00:00As governments around the world confront accelerating artificial intelligence, climate pressure, and economic uncertainty,
00:07organisers in Dubai today unveiled what they say will be the most ambitious edition yet of the World Government Summit.
00:14Set under the theme Shaping the Future, Governments,
00:17the 2026 edition will bring together more than 150 government delegations across a series of high-level forums on artificial intelligence,
00:26education, mobility, sustainability, and economic resilience.
00:35Organisers say that this edition reflects a world under strain
00:38and a growing belief that the challenges ahead cannot be solved in isolation.
00:42The main and sole intention of the World Government Summit is to shape a better future for humanity.
00:47And that cannot be achieved without the participation, of course, of the governments, of the private sector,
00:52of the leaders and the technologists who are building tomorrow's technologies.
00:55Discussing these topics at the platform on issues that we believe are far ahead in the future is what we are trying to do.
01:04We are bringing and accelerating these discussions to happen today
01:07in order to avoid the consequences if we do not take these decisions right now and not in the future.
01:14Beyond scale, organisers argue that the summit's impact lies in what happens after the debate's end.
01:19The World Government Summit over the years became the largest school of governments.
01:25Governments come here to learn, to listen, to hear, to share best practices.
01:29But it's not only that.
01:30If you stop there, there is no continuation of that equation.
01:34We have seen some of the discussions that happened at the summit in previous years materialises now
01:39and becoming a reality that citizens will utilise and benefit from.
01:43For the first time, it will also host the World Laureate Summit, placing Nobel Prize winners and leading scientists directly into policy debates.
01:51Organisers say the aim is to move beyond talk, creating a platform where political leaders, industry and evidence come together
02:00at a moment when global systems are under growing strain.
02:03The goal is to narrow the gap between discovery and decision and to bring evidence into rooms where policy is shaped.
02:09The intersection between science and governance was always overseen.
02:14And scientists will sit on their labs, conduct their research.
02:17But when it comes to implementation, they struggle with convincing everyone that this is the new reality.
02:23What we saw at the World Government Summit over the years, we have hosted a couple of Nobel laureates,
02:27some scientists, who really inspired governments to perform even policy reforms in order to avoid some issues that might arise in the future.
02:35So today, we have decided to partner with the World Laureate Forum, with the World Laureate Association,
02:40to convene the largest number of scientists and the recipients of the most prestigious awards,
02:46including Turing, Arab Great Minds, Nobel and other laureates at the World Government Summit
02:52to discuss scientific discoveries for the first two days.
02:55And then the intersection between government and scientists on the third day,
03:00which is the first day of the World Government Summit.
03:02For the scientists involved, the message they bring is both simple and urgent.
03:08The two most important messages I wish to convey.
03:11First, basic science as the foundation of the modern economy,
03:17responsible for its growth and its continued development.
03:21The second most important message, it all depends on support from government.
03:28We cannot depend on industry or philanthropy.
03:32It all depends on support from governments everywhere in the world today.
03:37He argues that this is not a conversation for specialists alone.
03:40The summit, he says, creates a rare moment of direct access.
03:59It is a unique opportunity for scientists to speak directly to policy makers and captains of industry.
04:08And that this year, that message will be delivered at an unprecedented scale.
04:12So there will be almost 130 of the world's leading scientists who convene to deliver this important message on February 3rd.
04:22Leaders will arrive not simply to exchange ideas, but to set a direction.
04:27The goal is very clear to leave the decisions, partnerships and shared frameworks that move beyond ambition and into action,
04:35shaping how nations govern, cooperate and respond to risk.
04:38With regional tensions rising and global systems under strain,
04:42organisers say that this particular addition comes at a moment when a delay would carry a real cost.
04:48In a world defined by volatility and rapid change, this is about more than anticipating the future.
04:54It is about deciding how it is built.
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