The Youth for Sustainability Platform Forum will be held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the “Youth for Sustainability” platform forum will hold its activities during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, at the ADNEC Center in Abu Dhabi from January 13 to 15, in cooperation with the Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi as a main partner.
The annual forum aims to motivate, empower and prepare young people to play a leadership role through events and activities that enhance their role in advancing the process of sustainable development.
The forum’s program includes high-level dialogue sessions, discussion sessions with a group of experts, and interactive dialogues, in addition to setting up platforms that showcase youth-led projects and innovations, and holding meetings aimed at creating companies with young talents and competencies in the field of sustainability.
On this occasion, Dr. Abdullah Humaid Al Jarwan, Chairman of the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi, said: “Empowering youth constitutes a pivotal pillar in continuing the process of progress, and a fundamental pillar for enhancing and accelerating the pace of innovation in the energy and water sectors, as youth contribute to improving the efficiency and flexibility of systems by employing advanced technologies, most notably artificial intelligence, supported by an integrated system that combines digital capabilities, systematic thinking, and practical experience, which accelerates the transformation of ideas into solutions with a tangible impact, and enhances the building of a sustainable future that supports strategic goals.” For the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
He stressed that the Department of Energy, as the main partner of the “Youth for Sustainability” forum within Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, attaches great importance to supporting a platform that brings together young leaders, innovators, decision makers and sector partners, which contributes to enhancing creative thinking, providing applied opportunities that support the development of policies and technologies, and enabling the leadership of initiatives with a sustainable impact, noting that investing in the talents and ideas of young people today enhances the building of a sustainable and prosperous future for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
For his part, Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar”, said: “The forum works to connect young leaders with practical experiences, ideas and visions, which contributes to transforming ambitions into tangible practical results. The forum also provides a supportive environment for building capabilities and thinking patterns and expanding communication networks, to enable young people to contribute to an effective leadership role and move from the stage of ideas to developing influential projects and initiatives that contribute to building a sustainable future.”
The forum will address four main topics, including: future skills, education and youth employment; artificial intelligence and sustainable innovation; quality of life and community resilience; Leadership and governance behaviours. These themes aim to provide young people with the skills and thinking patterns necessary to build purposeful career paths and launch initiatives with a positive impact, with a focus on mastering artificial intelligence skills, enhancing awareness of sustainability, and consolidating entrepreneurial thinking.
A number of ministers, senior officials, directors of international and local companies, and an elite group of sustainability sector experts are participating in the forum. The list of speakers also includes Minister of Climate Change and Environment Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahhak, Minister of State for Youth Affairs Dr. Sultan Saif Al Neyadi, Chairman of the Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi Dr. Abdullah Humaid Al Jarwan, and Sheikh Dr. Majid Sultan Al Qasimi, co-founder and CEO of Soma Matter.
The “Youth for Sustainability” platform, launched by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar” in 2016, is a global platform to empower the next generation of sustainability leaders, by preparing and qualifying young people to lead efforts to adopt sustainability principles globally, and providing various educational experiences aimed at enhancing awareness of the skills necessary for future jobs in the field of sustainability, through workshops, awareness activities and training programs, the most prominent of which are the “Future Sustainability Leaders” program and the “Sustainability Ambassadors” program, from which more than 980 people have graduated. Young men and women since the launch of the initiative, and it has witnessed the organization of more than 145 workshops and training sessions with the participation of 390 expert speakers and sector leaders from around the world.