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Politics

World Economic Forum to Convene Inaugural Global Future Leaders Meeting In Dubai

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  • More than 500 leaders and experts, including 15 ministers and nearly 150 CEOs and chairs, will gather in Dubai from 13 to 15 October for the inaugural Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders.
  • The meeting will connect today’s decision-makers with the next generation of leaders to develop forward-looking responses to shared challenges and strengthen resilience in a volatile world.
  • New research will be published during the meeting on youth, leadership, innovation-driven solutions to sustainability challenges and data-centre infrastructure.
  • Follow the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026 here and on social media using #AMGFL26.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 2026 – The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the Government of the United Arab Emirates, will convene the inaugural Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders in Dubai from 13 to 15 October 2026. Opportunity-driven and future-oriented, the meeting will provide a platform for emerging and established leaders to create new opportunities for all and build resilience amid uncertainty.

More than 500 next-generation leaders and experts, including 15 ministers and nearly 150 CEOs and chairs, will engage in intergenerational dialogue on pressing global challenges and the partnerships needed to address them. Participants will include members and alumni of the Forum’s Young Global Leaders community, alongside select Global Shapers and Social Innovators, as well as leaders from government, business, academia, science, technology and civil society.    

Reflecting both the persistent concerns highlighted in the WEF’s Youth Pulse 2026 and the striking optimism young people have expressed in Youth Pulse findings over the past decade, meeting participants will examine how AI and other frontier technologies are reshaping jobs and opportunities. Discussions will also consider economic uncertainty, geopolitical change and climate challenges and explore practical responses in a shifting global and regional landscape.

“The decisions we make today will shape the world the next generation inherits. Emerging leaders should have a voice in those decisions, not just live with their consequences,” said Alois Zwinggi, President and CEO, World Economic Forum and Principal Chairman of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders. “This inaugural meeting will bring different generations and perspectives together to look beyond immediate challenges and work together on practical ideas for the decades ahead.”

“This meeting reflects the strong partnership between the UAE Government and the WEF, and a shared commitment to advancing international cooperation and constructive global dialogue. At a time of rapid technological, economic, and geopolitical transformation, preparing future leaders is more important than ever,” said HE Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and Principal Chairman of the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders. “By bringing together emerging voices from around the world, we aim to equip them with the insights and tools needed to turn challenges into opportunities for innovation, growth, and sustainable development.”

The event will be co-chaired by Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro; Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future of the United Arab Emirates; Fadel Adib, Professor and Entrepreneur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Khalfan Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Future Foundation; and Mirjam Staub Bisang, Chair, BlackRock Switzerland.

The programme will be organized around six strategic themes designed to advance dialogue and joint action across generations. Topics will include geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, economic resilience and prosperity, leadership, science and innovation, and climate and nature. Sessions such as Trust Test for Agentic AI, Working the Line: Humans and Machines, Trade in a Changing World and Economics after Certainty will examine issues likely to define the coming decade. Select sessions will be livestreamed here.  

The meeting will also launch Future20, bringing together 20 next-generation leaders working across growth, innovation and resilience to create opportunities for current and future generations. New research will include a Leadership Commitment Framework, Middle East and North Africa-focused analysis of AI applications for sustainable development and data-centre infrastructure optimization. Insights from the meeting will inform the Forum’s ongoing work, including the Strategic Intelligence gathering in Geneva and the Annual Meeting 2027 in Davos-Klosters.

About the Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026
To strengthen intergenerational dialogue and practical collaboration on issues shaping the future, the World Economic Forum will bring together more than 500 leaders and experts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 13–15 October 2026 for the inaugural Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Politics

Why Toronto Will Have 25 City Councilors Instead Of 47

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The Province of Ontario boasts 444 municipalities, including the City of Toronto, which provide critical services for people in Ontario.

On August 14, as an elected representative, I voted in favor of Bill 5 – Better Local Government Act.  Our goal as government was clear then, and we remain committed to that same goal today: to have Toronto, which is Ontario’s largest municipality and a major economic engine for both the province and the country, move away from a dysfunctional council system, a broken system that has difficulty with decision-making, a broken system that gets very little done.

Toronto residents deserve an efficient council that gets things done on big issues like transit, infrastructure and housing.

Having 47 Toronto councilors in one room is dysfunctional. For example, after days of debate at the committee level, city council took 15 hours to pass its 2017 budget – 15 hours of going back and forth and back and forth on a document that was already nearly set in stone, 15 hours to express opinions expressed numerous times before on the record. And after all that, council passed a budget that created a $2-million budget hole that meant it had to hastily draw from a reserve fund.

Over a month ago, we passed Bill 5 as an answer to the unacceptable public policy stalemates at Toronto city hall. However, due to a ruling by a Superior Court of Justice, we made a decision to replace Bill 5 with new legislation. However, on September 19, we received news the Ontario Court of Appeal concluded, “…there is a strong likelihood that the application judge erred in law and that the attorney general’s appeal to this court will succeed.” The court of appeal’s tentative conclusion was that, “Bill 5 does not suffer from constitutional infirmity.”

Read Court Document- Ontario Appeal Court Sides With Ford Government

Our government concurs with the Stay, which goes on to recognize the change voted in by Bill 5 is undoubtedly frustrating for candidates who are campaigning in 25-ward boundaries. However, the frustration is not enough to persuade that there is substantial interference with their freedom of expression.

