Dubai Metaverse Assembly, from September 28 to 29, will host 300 global experts and more than 40 organisations specialised in metaverse and virtual worlds applications.
Organised by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the DFF, the assembly will be held at the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071.
As one of the region’s largest specalised events, the flagship event will explore the digital economy and identify how governments, businesses and communities can unlock the unlimited potential of the metaverse to create a bolder future.
30 local and international leaders
More than 30 local and international leaders including international metaverse academics, designers, builders and specialists in virtual education, e-commerce, medicine, art, gaming, events, NFTs and other digital assets will speak at the two-day event. Additionally, the event will host speakers from renowned global organisations such as Meta, Binance, Mastercard, The Sandbox, Bedu, PWC, Accenture, BCG Digital Ventures, Decentraland, Mastercard among others.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation noted that the “Dubai Metaverse Assembly”, hosted in Dubai this week, serves as a global platform convening technology experts and the wider metaverse community from around the world to map out opportunities and harness the potential of this promising virtual world.
He added: “The specialised event is a first for the region and a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on the best solutions, projects and industries likely to benefit from the metaverse’s vast potential. Through this inaugural event, we highlight the extraordinary potential of this immersive world to accelerate economic growth, drive innovation and create a fundamentally better future for humanity.”
Comprehensive programme
More than 25 sessions, meetings, and workshops will take place across the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071 at Emirates Towers during the Dubai Metaverse Assembly. They will cover a broad gamut of topics: from building robust and scalable metaverse infrastructure to creating robust, business-friendly regulation and providing government services in the digital world.
What major technology and private-sector companies should do to develop an industry that may exceed $30 trillion in 15 years will also be tackled when the world’s leading metaverse experts converge on Dubai.
Ziad Traboulsi, Director, Business Engineering at Reality Labs at Meta, commented: “We are excited to participate in the Dubai Metaverse Assembly and look forward to discussing the metaverse amongst a highly engaged and tech savvy audience. Although nothing beats being together in person, when it is not possible, the metaverse will get us closer, because interactions in the metaverse will feel more like those we have in our daily lives. Along with others, we are building the metaverse to be something that billions can benefit from.”
Realities will change
Keith Jordan, Vice President of Innovation at Mastercard Labs, Mastercard, a unique lab committed to delivering high-impact, customer-centric experiences said: “We look forward to welcoming leaders and futurists from across the globe as we explore the countless ways our realities will change as we enter the metaverse. Emerging worlds present limitless possibilities, and Mastercard is proud to drive the acceleration of these technologies as we support Dubai’s ambitions to become one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies.”
Mastercard Labs will host a dedicated session on how shopping, banking and gaming are shaping the metaverse and how these will live side-by-side with the physical world.
Mark Zaleski, Managing Director and Partner at BCG Digital Ventures, the world’s leading business builder with a mission to invent, launch, and scale game-changing businesses, stated: “Dubai is globally recognised as a leading city of the future, and we see so much potential to unlock a wave of innovation and help businesses across the city embrace digital technology. The metaverse is at the heart of this digital transformation, and we’re excited by the opportunity to help businesses in Dubai leverage the virtual world to seize a competitive advantage. I’m delighted to join the conversation at this inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly Conference.”
Stimulating debate
Alex Chehade, Executive Director and General Manager of Binance MENA, said: “I am looking forward to connect with peers, metaverse experts and enthusiasts at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, which will provide a fantastic forum to bring the regional and international metaverse community together and stimulate the debate around virtual ecosystems.”
Chehade added: “I am also keen to learn others’ points of view and share my own insights into the role that the decentralised world will play in the future of the digital economy. Regulation will substantially influence the possibilities of virtual worlds and their applications in the future, and therefore shaping stable, progressive regulatory frameworks is essential to build further trust and innovation in our industry and drive long-term growth.”
Chehade concluded: “Binance remains committed to supporting and contributing to these objectives, and we see the Dubai Metaverse Assembly as an ideal platform to do so.”
Empowering creators
Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox, an open Metaverse which launched a Dubaiverse virtual neighbourhood, said: “Our vision has always been to empower local creators and allow them to benefit from their creativity and monetise their times and skills the way they want. The Sandbox is progressively becoming a digital nation without frontiers needs to bring culturally rich and immersive experiences – and we are proud Dubai leads the way into this direction.”
Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder, Polygon, the leading blockchain development platform, offering scalable, affordable, secure and sustainable blockchains for Web3 said: “At Polygon we are working to realise the true potential of web3 technology for millions of users. The tools being built today will improve quality of life for people around the world while ushering in a new technological and industrial digital era. We are building a Web3 future that promotes equality amongst users, fostering self-sovereignty and free expression to meaningfully advance the human experience with blockchain technology.”
Abdelrahman Mohamed, Co-Founder MetaCon Global, a one-of-a-kind “metaverse into reality” pop culture convention, commented: “While the metaverse is still in its early days and we are yet to fully unfold its potential or predict the ultimate impact it will have, we already recognise that it holds great promise to unlock the biggest opportunities yet for modern business since the creation of the internet. In short, we are looking at the metaverse and web3 redefining the way in which people work, learn, socialise, and live.
“And so, we are proud to be standing at the helm, alongside DFF, on this pivotal journey of discovery and learning into web3. In line with the vision of our leaders, the Dubai Metaverse Assembly is the perfect platform to foster effective public and private partnerships and real-life collaborations to address some of the most critical challenges and innovate a more sustainable future for all.”
Communal vision
David Clark-Joseph, Vice President of Investments at Pixelynx, the music metaverse gaming platform founded by groundbreaking electronic musicians and technology visionaries, said: “The Dubai Metaverse Assembly, organised by the DFF, brings together the innovators that will articulate our communal vision for the metaverse. This will be a foundational aspect of the future and together we are building that foundation. We approach this vision of the future with a focus on music and experience – the potential for music to evolve in the metaverse can’t be understated and Dubai can be central in these developments.”
Catherine Zhou, Global Head of Ventures, Digital Partnerships and Innovation, HSBC, said: “The Metaverse and Web 3 technologies, such as blockchain, tokenisation and smart contracts, have the potential to transform how financial services organisations interact with customers, as well as driving the development of new products and services. The Dubai Metaverse Assembly provides an essential forum for many different types of organisations to discuss how to unleash this new era of innovation, including working with governments and regulators to make it safe for consumers.”
Samuel Hamilton, Creative Director of Decentraland, said: “We are excited to be at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, where we’ll be representing the decentralised developers and engineers who are building the open metaverse as we speak. This event will enable all voices to be adequately represented, and we believe it will also be a great opportunity to coordinate and collaborate with international governments and organisations. We look forward to sharing what we have learned about how to build virtual worlds.”
Insightful plans for the future
The Dubai Metaverse Assembly is the first event of its kind since Sheikh Hamdan approved the Dubai Metaverse Strategy in July. The strategy aims to add $4 billion to Dubai’s GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and attract 1,000 companies specialising in blockchain and metaverse technologies to turn Dubai’s into one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies.
