Mobility, Economy and Expo 2020 Dubai

“We live in a world of limitless connections. Explore horizons that drive human progress, as mobility continues to transform the way we live, connect with people, understand different cultures, and exchange knowledge and ideas.” This is how the Expo 2020 Dubai website describes mobility. [1]

Our society increasingly is becoming a global community. Today, we can review the origin label of our products and be surprised by the journey they have traveled to reach us. This has triggered unstoppable transit across borders, connecting producers with consumers through increasingly inventive means of consumption with fewer intermediaries. It is not surprising that the Wish [2] platform was in 2018 the most-downloaded e-commerce application worldwide. [3]  The company doubled its revenue to $1.9 billion.

Mobility at Expo 2020 Dubai isn't just about merchandise trade, it's about bridging the gap between the physical and the digital, where information, ideas and goods are exchanged faster than ever.

The effectiveness of mobility is defined by a strategic factor: time. After the last couple of years, time is more appreciated than ever and those who manage to improve the time it takes to provide a product or service will succeed. Today, we are all switching from Amazon [6] to Amazon Prime [6]. The reason? The delivery time, that benefit that we need to enjoy. We are already entitled to the privilege of receiving goods manufactured on the other side of the world, in sometimes unknown countries, in just 24 hours.

Our world is changing and with it, society and the economy. Mobility has become a decisive factor in this global chess game. Large companies know this and are, therefore, willing to change the world by redesigning critical international trade routes. The best example of this is the new and improved version of the “Silk Road.” I suggest you watch the DW documentary, The New Silk Road, [4] which is a mammoth project intended to connect China with the West. It's a gigantic infrastructure project that Beijing says will benefit everyone. But this two-part documentary examines China's interest and geopolitical plans.

In 2013, China announced a major project on an international scale with two combined routes, one by sea and the other by land, with which it intends to meet the export needs of the Asian continent, particularly to Europe. A fund of US$40,000 million has already been arranged for the project and it is expected to be completed in 2025.

But China is not the only one with plans to change mobility in the world. Companies like Dubai Ports International, now renamed DP World for obvious reasons, are participating in changing the mobility of the planet. DP World has a portfolio of 78 operating marine and inland terminals, five economic zones supported by over 50 related businesses in 40 countries across six continents. [5]

One of the most impressive pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai is precisely that of DP World. This pavilion shows the past, present and future of logistics, including a hyper-tunnel for the movement of goods. The pavilion includes an interactive element where visitors can experience how trade flows through the world and follow the route of everyday items that travel smoothly around the globe, while learning about innovation, data, efficiency and sustainability.

And talking about mobility, the star is The Mobility Pavilion. Named Alif (after the first letter of the Arabic alphabet and symbolizing the beginning of progress and new horizons), it shows how mobility has impacted the development of humanity and is leading us to an interconnected world. This immersive exhibition explores humanity's inherent drive for progress.

Mobility is the most important evolution in today's business world, changing how business is done and forging an indispensable tool that allows us to interact from anywhere. Mobility has allowed us to communicate in real time with our company and with our clients; it allows us to monitor production and access information, technology, education and entertainment. We are talking about applications like WhatsApp, WeChat, Zoom and Netflix. [6]

“Witness mobility drive progress. Throughout our existence – from our very first steps out of Africa to space travel to our interconnected digital world – mobility has driven the development of humankind. We’ve moved from the desert to Mars and from the distant past to the near future. See how mobility will continue to transform the way we live, connect with people, understand different cultures, and exchange knowledge and ideas.[7]

Today mobility merges the physical and digital worlds, removing barriers to allow greater productivity, flexibility and scalability. It allows us to stay constantly connected to our workplace and respond immediately to the needs of our company. At Expo 2020 Dubai, the mobility pavilion is not only spectacular, it’s history: demonstrating how the past, present and future are woven by mobility, allowing us to visualize where we are moving forward as a society and how the economy will be even more impacted by mobility.

Global mobility is at a turning point. It is here to stay and has been quickly adopted by anyone wanting to make business operations more efficient. From paying through an application to buying shares, answering emails or monitoring systems, this ecosystem between technology and mobility has allowed us to change the world of business.

The shift from a global mobility mindset to a global workforce has accelerated as organizations look to secure the right skills to be in the right places.

"Mankind has gone too far to go back, and is moving too fast to stop." (Sir Winston Churchill)

References:

     [1] www.expo2020dubai.com

     [2] www.wish.com

     [3] George-Parkin, Hilary (17 June 2019). "Wish, the super popular, ultra-cheap shopping app, explained". Vox.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.

     [4] DW documentary the new silk route https://youtu.be/fBnT0tsLqGQ

     [5] DP World our locations https://www.dpworld.com/about-us/our-locations

     [7] All trademark.

    [7] Quote from Expo 2020 Dubai about mobility