"The Road to 2050: An Assessment of Arab Regional Possibilities”

We’re excited to share that Foresight Vector founder Steven Kenney, in his capacity as the Director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative program at The Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., was a featured speaker on Thursday, August 10, 2023 as part of an online/virtual conference organized by the National Council on US-Arab Relations.

"The Road to 2050: An Assessment of Arab Regional Possibilities and the Future of U.S. Cooperation" conference took place on August 9th-10th. The program comprised four panels over the two days, with other speakers from the Middle East Institute, as well as speakers from the Middle East Policy Council, ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid), the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University, and the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies.

The panel that Steven joined was "Vision 2050: Major Trends Shaping the Future of the Arab World." Steven’s remarks focused on the potential for electric mobility as well as the emergence of the Metaverse to have major positive impacts shaping the future of the Middle East and North Africa.

You can watch the video recording of the panel by clicking this link. Steven’s discussion of the e-mobility and Metaverse trends begins at the 28:10 minute mark, until the 39:10 minute mark. There is also a period of Q&A between Steven and the moderator beginning at 49:30 until the 55:45 minute mark.

Other panelists with Steven included The Honorable Richard Schmierer, former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar and President Emeritus and Board Member of The Middle East Policy Council in Washington D.C., and Dr. Habib Rajeh, Head of Global and US Programs at United Mission For Relief and Development. The session was moderated by David Des Roches from the Near East and South Asia Center for Security Studies at National Defense University.