The Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) has on July 5 announced that its fourth edition (GMIS2021) will invite global leaders to the United Arab Emirates to spearhead discussions on the future of the US$6.8 trillion global digital transformation.
The GMIS2021 agenda will spotlight the importance of data intelligence and connectivity, highlighting the evolving integration of humans and machines, reinventing businesses, repurposing capabilities, and rewiring societies, WAM reports.
Driven by the accelerated adoption of digitalization and the heightened demand for contactless solutions and cloud services, direct digital transformation investments are expected to total US$6.8 trillion between 2020 and 2023, and 65 percent of the world’s GDP is set to be digitalized by 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Themed ‘Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalization for Prosperity’, GMIS2021 will draw on key global leaders from government, business, and civil society to discuss and debate how data and connectivity are becoming the leading factors shaping the future of supply chains, green manufacturing, sustainable energy, climate action, policymaking, and resilient global economies.
Badr Al Olama, Head of the GMIS Organising Committee, said, “The world is undergoing a data-driven revolution. Across the world, organizations are scaling up digital transformation investments to become enterprises of the future. As a result, there is a renewed focus on data intelligence and connectivity, which are rapidly transforming every industrial and economic growth facet. At the heart of GMIS2021 is the critical need for industries and governments to underpin technological breakthroughs into their core strategies, business models, and future outlook.”
Driven by Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Cloud Computing, and the fifth generation of wireless network technology (5G), evolving forms of interaction between humans and machines are on top of the Summit’s agenda. The Summit will organize special sessions on topics such as Government 5.0, Society 5.0, dark factories vs. smart factories, enabling fair trade in the digital economy, increasing digital mobility at work to bridge critical skill gaps, drive toward the ‘experience economy,’ understanding how developed and emerging economies are investing in green industries to achieve net-zero emissions and the future of renewable energy.
The Summit will also hold three Global Panorama Sessions examining how digital technologies can drive prosperity in Africa and the Middle East, the challenges and opportunities facing European and North American manufacturing and the drive toward ‘green’ investments, the different development strategies in Latin America and Southeast Asia and the role of digital connectivity to optimize global integration. With particular emphasis on the Summit’s host country, the United Arab Emirates, a dedicated session will explore how the country’s newly launched industrial strategy, ‘Operation 300bn’, aims to transform the nation into a diversified, industrial economy over the next 30 years.
Saed Alawadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Industries and Exports, the industrial development and export promotion agency of Dubai Economy, said, “Advanced technologies and innovation hold the potential to transform industrial growth and deliver tremendous benefits to societies across the world. We must strengthen global cooperation to create long-term strategic partnerships that are crucial to accelerating innovation and addressing some of the complex social, economic, and environmental challenges the world is facing today.”
Alawadi, who is also a member of the GMIS2021 Organising Committee, added, “By bringing together some of the world’s most visionary leaders under one roof, GMIS2021 offers a truly unique opportunity for dialogue and collective action to build a more innovative, sustainable, and resilient global economy. GMIS2021 reflects the UAE’s vision of driving global prosperity for both people and the planet.”
While the main plenary sessions will highlight how collaboration and connectivity create robust global economic systems, the Summit’s Strategy Stage will hold discussions focused on mobility and sustainability and their contribution to driving inclusivity and diversity across the industrial sector. In addition, the Innovation Stage will lead discussions around the latest digital ICT trends that are driving improvements across the value chain and how organizations can prepare for the next phase of industrial growth.
GMIS2021 will explore several thematic areas, including navigating health and safety in a cyber-physical environment; Energy as a Service (EaaS); women in leadership; quantum machine learning, digital twins, big data analytics, and immersive technologies, amongst others.
Confirmed to speak at the Summit, Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder, and CEO of Women in Tech, said, “At a time when workplaces are becoming more diverse, and an increasing number of women are driving key digital transformations for global enterprises and governments, I am excited to be a part of GMIS2021 and create a shared vision to develop a better future for all. GMIS2021 will be an exciting opportunity to assess our progress so far as one global community and identify priority growth areas and challenges that we need to address in the coming years.”
Scheduled to be held at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Dubai Exhibition Centre from 22nd to 27th November 2021, the discussions will occur across several formats, including panel sessions, presentations, interactive workshops, networking events, youth sessions, fireside chats, and interviews with prominent industry experts.
In addition, GMIS2021 will host side events and conferences focused on strengthening commercial links and bilateral relations between different countries, harnessing open innovation to solve the world’s toughest socio-economic challenges, and strengthening renewable energy generation for a cleaner and more inclusive energy future. GMIS2021 will also run the UAE’s first-ever technology-driven manufacturing exhibition to showcase innovations from the country’s industrial sector while highlighting the UAE government’s ‘Make It In The Emirates’ campaign.
