1,600 contestants representing 400 teams of young talents specialized in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science from the UAE and around the world participated in the activities of the United Nations Datathon 2023 platform, which was held in the UAE under the auspices of the United Nations, in the presence of data science specialists from the most prominent universities in the Arab region and the world.
Datathon 2023 is a participatory platform that supports and motivates young talents, organized in partnership between the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office, the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), and the Federal Youth Authority, with the support of academic institutions in the country.
The platform aims to enhance the leadership of the United Arab Emirates globally in the fields of artificial intelligence applications and data science, and to raise awareness of the importance of this sector in shaping future pathways.
Her Excellency Hanan Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre said that the UN Datathon serves as a platform for exploring and developing advanced solutions and innovative projects based on the outputs of the rapid evolution of emerging technologies. These can be employed to address various challenges in current and future vital sectors.
Her Excellency emphasized that the UN Datathon encompasses various domains of emerging and advanced technology, spanning data analysis, big data, artificial intelligence, smart conversational robots, blockchain, metaverse, augmented reality, 3D and 4D printing technology, along with several other emerging technologies. The aim is to harness the innovations of youth in these fields to contribute to building more advanced and prosperous societies. H.E. Mohammed Hassan, the Executive Director of the National Statistics and Data Science Sector at FCSC, asserted that the UN Datathon platform will strengthen communication among the youth of the UAE and their counterparts worldwide. It will provide a supportive environment for participants to develop solutions that address the challenges and rapidly changing dynamics in various fields. This, in turn, contributes to supporting efforts to achieve sustainable development goals.
His Excellency stated that participants in the United Nations Datathon 2023 will have the opportunity to engage in numerous sessions designed in an interactive and stimulating format, enabling them to unleash their creativity and enhance a culture of teamwork and collaborative work aimed at maximizing the utilization of available resources.
It is worth mentioning that the Open Data Datathon is one of the global initiatives organized in the UAE, in conjunction with the main event organized in the Republic of Uruguay, under the auspices of the United Nations, and the UAE represents an accredited regional platform for organizing data for the Middle East and North Africa region, with the aim of facilitating the entry of participants in the global competition.
