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Dubai / Emirates Business
Dubai Land Department (DLD), through its educational arm the Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), has launched its ‘Urban Thinkers Campus’, which will run from until October 4 as the world’s biggest brainstorming session focused on the future of cities.
HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD, opened the forum with a welcoming speech that was followed by addresses from Farook Mahmoud, World President of FIABCI; Frode Mauring, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the UAE; and Osman Sultan, CEO of Du.
H.E. Sultan Butti bin Mejren commented: “Over the past decade, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the spread of digital technologies and services, which has radically changed our activities across all sectors including education, health care, society, the economy and of course real estate. The revolution has produced huge amounts of data and introduced new terms such as the ‘Internet of things’, which have strongly penetrated Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This will certainly have a profound impact on cultural development and the way we live in smart and sustainable cities. We hope that the ‘Urban Thinkers Campus’, hosted by the UAE for the second time, will help all stakeholders to generate creative solutions for helping developers to plan cities that will enhance the comfort and happiness of their residents. ”
The first day of the forum coincided with World Population Day celebrations, which took place in the presence of Frode Mauring; Dr. Tarek El-Sheikh, UN-Habitat Representative; Christine Auclair from UN-Habitat and World Urban Campaign (WUC); Rose Molokoane, WUC Chair & SDI Representative; and Mahmoud El Burai, CEO of DREI and the Head of the Organizing Committee of the ‘Urban Thinkers Campus’.
Four sessions were held later in the day to discuss the future of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and address a number of other important topics including real estate investment innovation, entrepreneurship, and SDGs innovation through methods such as real estate crowd-funding opportunities. The urban thinkers also considered wellness and happiness as top priority human needs, and how to create unique living experiences by designing smart and sustainable communities and solutions. The sessions also discussed real estate policies and regulations, as well as new urban planning models.