Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26 January 2019: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the 3rd UAE Public Policy Forum kick-starts today Sunday and runs till January 28th, under the theme Accelerating SDGs Implementation: Future Policy Roadmap.

Organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) in partnership with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) at the InterContinental Dubai - Festival City, The event consists of 18 panel discussions bringing together 32 international speakers, as well as 6 workshops, 5 forum sparks and one policy council; it will explore the UNs sustainable development goals (SDGs) in light of rapid international developments and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, proposing solutions to harness new opportunities to implement the UNs 2030 Agenda, which resonates with the sustainable development section of the UAE Vision 2021 and the UAE Centennial 2071.

MBRSG will be publishing 20 studies during the forum that discuss various issues surrounding sustainable development, and can potentially catalyse the achievement of SDGs, including: Culture and Heritage: A Foundation for Sustainable Development through Understanding and Tolerance of Cultural Differences; Promoting Synergies for the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals in the UAE Health Care Sector; eGovernment and the SDGs: How Estonias Digital Government Contributes to Achieving the SDGs; and Cities for All: Urban Innovation for Inclusive, Resilient, and Sustainable Cities; in addition to the report titled
Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals Through Digital Transformation, in addition to 9 in-depth research papers from a local and international perspective.

MBRSGs initiative Leadership Club will hold a session on the second day of the forum to discuss the 10 recommendations published in the new book My Story by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, the purpose of this session is to come out with an outline for an advanced public administration ecosystem, which reflects MBRSGs core mandate, as well as the directives of the UAEs wise leadership.

As part of the forums preparations, MBRSG recently held in cooperation with FCSA, an executive education Masterclass on "Competitiveness", which discussed topics relating to competitiveness locally and globally, along with the UAE's achievements in global competitiveness indicators, and its relevance to the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals and 232 indicators.

Presented by a representative of the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics, the Masterclass discussed mechanisms to raise awareness of the importance of achieving the sustainable development goals and reviewed the role of statistics and accurate data in the development of strategic plans and initiatives that overcome SDGs challenges locally and internationally. it also stressed the need to create joint platforms to bring together the public and private sectors to work together towards development.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government had launched the UAE Public Policy Forum to provide a platform for prominent international policy experts, leaders, decision makers, and specialists to come together and explore ways to improve government policies in the UAE and the region. The Forum is an opportunity to support researchers and decision makers and help them set effective policies in various sectors that will shape the societies of the future.