to identify solutions to challenges likely to shape the next decade.

Discussions explored how artificial intelligence could improve productivity, create employment opportunities and strengthen economic resilience. Leaders also considered developing a resilience index to measure progress and support investment in climate adaptation.

The Forum announced plans, alongside the UAE Government and Dubai Future Foundation, to establish a Centre for Global Opportunities, aimed at expanding access to opportunities for current and future generations.

Research presented during the meeting highlighted emerging economic possibilities. A report on AI adoption in the Middle East and North Africa estimated that artificial intelligence could generate more than $1 trillion in economic and sustainability value by 2030.

Artificial Intelligence and Responsible Innovation

Artificial intelligence featured prominently, with discussions examining its potential to transform industries, public services and everyday life.

The UAE Government and the Global Shapers Community launched the Global Agentic AI Award and Innovation Challenge, inviting 500 Global Shapers hubs worldwide to develop AI-powered solutions addressing local community challenges.

The initiative will award $1 million annually over five years, with winners recognised at the 2027 meeting.

Another initiative, AI for All, will equip young leaders in 100 cities with practical AI skills, particularly in regions where access to AI training remains limited.

However, leaders emphasised that technological progress must be accompanied by responsible governance, accountability and public trust.

The meeting also examined cybersecurity, next-generation computing and the infrastructure required to support growing AI adoption, including sustainable data-centre development.

Investing in the Next Generation of Leaders

Intergenerational leadership was another central theme, bringing together established decision-makers with young innovators, entrepreneurs and social leaders.

The Forum launched the Leadership Commitment Framework, a self-assessment tool designed to help leaders evaluate their readiness to navigate an increasingly complex world.

The Future 20 initiative recognised 20 young leaders from the Global Shapers Network advancing innovative approaches to technology, sustainability, resilience and economic development.

Findings from the Forum’s Youth Pulse 2026 survey, involving nearly 4,600 young people across 144 countries and territories, also informed discussions on the priorities and expectations of younger generations.

The Global Alliance for Future Generations was further strengthened, bringing businesses and young leaders together to expand economic opportunities as AI reshapes entry-level employment.

Turning Global Dialogue into Action

Beyond technology and economic growth, the meeting addressed climate resilience, water scarcity and sustainable development.

A new two-year partnership between the World Economic Forum and the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative aims to accelerate practical solutions to water scarcity.

As the meeting concluded, leaders underscored the importance of collaboration across generations, sectors and geographical boundaries.

The Forum’s Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers communities will help advance the initiatives launched in Dubai, translating global conversations into practical action.

“The future should not be governed by yesterday’s assumptions,” said Alois Zwinggi, President and CEO, World Economic Forum, and Principal Chairman of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders. “Over the course of the meeting, leaders tested ideas, launched initiatives and identified ways to keep the work moving beyond Dubai. That is how dialogue becomes action, helping create new opportunities and build resilience for the years ahead.”

“Today we move from discussing the future to shaping it with you,” said His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and Principal Chairman of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders. “We want partnerships that turn into action, opportunities that turn into achievement, and impact that reaches generations to come.”

The meeting piloted Opportunity Labs, collaborative, action-oriented sessions that worked backwards from a better future to explore how today’s challenges could be successfully addressed over the next 10 years.

“We remain optimistic about the future, even in difficult and challenging times,” said Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future of the United Arab Emirates, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026. “Our optimism is a commitment to keep finding a way forward. It gives us the courage to begin, the humility to learn as we go and the determination to change course when needed.”

During the Opportunity Labs, participants explored how AI can advance productivity and create better jobs, and how resilience can be strengthened at scale. They also considered tools for shared accountability, including a potential resilience index to measure progress and help direct capital towards climate adaptation.

Insights from the labs will inform the forthcoming Future Leaders Outlook, a synthesis of participant perspectives highlighting the opportunities and capabilities likely to shape the decade ahead.

“For the future to really work for people, we need to build around their actual lives and involve them in designing and building the technology itself,” said Suhani Jalota, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Myna Mahila Foundation, India, and Young Global Leader. “For us to create lasting change and impact, we really need to involve the people who are overlooked.”

The WEF, the UAE Government and the Dubai Future Foundation also expressed their intention to establish the Centre for Global Opportunities, focused on expanding access to opportunity for current and future generations of leaders.

Discussions also drew on findings from the WEF’s Youth Pulse 2026, which captures the perspectives of nearly 4,600 young people across 144 countries and territories on economic, political, technological, social and environmental issues.

The WEF also published The Impact Economy: Turning Disclosure into Demand, exploring how measurable social outcomes can become economically actionable, as only 15% of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets with sufficient data remain on track. Using healthcare as a test case, it identifies regulatory, commercial, financial and collaborative pathways to turn impact into demand.

Ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, the Centre for Nature and Climate and the UpLink Aquapreneurs Initiative convened water innovators and Young Global Leaders to identify priorities for scaling water solutions. The meeting also provided the setting for the announcement of a new two-year partnership between the WEF and the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative to accelerate practical solutions to water scarcity.

Discussions on trade and economics highlighted how supply shocks and disruptions are testing economic policy-making, underscoring the need for more adaptive approaches at a time of rising government borrowing costs and heightened uncertainty.

“We want to lower the risks for businesses so they are more resilient when external shocks come,” said Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026. “You need to lower fixed costs so they can better deal with whatever the situation brings.”

“The future is something we actively design,” said Khalfan Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Future Foundation, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026. “Foresight helps us understand change, but it is action that turns opportunities into reality.”

During the meeting, participants explored how AI and scientific discovery could expand human capabilities, accelerate innovation, and create economic and societal value, while highlighting the need for trusted governance, accountability, human judgment and infrastructure to support broader adoption.

Discussions on agentic AI emphasised that deployment should improve people’s quality of life, with safeguards and responsible oversight essential to maintaining trust.

“The challenge is that it is extremely easy for us to lose trust, but very hard for us to gain trust when it comes to agentic AI systems,” said His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence of the United Arab Emirates. “If you are able to improve people’s quality of life by deploying that agent, then you are moving in the right direction. If you have productivity gains but you’re harming people, it does not matter.”

The UAE Government and the Global Shapers Community launched the Global Agentic AI Award and Innovation Challenge, a year-long initiative inviting all 500 Global Shapers hubs to use agentic AI to address local community challenges. The initiative will award $1 million annually over five years, with winners recognised at the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2027.

The Centre for Intelligent Future and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) also expanded access to AI for All, a programme equipping young leaders in 100 cities with practical AI skills, from generative and agentic AI to responsible governance, prioritising regions with limited access to AI training.

“This is the moment where we stop looking at all the problems and decide to look at the opportunities, and we decide to do something about it,” said Mariam Nourya Koné, Global Shaper, Abidjan Hub, Côte d’Ivoire. “And when we start, eventually people follow.”

Participants examined how agentic AI can expand human capability while preserving accountability and trust; how humanoid robots can become effective collaborators; and how emerging sensing technologies can unlock applications across health, climate, retail, commerce and robotics.

“What defines this moment is uncertainty. It makes it both difficult to predict, but also very exciting from a technology perspective,” said Fadel Adib, Professor and Entrepreneur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026. “It also creates a unique opportunity for leaders and institutions to leapfrog and make a change.”

Unlocking Value: AI for Resilient Growth in MENA estimates that AI could unlock more than $1 trillion in economic and sustainability value across the region by 2030. It identifies gaps between AI’s perceived potential and implementation, and pathways for finance, government, energy and cross-sector collaboration to turn adoption into sustainable growth.

Powering AI at Scale: Optimising Hyperscale Data Centre Infrastructure in MENA examines the infrastructure needed for AI growth, finding that new data centres in the region could connect to the grid within two to five years versus more than a decade in mature markets. It highlights the need for integrated planning, smarter design and updated regulation to manage rising energy and water demands sustainably.

The WEF also published the Next-Generation Computing Policy Readiness Framework, a practical tool to help policy-makers assess infrastructure, talent, sovereignty and cybersecurity readiness, and Cybersecurity’s Strategic Inflection Point: A Senior Leadership Agenda for 2027, highlighting cybersecurity’s critical role in economic resilience and global stability and calling for stronger governance, investment and coordinated action.

The Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders convened members and alumni of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders community, alongside Global Shapers and Social Innovators, and leaders from government, business, academia, science, technology and civil society, connecting next-generation voices with established global leadership.

The meeting also launched the Leadership Commitment Framework, developed by the Global Future Council on Leadership and the Forum of Young Global Leaders. The self-assessment tool is designed to help leaders assess whether their approach to leadership is suited to the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

Future 20 spotlighted 20 young leaders from the Global Shapers Network driving new approaches to technology, economic growth, resilience, leadership and sustainability.

The WEF also advanced the Global Alliance for Future Generations, bringing together companies and young leaders to strengthen economic opportunities as AI transforms entry-level jobs. UAE-based Apparel Group has joined the Alliance, which already brings together more than 20 companies, expanding its engagement in the region.

Leadership discussions included the Women Leading the Future, with senior UAE public figures taking part. Public sessions examined how leaders can adapt to a rapidly changing generation already adapting and embed fairness in hiring, promotion and technologies shaping the future of work.