Beirut Institute Summit Abu Dhabi Edition III

Beirut Institute convened a wide spectrum of thinkers including political leaders, senior policymakers, prominent intellectuals, leading CEOs, and civil society leaders to reflect on the evolving relationship between the Arab region and the world.
Saturday | 12 May, 2018
Welcome Remarks to Policy Circle Delegates
   
Welcome Address and Opening of Beirut Institute Summit
   
A Conversation Among Two Current and Two Former Secretary-Generals on Regional Responsibilities in Joining the Emerging Global Future
   
Contours of an Emerging Global Future Woven by Technological Leaps
A tour d ’horizon of the large-scale forces of technological change shaping the global future and their social, political and economic implications – from the perspective of a global technology leader.
   
The Future Women Want: What is the Bottom-Line?
Women leaders from the Arab region and beyond offer their bottom line prescriptions with one-minute messages regarding what specifically is required for the Arab region to engage the emerging global future.
   
Constructing Our Engagement in the Emerging Future: What are the New Priorities?
As the Arab region constructs its engagement in the emerging global future, what are the priorities? How have developments in the region, from unprecedented reforms to ongoing geopolitical challenges, changed the strategic imperatives? What do we most need from each other?
   
Beirut Institute Summit Dinner
Exceptional Excellence Recognition
Sunday | 13 May, 2018
Beyond Fear: Toward a Pragmatic Embrace of Tomorrow
In light of transformative reforms unfolding in the region, what specific, practical actions can the Arab region and its global partners take for the benefit of the people of the region and the world? At the national, regional and global levels, what are the specific steps leaders are taking and should take now to place education and technology in the service of creating the future we want?
   
The Future We Want: Voices of the Cloud Generation Eight young men and women deliver one-minute perspectives on how technology can reshape regional future.
   
Young China: How the Restless Generation will Change their Country and the World.
   
The New American – Russian Dynamics in the Middle East: A Condominium or A Contested Sphere?
What does Russia want in the Middle East? And what regional balance of power does it seek between Iran, Israel, Turkey, and the Arab countries? What exactly is the revised American national security doctrine? In the Middle East, how will a new American doctrine change the dynamics in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Palestine and elsewhere in the region?
   
Geopolitical Realignments: The Emerging Landscape
The increasingly assertive leadership in the Arab region is altering dynamics in the Middle East and globally. How will the regional order evolve over the next 5-10 years and beyond to 2030? What are the implications for the international system? What are the policy opportunities for creating a resilient regional and global order in the future?
   
The New Contract between the Region's Governments and Peoples
The stewards of natural endowments face a radically transforming challenge: How to optimize the value of their resources to strengthen the long-term resilience of their economies in the context of rapidly evolving global energy markets? What role can and must privatization play? What will the next generation inherit?
   
Innovative Government: Excellence in the Public Sphere
Public sector innovation is transforming the respective roles of government and the private sector. How will these dynamics evolve? What are the emerging best practices in government effectiveness that may enable trust in government in the future? What will be the optimal role of government in the future?
   
Next Generation Connective Infrastructure: Enabling the Integrated Future We Want
The Middle East is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world, significantly constraining growth, productivity and strategic alignment. Connective infrastructure – physical, human & technological – represents a powerful means of deepening regional integration, driving innovation and igniting growth. What are the infrastructural requirements of the 4th Industrial Revolution and where can we leapfrog legacy systems? What role can and will China’s One Belt One Road initiative play? How can we align interests and investments?
   
Nationalism Revisited. National Security Redefined.
How can Governments lead in re-defining national security and in re-visiting nationalism? Women are central in countering violent extremism, curbing ultra-nationalism, and re-defining national security. What is required in the Arab region to unlock this potential?
   
The New Narrative: Who Authors the Future?
A Town-Hall Conversation

Years of conflict and destruction have cast a shadow on how the people of the Arab region imagine their future, causing them to handicap their dreams. The Arab region must both rebuild its human and physical infrastructure to prepare for the challenges of the future. As we witness the beginning of a new phase of the region’s history, who will author the new narrative? What should be its central components? What is the future our people long for? This interactive conversation with special guests of the summit will explore the most critical decisions necessary to construct the Arab region’s engagement in the emerging global future. The Town Hall will launch a focused discussion of key engines of global change and how they can be applied in the Arab region in specific, practical, tangible ways. This intergenerational platform hopes to produce thoughtful collaboration and inspire leaders with constructive future policies that impact the Arab region. The Town Hall will conclude with the Beirut Institute Declaration from Abu Dhabi and announcing Beirut Institute agenda for 2018-2019.