The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) has announced the date of the second edition of the Abu Dhabi Smart City Summit, and begun the countdown to the launch of activities of the region's largest event in the field of smart city development, which will be held in Abu Dhabi on 23rd and 24th of November, 2021, at the Conrad Abu Dhabi - Etihad Towers.
The Abu Dhabi Smart City Summit offers a platform for dialogue that brings together a group of experts, government officials, leaders, strategists and decision-makers, as well as government and private organizations, to discuss best practices for developing smart cities and addressing challenges. It also contributes to enriching the participants' knowledge and developing action plans that will lead to smarter and more efficient solutions.
DMT is organizing and managing the second edition of the summit in line with the Department's strategic map and the UAE's Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, which represents the new direction on which the country's future services, sectors and infrastructure will depend. The summit will develop the frameworks and support ambitious plans for smart cities in the emirate and review the latest technological developments and innovations from the public and private sectors, in addition to ensuring the availability of a world-class infrastructure capable of supporting investments in modern technologies in roads, parks, recreational and infrastructural projects.
In 2019, the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Smart City Summit achieved great success with the full support and guidance of Abu Dhabi's leadership. More than 20 government organisations and stakeholders took part in the sessions with over 1,000 attendees, in addition to the presence of 60 distinguished guests, 100 executives and decision makers, and 50 visionary expert speakers who are influencing the development of the future of smart cities.
The organizing committee of the summit said that the second edition will be held under the highest standards and sanitised conditions to ensure the safety of all participants. It will pave the way for strengthening cooperation between all sectors and emphasize the need for key players in the smart cities and artificial intelligence sector to focus on innovation in order to chart a better and more prosperous future, bring about the real changes needed for the benefit of societies and individuals, and strengthen the position of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a global leader in investing in artificial intelligence across all sectors.
The first meeting of the summit's advisory board will be held next week, with the participation of more than 20 local and federal government agencies, to discuss a unified framework for transforming Abu Dhabi into a global leader in smart cities and artificial intelligence, in addition to developing the leadership capabilities of Emirati engineers in artificial intelligence. Key upcoming projects, international standards, new technologies and solutions will also be discussed.
Making an impact
The summit stands out by addressing all areas of artificial intelligence, smart operations, projects and applications, which makes it the ideal platform for broader and more diverse dialogues on smart city development. The conference sessions will focus on smart transformation, enhancing smart investment, building business models and exploring global dynamic changes in the sector.
The new edition aims to attract the most powerful talents capable of making a real impact on how the world views the cities of the future, reviewing efforts to manage smart cities, identifying all the opportunities and challenges the world faces, and promoting smart and comprehensive community access to all services in a way that takes into account environmental commitments, focusing on the sustainability of the solutions offered by industry trends and the impact of innovative technologies on individuals and governments.
A more prosperous future
His Excellency, Omar Ibrahim Al Nuaimi, Director-General of Institutional Affairs at the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said there is a need to provide specialized platforms for dialogue and joint work to contribute to the development of smart cities and promote the use of artificial intelligence mechanisms applied across sectors to ensure sustainable planning and implementation, predict the future and maximize innovation.
"The future global vision of artificial intelligence has given us more tools and technologies that allow us to develop services and infrastructure and develop smart cities’ models in line with the UAE’s national strategy and agenda. Great efforts must be made to employ these technologies and improve the sustainability of our services and resources, which is considered one of the most important pillars of the DMT strategy." His Excellency added, "Through ADSCS, and inspired by our leadership’s vision, the department aims to provide a platform that can directly influence and enrich discussions to create a movement that brings about real-world change, identify opportunities offered by smart technologies, and achieve greater development, growth and prosperity."
His Excellency added, "The UAE has been able to take great strides in the field of scientific research and development of artificial intelligence, which has had a significant impact on the response and ability to deal with recent global challenges. In this year’s edition of ADSCS, we will strive to engage more experts and minds that will be part of the next step, to establish a clear framework and vision that ensures livability within cities and makes them more flexible, and therefore faster to respond to challenges and provide local skills, community institutions and the latest technologies to support sustainable economic development.
