‘Collaboration’ is key to future in Dubai’s living technology lab
Cop 28 should be Cop 28-plus according to Ghanim Al Falasi, senior vice president, technology and entrepreneurship, Dubai Silicon Oasis. “Cop-plus is really the after honeymoon effect. We move on and we have a clinical check as we go, to measure the KPIs that we set for ourselves.”
Al Falasi was interviewed during an Impact round table event focused on sustainability in the built environment, hosted at the economic zone during Cop28 in December 2023.
One aim of Dubai Silicon Oasis is to create a fully integrated community in the UAE, focused on both technology and sustainability.
“We are also trying to position Dubai Silicon Oasis as an overall ‘living lab’ or ‘sandbox’ for all this technology, whether it will match and align with the government strategy from a technology perspective or from a sustainability perspective,” Al Falasi said. “We are the big lab for Dubai to test all the possibilities that can happen,” he added.
In terms of sustainability, the zone is adhering to its past commitments. “We don’t want to wait for Cop 29 to say ‘did we do it or not?’. Actually it should be part of our behaviour, our really day-to-day job. I really look forward to see a good result for me and for my kids and I think it’s attainable if we all collaborate.
“We don’t need magic, we need human interaction that can really build the future for our kids.”