Ideas Abu Dhabi 2017

Ideas Abu Dhabi 2017 Ideas Abu Dhabi 2017

In March 2017, the Ideas Abu Dhabi Forum welcomed some of the brightest and most interesting minds from the UAE and around the world to discuss four of the most important challenges facing our planet.

The event was inspired by the world-famous Aspen Ideas Festival that has been taking place in Colorado since 2005, as a place for scientists, artists, politicians, business leaders, historians, and educators to discuss some of the most fascinating ideas of our time.

The 2017 Forum topics included: “System Shock: Calming the ‘politics of anger’”, “Beyond GDP: Targeting ‘all-in’ human welfare”, “Health: Extending the healthy human lifespan” and “Space: Living Sustainably beyond Earth”

Featured sessions Featured sessions
video gallery

Rejuvenating Biotech: Why Age May Soon Cease to Mean Aging

Dr. Aubrey De Grey, a biomedical gerontologist and the Chief Science Officer at SENS Research Foundation, argues that ageing can be treated as a disease that can be cured.

From Great Degeneration to Backlash Against Globalization

Why the Red Planet is the Next Destination for Mankind

Tracks Tracks

System Shock –Calming the politics of anger

Beyond GDP –Targeting ‘all-in’ human welfare

Health – Extending thehealthy human lifespan

Space – Livingsustainably beyond Earth

Populist. Anti-elitist. Anti-establishment. The wave of sentiment emerging across parts of the globe is one of frustration towards those in charge, challenging the status quo and shocking the system: Brexit, Trump, Duterte – a common thread has emerged around the desire to ‘take back control’, whether from elites, foreign interference or a host of other perceived threats. Does this herald a global geopolitical shift? Are we witnessing the end of ‘Pax Americana’ and the post-War world order? How can governments regain the trust of the people? What can we do to avoid a descent into a less cooperative, zero-sum game world?

Measuring GDP was a uniquely 20th century idea. Born of the Great Depression and World War II, it was a time when governments needed to understand the size and output of their economies to more efficiently raise taxes and mobilize their nation’s resources. How can we target ‘all-in’ human welfare? What can replace or improve GDP as an economic metric? How can it be measured and how might it make policy-making more effective?

In the last few decades our species has gained unprecedented control over its own biology, through advances in science and technology. Today, scientists can accurately edit DNA. ‘Organoids’ – ears, throats, livers and even hearts – are being grown in labs. Understanding the power of genes to regenerate cells is within our grasp. How close are we to extending the healthy human lifespan? How far can this technology go? How far should it and how will this impact health care services, the economy, society, ethics, and the environment?

We are on the cusp of a new age of exploration, but instead of setting sail for new lands we want to set foot on other worlds. Whether for profit or self-preservation, serious efforts underway to tame this new frontier. Can humanity live beyond Earth in a sustainable way? What are the opportunities for governments and businesses? What are the greatest threats to the mission and dangers to the astronauts? Why is a manned mission to Mars important considering the cost and risk?

SPEAKERS SPEAKERS

HE Sara Al Amiri

Placeholder title

Speaker

Transport

Minister of State for Advanced Sciences since October 2017, HE Sara Al Amiri is responsible for enhancing the contributions of advanced sciences to the development of UAE and its economy. She is Chairperson of the UAE Council of Scientists, and holds the position of Emirates Mars Mission Deputy Project Manager at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. Most importantly – she was one of our speakers in 2017 in our space track!

Space exploration in the heart of Earth, World Government Summit (8 mins)
A Mars mission of HOPE, TEDx (18 mins)
Hope for global human space exploration, Ideas Abu Dhabi 2017 (24 mins)

Walter Isaacson

President & CEO, Aspen Institute

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Gideon Rachman

Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist, Financial Times

Worlds Order

Niall Ferguson

Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Sheikha Lubna

Minister of State for Tolerance, UAE; President, Zayed University

Worlds Order

Tony Blair

Former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Worlds Order

Steven Clemons

Editor-at-Large, The Atlantic

Worlds Order

Stephen Dubner

Founder, Freakonomics

Worlds Order

Robert Frank

Cornell University

Worlds Order

Nouriel Roubini

Chairman & CEO, Roubini Macros Associates

Worlds Order

George Osborne

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK

Worlds Order

Fabio Piano

Provost, New York University Abu Dhabi

Worlds Order

Aubrey de Grey

Chief Science Officer, SENS Research Foundation

Worlds Order

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist based in Mountain View, California, USA, and is the Chief Science Officer of SENS Research Foundation, a California-based 501(c)(3) biomedical research charity that performs and funds laboratory research dedicated to combating the aging process. He is also VP of New Technology Discovery at AgeX Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup developing new therapies in the field of biomedical gerontology. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of Rejuvenation Research, the world’s highest-impact peer-reviewed journal focused on intervention in aging. He received his BA and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and sits on the editorial and advisory boards of numerous journals and organisations. He is a highly sought-after speaker who gives 40-50 talks per year at conferences, universities, companies in areas ranging from pharma to life insurance, and to the public.