From Conversation to Capability: Reflections from World Governments Summit Dubai 2026

By Sir Paul J. Foster, KStJH

Sir Paul J. Foster speaking at the World Governments Summit Dubai 2026, The Future of Gaming Roundtable, “Gaming and esports aren’t leisure industries anymore, they’re engines of workforce readiness, digital exports, and youth engagement. Nations that treat them strategically will outpace those that dismiss them culturally.”

Hot off the heels of Davos, the World Governments Summit 2026 arrived in Dubai with extraordinary momentum, welcoming more than 6,000 delegates and global leaders from across government, business, sport, and technology. It was powerful not just in scale, but in spirit, a deeply human convening where ambition met empathy, and policy met purpose.

Dubai and the UAE stand apart as a place of perpetual innovation and transformation, where vision is matched by execution, and where future policy is not debated in theory but built in practice. Few nations have demonstrated such consistency in turning aspiration into capability, from digital government and smart infrastructure to youth empowerment and global convening power.

Top: Sir Paul J. Foster joins the panel Why Governments Can’t Ignore eGaming Anymore, hosted by Presenter Katie Jensen.

Below, L-R: FUTURES Podcast with Luke Robert Mason: Technology and gaming for good. How we bring new communities, and up-skill through gaming. The Future of Sports Roundtable brings together government officials, international organizations, private-sector leaders, and investors to examine the cultural, generational, and cross-border connections shaped by sports.

Across my contributions to three roundtables and a podcast conversation, one truth became increasingly clear: the digital economy is no longer emerging. It is here. And gaming and esports now sit squarely at its center.

What has changed is not the scale of the industry; it is the seriousness with which governments are engaging.

Gaming and esports are no longer viewed simply as entertainment sectors. They are rapidly becoming national capability platforms, activating youth participation, accelerating digital skills, attracting foreign investment, and converting culture into economic value. For future-ready nations, this is not about trend adoption; it is about economic positioning.

Equally clear was the need for governance maturity.

Without trust, there is no market. As esports expands globally, it must be underpinned by transparent standards, integrity systems, athlete protections, and interoperable frameworks. Governance is not bureaucracy; it is economic infrastructure. Credibility is the currency of digital economies, and governments have a critical role to play in ensuring fairness, safety, and confidence across these ecosystems.

Talent emerged as another defining priority.

Leadership in the gaming economy is not built with arenas alone. It is built through education pipelines, creative industries, cloud infrastructure, and coordinated public-private platforms. The most competitive nations are those treating gaming like aviation or energy, as a strategic sector requiring long-term planning, workforce development, and ecosystem investment.

We also spoke candidly about the evolving role of government.

Public institutions no longer serve solely as regulators of the digital economy. They are now ecosystem architects. Their responsibility is to design the rails—digital identity, payments, regulation, and interoperability—that allow innovation to scale responsibly. The choices made today will determine whether digital growth becomes inclusive or concentrated, democratized or monopolized.

Responsible growth must be guided by clear principles: inclusion, safety, sustainability, and interoperability. If digital expansion stops serving people, particularly young people, it risks becoming extractive rather than transformational.

As I shared during the Summit, “Esports sits at the intersection of sport, culture, and technology, and whoever masters that convergence will define the next generation of economic leadership.”This convergence represents a historic opportunity. Esports uniquely bridges physical and digital worlds, connects communities across borders, and speaks directly to the next generation of citizens, creators, and entrepreneurs.

Dubai once again showed what is possible when ambition meets coordination. The conversations last week were practical, forward-looking, and grounded in action.

The future workforce is already gaming.

The question for governments is simple: are we building systems ready to meet them there?