DEC 2018, the first Digital Economy Conference organized by Wise Media, took place on 16-17 December at the Emirates Palace, under the patronage of the UAE government and with the support of the Council of Arab Economic Unity of the League of Arab States. The event opened its doors as eighth Sustainability Summit initiative endorsed by the European Commission with the participation of the Director General International Cooperation & Development. DEC 2018 was supported by the League of Arab States, CAEU and by AFDE as hosting government sponsor.

• Download DEC 2018 agenda; download final report (soon)
  

A world-class speaker line up
Designed as a summit on how to foster the regional alignment of digital transformation agendas to drive societal development, DEC 2018 saw high profile speakers and delegations representing the United Nations, World Bank, OECD, League of Arab States, CAEU, AFDE, European Commission, NATO, prime academic institutions and governments convene in Abu Dhabi from around the world to contribute to a vibrant exchange on how to best address the needs of the digital society at a regional level to promote peace, progress and sustainable development.

• See speaker profiles; download presentation abstracts

Launch of a new strategy
The Arab Digital Economy Strategy reviewed by a committee of 65 experts from around the world was presented by AFDE to government delegations attending from the 22 member states of the Arab League, at the presence of H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the UAE. Keynote addresses by the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, the Secretary General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity, the Chairman of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy and the President of Cairo University illustrated a regional plan of cooperation that was discussed with government representatives and experts throughout the two-day conference. Select members of the Expert Group activated to review the Arab Digital Economy Strategy prior to its launch were invited as guest speakers to comment on the initiative and contribute to the ongoing discussions.

• Request information about the Arab Digital Economy Strategy
  
  

Call to action in the era of AI
As a highlight of the event program of DEC 2018, a series of conference sessions were furthermore designed respond to Wise Media's ongoing initiative on digital transformation in the era of AI: 'A new Agenda for Education and Labor', 'Healthcare Leveraging Disruptive Technologies' and 'Finance in the Digital Economy' saw policy makers and luminaries from academia discuss opportunities and challenges faced by the digital society in key sectors of the global economy in light of the advent of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT).

• Get involved in Wise Media's call to action
  
  

Bilateral and multilateral exchanges

DEC 2018's two-day conference program was completed with high-profile networking activities.
A comprehensive agenda of bilateral meetings and multilateral discussions took place, paving the road to intensive activities to follow-on to the introductions made in Abu Dhabi. As of December 15, exclusive activities were organized for select guests, including the gala dinner 'Sharing a Vision and a Strategy', the private reception dinner 'Connecting Continents', as well as private visits to the Grand Mosque. High-profile government representatives were introduced to H.H. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed during a special ceremony organized for ministers attending DEC.

DEC 2019 appointments

The calendar of DEC Summit activitiess for 2019 will build on the multifaceted exchanges catalyzed in 2018, as well as bilateral and inter-regional discussions held by the members of the Sustainability Summit Special Interest Working Groups on the occasion of DEC 2018 in Abu Dhabi.

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DEC Community

The broader community of DEC followers is addressed on an ongoing basis via focused initiatives supported by the DEC Advisory Board and Sustainability Summit SIWGs. See Newsletter and other DEC media: info@decpress.com