The exceptional rate at which the world around us is changing – especially when it comes to technology – leaves those who depend solely on today’s breakthroughs trailing behind. Pro-activeness and a future outlook have never been so indispensable. This can most certainly be said of Smart Dubai’s journey over the past three years. We have enjoyed a series of hard-earned successes, but the future requires that we build solutions for people’s future needs, rather than present ones, and that we aim to exceed those needs, not just meet them.

Bearing that in mind, Smart Dubai embarked on a new chapter with the launch of the Smart Dubai 2021 initiative. Over the course of three years, we built the strategic pillars of Smart Dubai to meet the forward-thinking vision of our wise leaders, drastically improving people’s lives in the process. We chose the bold vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, as our guide, launching hundreds of initiatives and more than 1,000 smart services, and abiding by his words when he said: “A smart government goes to the people; it does not wait for the people to come to it.” 

It is most evident that smart devices have become a staple of contemporary human life. Indeed, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data are poised to guide and shape people’s lives in the foreseeable future.

Going forward, Smart Dubai 2021 seeks to achieve the leadership’s vision to transform Dubai into the smartest and happiest city in the world, a city that wisely invests in the most cutting-edge technology and applications that stand to provide Dubai resident with a high-quality, high-tech lifestyle. The four-year plan tackles infrastructure, legislation and applications that the Smart Dubai Office (SDO) has successfully rolled out over the past three years.

The initiative is Dubai’s stepping stone to the next level of smart transformation, resonating with the requirements of the Dubai 10X initiative and the UAE Centennial 2071. Led by the Smart Dubai Office and its affiliate institutions, the strategy addresses the public and private sectors in the objectives it has set for the upcoming period, which include: 

• A flexible city that provides an advanced smart lifestyle for its people
• A competitive global economy enhanced with advanced technology
• A connected community and easily accessible smart social services
• Convenient transport systems consisting of shared and self-driving vehicles
• A clean and sustainable environment
• An competent and connected digital government

We have synchronised our strategies and action plans with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, and set out to achieve the objectives of the National Agenda and the UAE vision 2021. We will spare no effort and employ technologies and breakthroughs to their fullest potential, all the while working with our partners in government institutions across the UAE. Our objectives truly touch people’s lives and improve such strategic sectors as the economy, the environment, health and education, to name a few.