The MiSK Global Forum opened in Riyadh with a video address from Bill Gates, the founder of IT giant Microsoft and chair of one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the world, to highlight the essential role young people must play in the Kingdom’s reform program.
The two-day event brings young Saudi men and women in front of a range of global thought leaders, businessmen and sportsmen from over 65 countries. The assembled speakers will share their insights and ideas across the range of opportunities available to young people in the global economy, and reflect on the lessons required for future success.
In the recorded opening address, Gates said:
“The future of any country is about its young people, in Saudi Arabia that is even more true because you’re the majority and you’re more educated and inquisitive than any generation that’s come before.”
Commenting on the country’s economic reform programme, known as Vision 2030, he added:
“Vision 2030 is a powerful set of goals, but it will be the young people whose innovative work is needed to achieve them, that means lots of studying and getting the new skills that will equip you for the evolving job market, it means building on the deeply engrained values of giving back, caring for others and working towards a common goal”.
Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, also took the stage for a one-on-one conversation with Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir and founding partner of the 8VC investment fund. The two discussed the "new normal" of advancing entrepreneurship to promote economic growth -- and what steps can be taken to build one global entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The conference also hosts CEOs from major international companies such as Siemens, BP and Cisco, Non-Exec Chairman of Goldman Sachs and former President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, as well as dynamic entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, such as Jim Breyer and Udacity and Google X founder Sebastian Thrun. The conference is designed to provide an opportunity for leaders to share their experience, provide points of guidance, and bolster the aspirations of the young delegates attending.
“This event is about empowering, nurturing and inspiring Saudi Arabia’s young men and women to fully realise their potential as part of the Kingdom’s on-going economic transformation," said MiSK spokesperson, Shaima Hamiddadin. “We look forward to the diverse contributions from our assembled guests over the days ahead. It promises to be a highly enriching event.”
Alongside the speeches and interactive sessions at the conference, MiSK is also announcing a major new strategy aimed at accelerating the pace of tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the Kingdom, a comprehensive programme aimed bolstering skils in the tech sector alongside a range of new international partnerships.