Sustainable Cities
Conference Programmes
Sustainable Cities will explore solutions and foster partnerships that drive the evolution of urban environments. The conference brings together government leaders, urban planners, technology innovators, sustainability experts, and mobility pioneers to discuss the transformation of cities through smart, sustainable practices and technologies.
The conference will attract expert speakers from government departments and a range of private sector organisations. Discussions will focus on strategic urban planning, addressing the complex demands of growing urban populations, and the innovative technologies crucial for the sustainable development of cities and communities.
Find out more about our expert speakers or view all the session details below.
Thursday 16th January
10:30 - 11:10 | Panel: Self-sufficient cities - unachievable dream or future for interdependent communities
Can cities become truly self-sufficient, managing their needs for energy, food, farming, water, etc. In which case, what are the sweet spots to aspire to in a given region? If true selfsufficiency is not possible, what aspects of self-sufficiency can be achieved? And should the focus be on economic growth, societal growth or the environment?
Camilo Cerro, Professor of Architecture and Interior Design, American University of Sharjah
Mohamed Al Breiki, Executive Director of Sustainable Development, Masdar City
11:10 - 11:45 | Panel: Community resilience to protect against extreme events
The floods in Dubai in 2024 highlighted the importance of resilience, as an extreme event/emergency brought communities and the city to a halt. With climate change, extreme events are likely to happen more often, giving sharp focus on what infrastructure and services are required when they do. What does resilience for a city look like? This session will discuss the adaptive strategies that are needed in urban planning, whether response systems are ready for unexpected natural or man-made events, and how community/city resiliency can mitigate against emergency events.
Dima Al Srouri, Urban Planning Expert, Office of The Chairman & Commissioner General of The Supreme Committee for Urban Planning
Farah Naz, Director of ESG and Innovation, Aecom
Mario Saab, Head of Sustainability MENA, Cundall
11:45 - 12:00 | Sponsor talk
12:00 - 12:35 | Panel: Prioritising Quality of Life: Beyond wellness to sustainable living
Many people talk about wellness, but that is one small part of the larger concept of quality of life. It covers more than an individual's emotional state, to also include aspects of life improvement, health/care, air quality, infrastructure, services and transport access, safety, nature, education and more. If QoL is intricately linked with sustainable living, what focus should municipalities and governments place on it for buildings, and how can it be integrated better into a person's life as part of a true sustainable city or community policy.
Omnia Halawani, Co-CEO & Founder, GRFN
Mohammad Khan, Project Manager - Smart City Solutions, Department of
Municipalities and Transport
Rami Zaatari, Sustainability and Public Policy Advisor – Scottish Government,
University of Glasgow
Sebastien Miller, Head of Public Realm, Master Planning, Masdar City
12:35 - 13:00 | Fireside talk: From building to future ‘fuel’ stations
As more two- and four-wheeled electric vehicles reach the market, city officials and developers will need to think about the location of destination point charging infrastructure. These need to be plentiful and conveniently located, potentially turning existing and future infrastructure, such as streetlamps, and buildings into refuelling stations. What implications does this have around complexity of infrastructure or assets and how do planners go beyond what is available today and prepare for future electrification? And more - how do individual and municipal asset owners make money from these recharge points?
14:00 - 14:35 | Panel: From simple AI to cognitive buildings - our future communities
To date AI use in cities has been more talk than true progressive use. But digitalisation and greater use of data is taking hold. As AI introduces new efficiencies and opportunities, what progress around smarter, more sustainable cities can we expect to see? What leaps will AI achieve, how will it dovetail with building management systems and can the dream of cognitive buildings become a reality any time soon - and if so what technology needs to be in place? This session will look at the near-term future of AI in sustainable cities, and at the longer-term outlook of our future communities.
Ismail Ozenc, Associate Vice President, Siemens Advanta Consulting
Mohamed Moselhy, Global Smart Cities Director, Honeywell
Andy Palanisamy, Board Advisor of Technology and Smart Cities, Obsession
Mohammed Shah, Smart City Director, Knowledge Economic City
14:35 - 15:05 | Panel: Overcoming the data challenge in managing cities
Data a big challenge for individual buildings, communities and cities as a whole, especially with increased expectations around Artificial Intelligence. How do organisations should integrate different data systems so that they talk to each other - such as digital twins, IoT monitoring, virtual or augmented reality, and more. And once integrated, how do management organisations or municipalities get the best from them? This session will look at if more open data is needed for sustainable cities to function, and the role of better data governance.
Alaa Dalghan, CEO, Cognit DX
Benoit Meulewaeter, Director of Engineering, Besix
Sara AlZarooni, Director of Data and Statistics Strategy, Planning and Governance,
Digital Dubai Authority
15:15 - 15:30 | Sponsor talk
16:05 | Presentations: Technology insights to high-functioning cities
Technology and automation are playing a greater role in running buildings, communities and cities. The use of digital twins, automation, sensing technologies, and even augmented and virtual reality and gamification are increasing and providing new insights into both functioning and functionality. In parallel, the evolving role of 5G brings more 'smart' to a city. These presentations will highlight how different technologies are changing the way communities or cities are managed forever.
Fabian Wong, EV Multi Family Office Venture Partner l Investor, QEV Technologies
Eyad Abdulla, Head, Information and Communication Technology, Masdar City