19 February 2018, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, the Arab Thought Foundation will hold its annual conference FIKR16, titled Stabilization Challenges Amidst Regional Turmoil, on 10-12 April at the Grand Hyatt, Dubai-United Arab Emirates.
FIKR16 will provide an opportunity for participants to engage in an in-depth exchange of ideas and experiences to address the challenges currently facing the Arab world. Attendees will discuss relevant policies and potential solutions to be incorporated into a future action plan aimed at stabilizing Arab nations and societies.
The event will feature senior officials from both the public and private sectors, intellectuals, decision-makers, strategists and civil society representatives. Prominent cultural, media, and youth figures will also be among the attendees. The programme of the conference includes both plenary sessions and specialized panels. The winners of the Arab Creativity Award and Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced during a gala dinner organized on the second day of the conference.
There will be four plenary sessions addressing the following topics: The Role of International Powers; The Role of Regional and International Organizations; Stabilization; Scientific Research, Technological Development and Innovation in Arab Countries, and their Contribution to the Inclusive and Sustainable Development and to Achieving Stability in the Arab World.
There will also be seven parallel specialized sessions covering: Poverty; Disparities and Unemployment; Disruption of Political Action Mechanisms; External Interventions; Extremism and Terrorism; Media; New Media and Social Media; Culture and Education. The conference will conclude with a session titled: The new Arab citizen – A prerequisite for sustainable stability.
On the eve of FIKR16, the Arab Thought Foundation will launch, its 10th Annual Arab Report On Cultural Development titled “Scientific research, technological development and innovation in Arab countries and their contribution to comprehensive sustainable development” during a special ceremony on Monday, at 11am.
FIKR16 Conference
An endless series of consecutive, sudden and unforeseen crises and events are interfering in a complex way and their repercussions are casting their shadows all over the world. These changes are occurring in the midst of a fast-paced evolution of scientific and technological breakthroughs, an expansion of knowledge economies and societies in addition to what is referred to as the “fourth industrial revolution”, which is bringing forth a drastic change to the quality of life.
Against the backdrop of a number of major international changes, the world is witnessing a combination of cooperation, rivalry and conflict between nations. There are many different positions and policies being adopted, with ever-changing alliances as well as conflicts between the forces seeking to maintain the established world order and those trying to overturn it. This situation is described in the literature using terms such as “chaos”, “turmoil” and “disorder”.
This reality resulted in significant changes to the resources and forms of power in addition to disparities within the global framework of the distribution of power among the military, economic and technological powerhouses further increasing the fluidity and uncertainty of the situation.
This year, the goal of our conference will be to examine and analyze the various elements of this global situation and in particular to focus on our own region, to investigate the impacts and repercussions on Arab nations and to suggest possible ways to address the challenges and to promote the stabilization. That being said, the term “stability” does not imply stagnation or preservation of the status quo, but rather the adoption of policies and the establishment of institutions that foster structured development and meet demands in order to achieve societal peace and prosperity.
The conference shall gather high level international and Arab officials, in addition to delegations from leading regional and international organizations (the League of the Arab States, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Nations, etc), as well as cultural entities, media, think-tanks, experts and academics.
The FIKR Conference Series
Since 2002, FIKR Conference constitutes a landmark in the history of cultural conferences in the Arab World, and an interactive platform for constructive exchange of ideas, expertise and leading experiences. The Conference raises every year and emerging topic affecting the Arab World and addresses it in a scientific, civilized and responsible manner.
The conference brings together more than 600 leading figures representing heads of states and governments, policy-makers, officials, thinkers, intellectuals, researchers, experts, delegates from governmental and non-governmental bodies, international federations, private sectors associations, research and studies centers, cultural and media organizations, and Arab youth.
FIKR Conference seeks to generate the support of regional and international entities to achieve the strategic goals of the Arab Thought Foundation that aim at accomplishing a paradigm cultural shift, as well as to encourage sustainable development on the basis of affluent human values.
