As the pace and scale of global change continue to intensify, the Dubai Future Forum 2026 convenes as a platform for collective sense-making, bold imagination, and purposeful action. Bringing together futurists, policymakers, scientists, creatives, and systems leaders from around the world, the Forum moves beyond asking what the future might hold to exploring how it can be shaped – and why it matters.

The 2026 programme is organised around a set of interconnected themes that respond to today’s most pressing uncertainties and opportunities. Exploring the Unknown surfaces emerging discoveries and signals reshaping our world. Reimagining Health examines how science, technology, and nature are redefining wellbeing and human flourishing. Rethinking Purpose explores how humanity is redefining meaning in a rapidly transforming world – across work, education, sport, and creative expression – and asks how purpose can be designed, cultivated, and sustained as technology reshapes what we do, how we learn, and who we become.

At the heart of the Forum, Foresight Insights returns as a cornerstone of the programme, offering a deep exploration of the tools, practices, and perspectives that enable long-term thinking. From strategic foresight and speculative design to systems mapping, indigenous knowledge, and future narratives, this stream celebrates the plurality of approaches required to navigate complexity and co-create more inclusive and resilient futures.

The Dubai Future Forum 2026 is not only a space to envision what comes next – it is a platform to align ideas, values, and action in service of futures worth building.