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“The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it. It isn’t something you await, but rather create.”

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumVice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai

Our Vision
To Make Dubai
a Leading City of the Future


Our Mission
To Collectively Imagine, Inspire and Design Dubai’s Future


Dubai skyline

Our Drivers for the Future

Imagining, designing and executing Dubai’s future is at the heart of the Foundation’s remit. Risk-taking, agility and foresight are the key attributes driving the Foundation’s journey towards success.

The Foundation was born out of a key belief: leading in the present isn’t sufficient. It is the future that we must imagine, design and execute.

Our INitiatives

A Grand Tradition of Foresight and Disruption

The Foundation is a reflection of the city it was born in; starting with humble beginnings yet driven with ambitious goals. Carrying the torch of innovation and following in the footsteps of our forefathers, the Dubai Future Foundation challenges the status quo, embraces risk-taking and places big bets to build a better future.

1960

An airport is commissioned by a ruler of Dubai, with sand cleaved to run concrete runways. In around 60 years, this airport will become the world’s busiest.

1961

A full decade before the UAE is formed, Khor Dubai, or the Dubai Creek, is dredged to allow larger vessels in. The city is determined to welcome the world.

1971

A unified nation is created out of tribal lands by leaders of vision and foresight. The United Arab Emirates is born, and history as we know it is created.

1979

With leadership’s visionary foresight, a gateway hub and a global trade link of the world is born in Dubai. Jebel Ali Port will earn the title as the largest man-made port in the world, connecting global markets and facilitating trade.

2016

The Dubai Future Foundation is born to institutionalise future-shaping.

Our Strategic Areas of Focus

The Dubai Future Foundation builds a cohesive innovation ecosystem that includes, accelerator programs, incubators, labs, regulatory sandboxes, and knowledge platforms – all with the purpose of challenging the status quo and designing a future-ready city powered by future leaders and disrupters. Our activities, though interlinked, can be broadly categorised into five strategic business units:

Space

Future, Foresight & Imagination

Our research arm at the Foundation serves as a source of insight for the future, and works on understanding possible future scenarios for Dubai, and the world. It supports decision-makers in understanding emerging technologies to better anticipate and navigate possible futures.

Dubai skyline

Content & Knowledge Dissemination

We are home to multiple initiatives that curate and disseminate future-centric content and technology breakthroughs. We want to be a global gateway for future content and knowledge-sharing.

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Space

Capacity Building

We build the skills and capacities of future leaders in the government and private sector through an ecosystem of future-facing initiates. We also empower Arab youth around the globe with coding skills —which we consider the language of the future — enabling them to spearhead the development of their communities.

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Dubai skyline

Future Design & Acceleration

Through our programmes and innovative ecosystem, we transform challenges into opportunities and facilitate collaborations between the government, private sector partners, start-ups and individuals. We encourage the testing of new ideas, and the trialling of breakthrough technologies, by providing agile regulations and services that enable innovation to thrive.

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Museum of the Future night panorama

Future Experience

The iconic Museum of the Future will enable individuals to see and experience the future today, placing Dubai as a global destination for showcasing what is possible.

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