Introducing the Special Issue – MBRF Knowledge Summit & UNESCO OER Congress [MBRF Knowledge Summit Special Issue]

This article is part of a Special Issue featuring highlights of the 9^th Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) Knowledge Summit and associated 3^rd UNESCO World Open Educational Resources (OER) Congress.

RealKM Magazine is excited to bring you this Special Issue on the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) Knowledge Summit 2024 and associated 3rd UNESCO World Open Educational Resources (OER) Congress.

Our first ever Special Issue comes to you after we were very honoured to take up MBRF’s invitation to participate in the Knowledge Summit and UNESCO OER Conference, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being one of very few countries in the world to have a high-level government commitment to knowledge and knowledge management (KM).

About MBRF and the Knowledge Summit

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Knowledge Summit is organized annually in Dubai by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF). In addition to providing a forum for discussing ways to enhance programs and initiatives that support knowledge creation and distribution, the summit devotes considerable attention to raising awareness about the critical role that knowledge plays in the modern world.

The 9^th Knowledge Summit took place at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Saeed Halls, from 18 to 19 November 2024, under the theme ‘Future Skills and AI Economy.’ With several prominent speakers from the fields of artificial intelligence, technology, economy, education, environment, and other key sectors in attendance, the summit’s agenda featured a series of interactive sessions, workshops, and knowledge events. This year’s summit further addressed other themes, including sustainable economic growth, workforce skills, future job prospects, and emerging technologies such as data analysis, machine learning, programming, and AI, among others.

The summit also marked the release of the 2024 edition of the Global Knowledge Index (GKI). Over the years, the GKI has served as a qualitative resource for countries’ development strategies and goals by highlighting strengths and areas of improvement through a range of indicators across various areas of knowledge and identifying challenges to sustainable development pathways. A celebration was also held to honour the winners of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award (MBRKA) 2024, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the welfare of humanity, progress, and development, as well as other individual and institutional success stories.

About the 3^rd UNESCO OER Congress

A major events held in association with the Knowledge Summit 2024 has been the 3^rd UNESCO World Open Educational Resources (OER) Congress, hosted by MBRF in collaboration with UNESCO and held for the first time in the Arab world. Over 500 guests, including ministers, senior officials, and decision-makers from numerous crucial sectors such as education, digital services, and communications, attended the event.

Header image: His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, CEO of MBRF, at the Knowledge Summit opening ceremony. Source: Bruce Boyes, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.