By Shehab Al Makahleh, Gulf News
Participants to recommend ideal solutions for world issues
Abu Dhabi will host the Summit on the Global Agenda on November 18-20 for the second time.
More than 900 participants are expected to take part in interactive workshops and sessions to provide comprehensive insight and recommendations on some of the most pressing global challenges, according to the World Economic Forum.
The participants will be comprised of global experts and scholars from academia, business, government and civil society from more than 80 countries. They will address over 70 areas and some of the most pressing issues on the global, regional and industry agendas, such as food security, climate change, financial stability and geopolitical risk, according to the World Economic Forum.
Interactive sessions
The Forum said that the members will identify key issues, explore risks and unmet opportunities, and elaborate mitigation strategies in a series of interactive sessions and uniquely designed conversations across Councils and relevant themes.
“The Network of Global Agenda Councils comprises 79 councils of 15-20 experts each, focusing on topics such as food security, climate change, financial stability and geopolitical risk,” according to the World Economic Forum’s statement.
The Abu Dhabi’s 2013 Summit on the Global Agenda is the world’s largest brainstorming event, whereby the Councils advance knowledge and collaboratively explore important issues shaping the global, industry and regional agendas, the statement revealed.
Numan Ashour, a senior economist and analyst at CNBC Arabia, viewed the forum as a result of the strategic role being played by the UAE at the international level to face global challenges.
“The UAE plays a strategic role on global challenges and efforts to find idyllic solutions to important issues. Since the UAE will be hosting this forum until 2018, this is another sign of the due importance of the country at the international level as this event brings together a number of world experts in various fields,” Ashour said.
Right time
He added that the summit this year is held at the right time as the world is facing unprecedented challenges.
“This Summit is timely amidst unprecedented global challenges resulting from the continued recession and backdrop in European economies and the repercussions on the other markets, particularly in the developing world,” Ashour said.
He pointed out that the international community has faced collectively the 2008-2009 financial crisis that many countries had suffered from and they are still under its direct and indirect impacts; yet, such gatherings should not be only for theories but rather for recommendations to take actions.