The inconvenience candidates will experience because of the change from 47 to 25 wards does not prevent or impede them from speaking their mind about the issues arising in the election. The Stay indicates candidates have no constitutionally guaranteed right to the 47-ward system, and Bill 5 does not deprive them of their constitutional right to speak on civic issues.

Over the summer, there has been much debate and many views expressed, including many former politicians. Christy Clark, the former Premier of British Columbia, has expressed support for our legislation. She said people all across Canada, not just in Toronto, are wondering why governments can’t move things faster.

Former Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall understands why we need to act and to be able to use the legal tools that are available to us.

Similarly, Former Premier of Quebec Jean Charest pointed out that the political gridlock and dysfunction at Toronto city hall is known far and wide.

With the date of the municipal election rapidly approaching, we need to take action – October 22 is just a few weeks away – to provide greater certainty for everyone and to ensure the election in Toronto proceeds. For the Silo, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett.

 

Politics

Reader Letter To The Silo Regarding Motion 103 And Hamilton Protest Rally

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Dear Silo, there was a protest rally held at City Hall in Hamilton this past weekend. The purpose was to discuss or protest “Motion-103 “the motion put forth by one Ms. Iqra Khalid to stop as she sees it “Islamophobia.” For many the idea of “M-103” seems almost redundant as hate speech and any sort of hate crime based on religion is already under the “Criminal Code, The Charter of Human Rights & The Constitution.” Some have opined that Ms. Khalid is grandstanding & perhaps they may be correct.

The protest was as it went peaceful & low key. The police presence was minimal and well placed. Directly on site there were six uniforms, but a bit further back there were two mounted units, and further back out of sight behind city hall were three more mounted units.

The speaker at this event was a Muslim woman who was well spoken and exhorted the crowd with slogans, chants & political sayings, touting the Liberal regime and downplaying the Conservative aspect.It was my understanding that there would be both aspects of this motion represented at the protest, but for the near 3 hours I was present I only heard one side of the story [but] perhaps another side spoke later. I saw on the 6:00 pm news, things turned a bit ugly, and the police stepped in to quell any further incident, so who knows.

For many, it seemed a “ family event,” and I saw a few children there, [but] in my humble opinion [this] is no place for kids. In the “ Vietnam” years when the protest was clearly in many cases, a daily event, there never were any children present, mostly due to the fact protests can at any given time turn from something sedate to an angry, ugly mess, ergo no kids. I for one seriously have to ponder the parental abilities of such an action.

There was a few tables set up, all proffering their political views, the Communist Party, ( the mainstay at any protest), a painting table where you could add your hand to a large almost like paint-by-numbers setup where you could if so inclined could add your hand to it. There was a Muslim table set up and two young men who would engage you in conversation about their faith and handed out books & pamphlets, one of them at the time I stopped by, was engaged in a somewhat intense conversation with a Christian young man. Several people were working the crowd by handing out flyers, pamphlets and flash cards with their message on it. The “ Socialist group”, ever present at any event, was handing out small flyers promoting  “ worker solidarity,” the Marxist group was there too, handing out flyers to combat racism, the “ No Borders Manifesto,” an 18 point small booklet promoting a “ grassroots movement “ to promote the movement to the “ new world.” There were “ Stop the War Coalition,” the “ Know your Rights,” group & “ Hamilton Against Fascism,” and regarding [this]protest it seemed a well-rounded outpouring that way.

As I said, as protests go it was for the 3 hours I was there a peaceful, almost fun event. Later after things went south and everyone had done their barking and bitching sessions, they packed up their wares, printed material and children, and went home to read the tea leaves of the event and to generally pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

Protests are an integral part of the Canadian fabric and should be allowed at all times. The message I received from this one was that the potential for “ free speech,“ could be quashed possibly if this motion is put into a bill and becomes law. Do we have concern?? Perhaps as many feel we do, and it becomes the responsibility of all of us, to be open-minded, observant of what our government says and does. It falls to us to yes question what they tell us so that democracy as we live it will be ongoing and ever present so that we may all move forward with a proper sense of things for all who live and come to this great country we know it.

 

James R. Charlton

Politics

Economic Aspects Of Globalization In The Past Material World

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Questions and deliberations concerning globalization are more than a hot topic of extended cross-disciplinary focus in academia; they are also central to the long-simmering debates regarding policies and their implications that today often enter the public arena. For example, a quick perusal of broadly accessible media outlets from late 2013 and early 2014 reflects a suite of still unresolved but vibrant civic pondering: “When did globalization start” (The Economist 2013), “The dark side of globalization: why Seattle’s 1999 protesters were right” (Smith 2014), and  “Have we reached the end of globalization?: (CNN 2014).

Yet can such issues really be evaluated judiciously without defining the critical elements of globalization, and then dissecting and assessing its historical scope? Given the broad temporal and spatial elements implied by the concept of “globalization”, it is not most likely that the outcomes and effects of this multifaceted process would be highly variable across time and space?

But through a diachromic and comparative examination of human connections over time, might we see some commonalities and learn relevant lessons?

Continue reading this essay by Gary Feinman by clicking here.

*Banner image of Ronald McDonald -McDonalds China courtesy of image.minyanville.com