WGS Ends Fourth Edition on Upbeat Note, Attracting over 4,500 Participants from 130 Countries and Unprecedented International Media Coverage

Dubai-UAE:  His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has directed the World Government Summit (WGS) to establish new international partnerships and launch knowledge initiatives with world governments to shape the next generation of leaders and help them prepare for future challenges and changes across all sectors.

With immediate effect, WGS has commenced operations as an international organization that works throughout the year to achieve its global goals. As part of this priority, WGS will publish research studies, launch development indicators, and collaborate with global partners that share its vision on best practices to prepare for the future.

The Vice President’s directive follows the successful conclusion of the fourth World Government Summit that convened over 4,500 participants from more than 130 countries, including 2,000 high-level government personalities globally.

His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the World Government Summit, said: “WGS witnessed a remarkable participation from highly-esteemed international organizations, including the United Nations, World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and World Economic Forum, in addition to the Arab League and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.”

He added: “Notably, the summit also included the participation of the US President Barack Obama and a dialogue on the future of government conducted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Following his interaction, His Highness the UAE’s government of the future on social media platforms.  This year’s summit enjoyed unprecedented media coverage with over 800 journalists, anchors and media personalities from more than 120 media organizations, including 70 well-known international media organizations. The overall coverage produced more than 4,800 articles, reports, and media exposures published in 22 languages across 59 countries.”

His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi pointed out that the summit’s social media platforms witnessed high visibility interactions - the largest yet for any event in the UAE, with over five million views on YouTube, four billion views of the summit’s hashtag, and over 240,000 new followers subscribing to its social media pages.  

Al Gergawi highlighted some of the main changes in this year’s summit as key reasons for its success. These included shorter sessions for more engagement between speakers and the audience, an application for active communication with participants, the Edge of Government exhibition that was organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation, the annual guest of honor, and ‘Best Minister in the World’ award.

Al Gergawi elaborated: “Hosting the summit reinforces the UAE’s international position and its role on the global landscape in many sectors that contribute to societal well-being and enhance people’s lives through improving sustainable development. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s directives to take the summit to the new level will help us examine the future of humanity in various sectors, answer tomorrow’s questions, and produce knowledge to enhance the preparedness of governments in meeting unexpected future challenges in the short, medium and long terms.

“The ongoing initiatives will make the summit a perfect platform for the UAE to offer key contributions to the world on the development and knowledge levels, eventually benefiting over seven billion people.”

Since 2013, the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hosted the World Government Summit as an annual event on the future of governments. For additional details, visit: https://worldgovernmentsummit.org/. Also, follow us on Twitter at @WorldGovSummit; #WorldGovSummit.