The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders 2026 took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 13-15 October 2026.
Between sessions, our Ideas on the Move series asked leaders the simple question: what drives you?
Here is what 11 voices from business, culture, technology and more had to say.
If you had a few minutes to chat to influential leaders between sessions at major global events, what would you want to know?
In our interview series Ideas on the Move – which has become a firm fixture at Forum events, including Davos and the Annual Meeting of the New Champions – we ask leaders, innovators and changemakers one simple question: what drives you?
Switching a golf buggy for an abra boat, the series returned for this year’s Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders in Dubai, UAE. From a ballet dancer and Buddhist monk to entrepreneurs, engineers and human rights lawyers, here’s what the leaders said.
Belief and passion – Ahmad Joudeh
For ballet dancer and choreographer Ahmad Joudeh, who grew up as a stateless refugee in Syria, his art has always been about more than performance.
“I use dance as a voice for my people and to remind people of their humanity. I always say the duty of the artist is to fight for art and culture for their country.
“I had to keep dancing and to keep representing my country in such a beautiful art form that can show even a stateless refugee can become a ballet star.”
How science shapes the world – Imane Ennaim
Imane Ennaim, a science communicator based in Dubai who says that less than 1% of all scientific or educational content is made in Arabic, aims to bring complex topics to a mainstream Arabic audience with engaging short videos.
“Science shapes the world, but still very little of it is accessible to people.
“Every day there are policies being formulated and decisions being made. People deserve to know what those decisions mean for them.”
The need for climate action – Anurag Maloo
Founder of The Voice Of Glaciers Foundation and survivor of a near-fatal fall on Nepal’s Mount Annapurna, Anurag Maloo is dedicated to educating the world about how we all depend on mountains and nature.
“We are all responsible for natural disasters and we need to take action. What truly drives me is, how can I be of service?”
Digital opportunity – Vilas Dhar
AI policy expert and President of the Patrick J McGovern Foundation, Vilas Dhar believes that new, powerful technology can only fulfil its potential when it's co-created with the communities it’s meant to serve.
This doesn’t mean “we all have to be computer scientists,” he says.
“It does mean we have to feel the agency, the ownership, the belief that the world that’s being shaped by technology isn’t being shaped from Silicon Valley.
“A tool doesn’t mean anything if it’s not grounded in our shared ownership of the things the tool creates. And that’s something that’s very much within reach.”
A deep sense of injustice – Siviwe Gwarube
The youngest cabinet minister in the history of South Africa, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube is driven by "a deep sense of injustice".
“I grew up in a home where I understood what injustice meant, and I consistently wanted to change that.”
One of the ways Gwarube wants to drive that change is by ensuring more children have access to structured learning from an early age.
“We've got about 1.3 million children in our early childhood centres. I'd love to double that or get that to 4 million before my term of office is over.”
Closing data gaps – Alicia Chong Rodriguez
Engineer and inventor Alicia Chong Rodriguez started Bloomer Tech to collect life-saving data on heart disease in women, which is frequently misdiagnosed and under-researched.
“There’s a lot of evidence that women are having worse outcomes compared to men their same age.
“As AI helps turbocharge digital health, there’s a danger that algorithms trained with mostly male datasets and biases can actually perpetuate these problems.
“I want technology to include all of us, not just a privileged few.”
Protecting mental privacy – Jared Genser
Jared Genser is managing director of the law firm Perseus Strategies, Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect to the Organization of American States and outside General Counsel to the Neurorights Foundation.
With more than two decades as an international human rights lawyer, he has turned his attention to protecting mental privacy.
“The human mind is literally the last private place that we have. We are now at a point with emerging consumer neurotechnology where that final frontier is about to be broken.”
There is “extraordinary promise” in emerging neurotechnologies, especially to cure brain diseases, Genser says. But at the same time, he believes devices including wearables raise questions about privacy, identity and how people’s data may be used.
“As mental augmentation becomes possible, who’s going to have access to those technologies?”
The legacy we will leave – Shoukei Matsumoto
A Buddhist monk, author and university professor, Matsumoto’s work operates at the intersection of spirituality, technology and ethics. He says “diving into the unknown” is central to this.
“When it comes to being a good ancestor, people often think of the legacies they can leave for future generations,” he says. But Matsumoto thinks in terms of “subtraction rather than addition”.
Things like nuclear weapons, for example, are not a great legacy, he says. “I’d rather think of what I won’t leave for future generations.”
A sense of purpose – Bhumi Pednekar
Actor, United Nations Development Programme Advocate and climate activist Bhumi Pednekar has always worked to change society for the better through her films.
She believes that “a movie with the right message” can be both entertaining and have wider cultural impact.
“Story is everything,” she says, adding that intelligent moviemaking can also impact the world by helping to change mindsets. “That’s the kind of cinema I want to keep doing.”
Making an impact – Mathieu Flamini
A former French national football team player, Mathieu Flamini is also an environmentalist and co-founder of green chemicals company GFBiochemicals.
He believes there are many parallels between being an elite athlete and an entrepreneur or business leader.
“You need to be able to inspire, to share a vision, share a mission and onboard your team with it. At the same time, you need to be able to extract the best from your teammates.
“Great leadership is a combination of high expectations and a genuine human touch.”
Water security – Mina Guli
“Water is everything, but for too long we have treated it as if it was nothing. I want that to change.”
Mina Guli is Founder and CEO of Thirst Foundation, a nonprofit raising awareness about water issues. Her Run Blue campaign saw Guli complete 200 marathons across 32 countries in one year, traversing the front lines of the world’s water crisis in places from the Amazon to the Aral Sea.
What keeps her going?
“I see the power of what I’m doing to drive change. Sometimes to make change you need to show [people] the light at the end of the tunnel.”
