Dubai to host 700 of the world's most influential leaders from academia, business, government and society

The Summit on the Global Agenda is a new, unique gathering of the 700 world's most innovative and relevant minds - leaders from academia, business, government and society. The purpose of the Summit of the members of the Forum's Global Agenda councils is to share ideas and collaboratively address some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda.

During the three-day Summit, the 700 participants of this interdisciplinary event will engage in interactive workshops and sessions to set priorities for the most compelling ideas for improving the state of the world, from groundbreaking areas of research to new and exciting developments to address the world's challenges. The outcomes of the Summit will be presented at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos for further discussion and action. There will be 68 Global Agenda Councils represented at the Summit, addressing the following issues:

Global Challenges: Demographic Shifts, Migration, Urban Management, Gender Gap, Skills Gap, Climate Change, Alternative Energies, Water Security, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Degradation, Mitigation of Natural Disasters, Food Security, Economic Imbalances, Systemic Financial Risk, Global Trade Regime, Global Capital Flows, Financial Empowerment, Economic Growth and Development, Trade Facilitation, Global Governance, Energy Security, Corruption, Illicit Trade, Terrorism, Proliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Corporate Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, Fragile States, International Legal System, Welfare of Children, Technology and Education, Healthcare Systems, HIV/AIDS, Challenges of Gerontology, Pandemics, Chronic Diseases and Malnutrition, Challenges of Nanotechnology, Human Equality and Respect, Islam-West dialogue, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Empowering Youth

Industry-Oriented:

Future of Mobility, Future of Media, Future of Entertainment, Future of the Internet, Future of Mobile Communications, Future of Metals and Mining, Future of Sustainable Construction, Future of Real Estate

Regional/Country-Oriented:

Future of Africa, Future of Latin-America, Future of the Middle East, Future of China, Future of Russia, Future of Japan, Future of Australia, Future of Korea

Expertise Councils:

Design, Marketing and Branding, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy and Social Investing, Benchmarking Progress in Society, Emerging Multinationals, Financial Markets Development, Future of Governments, Sports in Society, Geography of Innovation, Strategic Foresight, Diversity, Social Entrepreneurship