By Andrew Irumba
The Minister for Information Communication Technology (ICT &NG), and National Guidance Frank Kagyigi Tumwebaze is currently in the Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he went to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2019, on behalf of the Ugandan government.
This year’s WEF is running under the theme ‘Committed To Improving the State of the World’ and is running from November 3-4, 2019, being attended by delegates from around the globe.
Minister Tumwebaze is already laying strategies on how Ugandans can benefit from this business-cum technology forum and wrote about it thus on social media; In UAE for @wef . A number of sessions on Artificial intelligence, digital economy & innovations lined up. Uganda delegation will be meeting the UAE minister of artificial Intel to discuss collaboration on 4IR techs. @KwameRugunda, a member of our 4IR Task force is with us.”
It should be noted that Minister Tumwebaze is fronting the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Artificial Intelligence as the quickest solutions to Uganda’s development and achievement of president Yoweri Museveni’s Vision 2040.
Spy Uganda has learnt that while at the World Economic forum more than 680 members of the Network of Global Future Councils (GFC) will meet and discuss matters raging from climate change, to conflict and health. They’re coming from 65 countries from all around the world – including 165 from Asia, 203 from Europe and 46 from Middle East. (https://thelocumguy.com/)
There are also business leaders, government ministers and public figures – including the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Future, Mohammad Al Gergawi, and Omar Sultan Al Olama, the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in the United Arab Emirates. That’s not to mention members of Forum communities, from Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers to Social Entrepreneurs.
What Exactly Is GFC ?
The full name of the meeting is the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils (GFC) and a GFC is a group of experts who come together to think about what future we’re heading towards, and what action we need to take action to put us on a better path.
A council has around 20 members, and they’re drawn from a variety of different areas: academia, business, government and civil society. The Forum hosts 38 councils who focus on topics ranging from biodiversity, technology governance, cities and mental health.Council members advise on the various initiatives that the World Economic Forum is involved in, such as our work on closing the gender gap or tackling climate change, but they also develop ideas independently.
Previous GFC meetings have led to to the creation of the 2030 Water Resources Group, a collaboration with the World Bank Group that drives action on water resources reform in water-stressed countries, and the Friends of Ocean Action, a public-private partnership fast-tracking solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the oceans.
