Ecocity World Summit 2015 to welcome 13 ministers as speakers

Ecocity World Summit, ECWS, 2015 has confirmed a line-up of 13 ministers and government officials as speakers, in addition to 22 subject matter experts, up to a dozen from academia, and other visionary leaders from the private sector. The event is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi from 11th to 13th October, marking its debut in the Middle East.

As part of the city-wide preparation for the summit, the ECWS host committee members conducted their first official meeting on 19th August with over 15 bodies to discuss their anticipated outcomes and collaborative efforts towards the successful launch of the Middle East's first ECWS edition.

ECWS 2015 is to be hosted by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, supported by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Urban Planning Council, Masdar, and will be facilitated by Abu Dhabi Environmental Data Initiative with Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority as the destination host.

"The response to the 11th edition of the Ecocity World Summit conference series has been tremendous, and we are very much looking forward to the contribution of our list of speakers, from across the globe. By creating an opportunity for dialogue with the greatest minds in this field, we are confident that the summit will help pave the way for greener cities across the globe," said Ahmed Baharoon, Executive Director of the Environmental Science, Information and Outreach Sector and Acting Director of AGEDI of Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

Among the local ministers and government officials confirmed is Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State and Managing Director of Dubai World Expo 2020, who will highlight links between Expo 2020 with the importance of sustainable cities. Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Director for the Energy and Climate Change Department at the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will discuss the key ingredients of an ecocity, which Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, Director General of Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, will complement by discussing financial innovation and new directions for cities. A welcoming and closing speech will be given by Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

The summit will feature special workshops, including the Sustainable Urban Indicators and Frameworks Roundtable, a three-part workshop intended as a collaboration platform of leading voices in the urban indicators and frameworks community, and the City Form and Resource Flows Workshop, which will provide a strong discussion on the architecture, urban planning and systems analysis and the best ways to capture and organise data in a creative, realistic and efficient manners.