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Participation in the Strategic Foresight Forum, Doha

An account of the Strategic Foresight Forum held in Doha from 12 to 14 October 2026, and of the 2040 scenario work on artificial intelligence in Islamic countries presented there.

Eight delegates standing in front of the Strategic Foresight Forum backdrop in Doha, which carries the logos of the Arab Council for Youth, ICESCO and the Ministry of Sports and Youth of the State of Qatar above the forum title and the dates 12–14 October 2026.

The Strategic Foresight Forum on Global Competencies for Youth and Lifelong Learning was held in Doha from 12 to 14 October 2026, convened by the Ministry of Sports and Youth of the State of Qatar together with ICESCO, the Arab Council for Youth and Qatar University.

I took part as a delegate from Uzbekistan, in my capacity as Senior Specialist in the Department of Business and Innovative Ideas of the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Fund. What follows is an account of the method the forum applied, the work presented, and the position I put to those attending.

Scenarios rather than forecasts

The forum’s organising method was to examine the future through a set of 2040 scenarios. The object is not to predict what will happen, but to explore the forces, uncertainties, risks and opportunities capable of leading to materially different futures — and to treat each of those futures as something to prepare for rather than to await.

AI in Islamic Countries in 2040

As part of the programme we presented work on “AI in Islamic Countries in 2040”. It examined how artificial intelligence could transform education, economies, public services, creativity and everyday life across the Islamic world, and set against that the questions which follow from it: the ethics of deployment, the preservation of human capability, the risk of technological dependence, and the allocation of finite resources.

The position put to decision-makers

My submission to policymakers was that the future is not a thing that is waited for. It is made. The policies, investments, regulations and priorities established today will determine what role artificial intelligence occupies in our societies by 2040, and the decision is being taken now whether or not it is recognised as a decision.

Shakhzoda Ikromova receiving a commemorative plaque from a forum representative on stage, with the flag of Uzbekistan displayed on the screen behind.
Shakhzoda Ikromova holding the opened commemorative plaque in front of the Strategic Foresight Forum screen.
The commemorative plaque presented at the forum, with the flag of Uzbekistan displayed during the presentation.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to the Ministry of Sports and Youth of the State of Qatar, to ICESCO and to Qatar University for organising the forum and for creating a setting in which young people and established experts could address the future seriously and at length.

My thanks also to the Youth Affairs Agency and to the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Fund for the opportunity to attend, and to Alisher Sadullaev and Mirzobek Kuldoshov, who made it possible.

I left Doha with new knowledge, new perspectives and new working relationships, and with a firmer conviction that shaping 2040 begins with the choices made today.