Dubai: Delegates attending the sixth World Government Summit (WGS) said they were optimistic about the future after taking part in over 120 sessions across the three-day event.

Gulf News spoke to a handful among the 4,000-odd delegates on the final day of the mega event, who believed the summit gathering has shed light on the latest developments across various fields that would help improve government work and offer better services to help serve societies.

Dr Rakiatou Christelle Kaffa, Minister of Public Service and Administration Reform in Niger, said she saw the event as a knowledge platform where she was able to understand the vision of the world for the future.

“This was my first time to attend the summit, and in my opinion, it’s a great gathering because you get to meet and hear experts coming from different backgrounds, whether scientific, political or financial. It was very impressive and enlightening.”

She added that the summit has given her hope on how her country can encourage youth to continue their education and not drop out of school early. “Perhaps we can do something to change this and keep them at school.”

Another delegate, Thuraya Al Hosani, an English teacher from the Ministry of Education, said she enjoyed hearing about all the developments and advancements happening in the UAE in various fields and sectors.

“As an educator, when you hear about the developments in our country, our role is to deliver such thoughts and messages to students. It’s nice to understand the path the country is taking in every field. In one of the sessions, a well-known expert spoke about the importance of education and how teachers are the main backbone of the nation’s progress. He also spoke about how there should be continuous dialogue and interaction with students.”

Meanwhile, Abbas Kazmi, managing partner, Collegiate Capital, believes there is a lot of hope for the region, in terms of developments going on particularly in fields of artificial intelligence and space technology.

“There was a very interesting range of speakers this year and many recommendations for policymakers, such as what governments can do not just in areas of business only, but areas of technology, arts, culture, happiness of people,” he said.

Also, Srini Reddy, vice-president and business head at Tech Mahindra, a company that provides IT advisory service to the public sector, said, “What was mostly interesting was the way thought leaders are bringing in their own area of specialisation applying to various government sectors. The sessions were very thought-provoking and change our regular way of thinking.”