Knowledge Cafés at the Knowledege Summit Dubai 2025

The summit brought people together to explore fresh ideas through open conversation. Formal sessions often leave little room for reflection or shared sense-making. The Knowledge Café offered a simple structure that allowed people to slow down, think together, and uncover insights shaped by real dialogue.

Introduction

In 2025, I was invited by the Dubai Knowledge Summit to run a series of Knowledge Cafés linked to selected Knowtalks across the two days of the programme. Four Cafés were scheduled, each designed to allow participants to explore the ideas raised by the speakers through open conversation rather than formal discussion. The Cafés followed a consistent process centred on dialogue, connection, and shared understanding.

Format and Process

After each presentation, I, the speaker, and up to 20 registered participants moved to the Knowledge Café area set up especially for the event. The room contained small round tables for three or four people. Once everyone was settled, I introduced the process and invited the speaker to offer an open reflective question.

The Café Environment

The dedicated room proved to be an ideal setting. It was a small, self-contained space with round tables, four chairs per table, and a capacity for about twenty participants. As shown in the photos below, the environment was near-perfect.

Sessions Supported

Emails Can Wait (Unless You’re a Heart Surgeon) — Dr Kerstin Brehm
Question: Why do we glorify being busy, and what KPI should we opt for instead

The Longevity Journey: From Dubai to the World — Dr Wajdi Albonji
Question: What qualities of life feel most important for you to preserve as you age

Regenerative Performance — Dr James Hewitt
Question: If you treated your cognitive capacity like an elite athlete treats their physical capacity, what would you do differently tomorrow

The Transformative Power of Education — Zubair Junjunia
Question: What would education look like if we treated young people as co-creators in their learning

Participant Experience

Attendance varied from one Café to another for various practical reasons, but engagement remained steady. People arrived willing to think together, to listen, and to consider different perspectives. Even with the changing numbers, the conversations remained thoughtful and grounded in real experience. The reflections shared below give a sense of how participants experienced the sessions and the value they took from them.

“The Knowledge Café held during the Knowledge Summit 2025 in Dubai was one of the most eye-opening sessions I’ve attended in recent years. The open, human conversation created a space where everyone could reflect freely on the future of education in an age shaped by AI. What made it powerful was how naturally the discussion pushed us to think about the evolving roles of parents, policymakers, educators, and even the children themselves, and how each of these roles must adapt to a reality in which AI is already part of their daily lives. The dialogue felt alive, relevant, and genuinely urgent, and it is a conversation that continues long after the session ended. Thank you, David, for creating a space where these difficult but essential discussions could unfold with such clarity and depth.”

Soha Radwan
Knowledge and Innovation Expert
EY- Dubai

“I have been waiting for almost 20 years to participate in a Knowledge Café with David. I am happy that the Knowledge Summit provided this public opportunity. I hope that the Knowledge Café becomes an integral part of the Knowledge Summit.”

Adel alTerkait
Ex-Knowledge Manager at Kuwait Petroleum

“It was great to see David Gurteen and his Knowledge Café at the recent Knowledge Summit. Attending them after a matching presentation was a fabulous way to cement the learnings from the presentation and a valuable opportunity to meet with presenters and other delegates. I took an action away from each session!”

Amanda Turner
CEO KIQ Consulting

“It was a sincere pleasure meeting you during the Dubai Knowledge Summit. Thank you so much for inviting us to the Knowledge Café. I do not attend many of these kinds of conversations, but this Knowledge Café was truly exceptional. It went far beyond the conversation itself. It gave us the opportunity to meet people, socialize, explore different angles, and expand our thinking

The café brought a level of honesty and depth that is rare in discussions about the future of education. One of the strongest takeaways was the simple but critical realization that AI itself is neutral. It can create powerful outcomes in education when guided well, and equally damaging results when used without direction. The session made it clear that children do not need control; they need guidance, understanding, and a framework that allows them to grow with AI rather than depend on it. The way you moderated the room, allowing people to speak openly, think freely, and build on each other’s thoughts, made the experience both meaningful and constructive.”

Fadi Al Sayed
Senior Manager
EY-Dubai

“The Knowledge Summit 2025 was incredibly impactful. Zubair Junjunia’s “Know Talk” specifically resonated, highlighting Znotes’ mission for educational equity and the power of peer-led knowledge sharing. Even more significant was the dynamic “Knowledge Café,” which fostered genuine, high-caliber conversations among multi-professionals. Engaging directly with these diverse perspectives transformed abstract ideas into actionable insights, making the Summit a truly catalytic experience for my own growth and outlook.”

Prof. Rohan Da Costa

Outcomes

The Knowledge Café has no predetermined outcomes. Outcomes are what individuals take away in their heads in the same way they do in a regular presentation. They emerge differently for each person, shaped by their own reflections, questions, and conversations. In this series of Cafés, the value became clear in three areas.

First, people gained personal insight that helped them rethink aspects of their work or their assumptions.

Second, the Cafés created moments of genuine connection, where participants learned from one another in a direct and human way.

Third, a sense of shared understanding developed through the dialogue, even without aiming for consensus.

Photos

Below are a few photographs that capture the essence of the Summit Knowledge Cafés.