This visualization was commissioned for the World Economic Forum, Global Agenda Council summit in Dubai.

Data for the visualization was distilled from several Excel files containing information about the summit's events. Each of the 1,500 attendees were in one of 76 councils convened around a topic related to world affairs such as "Future of China," "Faith," "Conflict Resolution," and so on. Each council's members were authorities on the topic. In the visualization, councils are represented by squares arranged in a large circle with gray bars protruding outward. Summit attendees are represented by smaller, faint squares that are in constant motion.

One major purpose of the Dubai meeting was for the councils to hold sessions with one another. Each council generated a list of which other councils it might like to meet with. In our interactive visualization, when a given council square is clicked the circle of councils is re-sorted according to the survey results. Order and colors are applied based on whether or not a given council was on the selected council's list, shares an interest with it or is being sought by it. The protruding gray bars represent an average of the national GDPs of a council's members. The small gray squares representing attendees are programmed to follow the attendees' respective council as they move.