No? Me neither. Which should hardly come as a surprise as I never got the invitation. You have to be ‘someone’ to chip in and my experience and line of work would likely be seen as about as much use as paper teapot. 

Which is odd, and do call me out if I missed a memo, but there’s not really much of any representation of the creative arts in the thick of this is there?

Of course there’s some art and some music (The ‘I Sea You’ opener sounds good) and the like of Maya Lin and Renée Fleming doing something presenting gongs to ‘four exceptional cultural leaders’.

And a rather odd session ‘Future by Design’ which appears to be about how design thinking - or rather to demonstrate’ that the ‘United Arab Emirates has a track record of design thinking in governance.’ Not wishing to cast aspersions, but with all the speakers representing the emirate, I wouldn’t be expecting much beyond some policy showboating with the d-word thrown in for spice. 

Ok, sure, it’s an ‘economics’ forum, but given economics was invented to make astrology look respectable, maybe economists are no better able to work out how to make things better that designers. It’s just a thought. I mean, we actually spend the day trying to find ways of actually making things better (well, mostly, if we get a chance. And a favourable client-wind), rather than looking back at patterns and pretending to see the future in them. Why should economics hold the stage?

What’s this ‘forum’ actually trying to achieve? 

Well, you’re not lost for choice if you needed to justify an expenses form. I can count 230 separate sessions. 

There are five ‘themes’. I think;

“Therefore, thematically, the (Forum’s five themed) programme will have the dual focus of looking at levers to address the current challenges while at the same time setting them against the backdrop of attendant system transformation imperatives.”

I’m not sure how the matrix of the two might look, but I bet the Data Analytics crews would have a fine old time trying to correlate the causes with the symptoms with the interests of those vested with the role of proselytising for the cause or against the motion. And if that eco(comic)sphere actually overlapped in a meaningful way that could make a difference. 

I guess we’ll all have to wait until Fridayand the ‘Closing Remarks: The Road Ahead’ to see what the great and good drew up as conclusions. It’s been afforded a whole 15 minutes in summary. 

It’ll either be the most kicking-arse-est planners deck and we’ll be gobsmacked in less than 12 slides. Or, well, you know the other kind. Thew ones we normally get briefed with once the ‘leaders’ are done talking.