Isobel Abulhoul

“When I first came to Dubai in 1968, there were no traffic lights, very few paved roads and only a handful of buildings. Yet there was already a sense that this was a place where anything was possible, where opportunities existed on every corner. Over the decades, I have watched that optimism turn into reality. Every time the world changed, the UAE seemed to ask not, ‘How do we protect what we have?’ but, ‘What should we build next?’

For me, the UAE’s greatest achievement is not the skyline. It is its ability to give people confidence that their ideas matter and that, with determination, they can help shape the future. When my husband and I opened our first Magrudy’s bookshop in 1975, neither of us had any experience in retail. We learned from our customers, our staff and, often, from our mistakes.

That taught me a lesson I have never forgotten: curiosity is far more valuable than certainty. Looking back, the UAE spent its early decades building roads, ports, airports and institutions. The next 30 years will be about building minds, nurturing imagination and giving future generations the confidence not just to participate in the future, but to define it.

The next chapter belongs to people more than technology.”