The Future on a T-shirt

I first traveled to Dubai in 1987. I remember an Emirati friend who had a t-shirt that said:

London

New York

Paris

Berlin

Dubai

It was amusing back then because the comparison seemed absurd.

Over the past 30+ years, the country has transformed from a relatively quiet Middle Eastern town, filled with old souks (markets), clustered business areas, and one tall tower, the Dubai World Trade Center. Looking back now, I reflect on the times when His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, would announce ambitious national goals. I would chuckle to myself and think, "Yeah, right." Over time, I learned my lesson, as the Emirate has overacheived these goals again and again.

In the past 10 years, Dubai has boldly stepped into the future. The Dubai Future Foundation was established in 2016, and the UAE became the first country in the world to create a Ministry of the Future. A college friend of mine was appointed as the inaugural minister of the future. Yes, I chortled about this with him, and about how ridiculous I thought such a title was. Oh did I learn my lesson.

At the heart of the foundation's mission is the imagination, design, and execution of Dubai’s future, driven by risk-taking, agility, and foresight—key factors in its success. The initiative Dubai 10X envisioned a Dubai ahead of the world by 10 years. The government challenged its offices to become ten times more advanced than the rest of the world's leading global cities. Why not aim for a paperless government while doing so? As of December 2021, Dubai became the first government in the world to go completely paperless by digitizing all customer services first. Since inception, the Dubai Future Foundation has launched initiatives in AI, coding, labs, accelerators, the metaverse, and various research and education programs.

Now, I’ve learned not to question any announcement or initiative by the Dubai Ruler and his government. The t-shirt is true: Dubai is surpassing those cities, and I wonder if the others can keep up.