• Home
• /
• Opinion

KT edit: Dubai is on a quest to build future minds

Cities must keep pace with the times, or move ahead by envisioning the future and living it. Urban centres have witnessed phases of transformation - from bare cities, to metropolises and to cosmopolitan centres or 'cosmopolises' as we call them. The definition of a city has thus widened over the decades and Dubai can take credit for redefining and reimagining the modern city as we know it. A global city is what Dubai has become and that's where it wants to be decades from now. When Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, took the stage at the World Government Summit, he was representing all that a young city stood for - vigour, vitality and openness to ideas and cultures from all over the world. A cosmopolitan attitude matters when you live in a city like Dubai that is in thinking mode 24/7 about how to get things done and how to make life easier for residents who have thronged its shores from different countries.
It is often said that if one is to see people from all over the world, one has to simply come to Dubai where citizens from more than 220 countries live in harmony. In a sense, this city is a living testament to what urban habitats and people can achieve in such a short span of time. What makes a modern city different is futuristic leadership which Sheikh Hamdan touched about in his speech. "Our goal, as described by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed is to put #Dubai 10 years ahead of world cities." Which takes us back to the future that we mentioned when we began this edit. Being modern is easy - build infrastructure, attract business and watch the city grow. How do you make the modern stand the test of time? Lure talent from countries to the city from different fields and nationalities and give them opportunities to reach the potential. "The competition between cities of the future will not just be about infrastructure, but also about how to attract minds," said Sheikh Hamdan. Cities of the future like Dubai are indeed competitive as they build more minds than buildings in their quest to become 'complete cosmopolises'.