Forum for the Future to be held in UAE

Dubai: The UAE will host the fifth Forum for the Future, in cooperation with Japan, to tackle much required issues on educational, social, political, and economic reforms in the broader Middle East and North African countries.

The forum is divided into a parallel forum taking place in Dubai on October 15-17 which will involve workshops and discussions among officials and representatives from different civic societies.

The recommendations drawn for these sessions will be addressed at the formal forum in Abu Dhabi on Oct 18-19 that will host foreign ministers from 18 Arab countries, G-8 countries, as well as from Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.

The genesis of the Forum for the Future followed consultations at the Arab Summit in Tunisia and the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit at Sea Island, United States, in June 2004, which also involved countries from Europe and the broader Middle East and North Africa.

The first session was held in Morocco in December 2004, the second in Bahrain in 2005, and the third session in Jordan in 2006.

Yemen and Germany organised some of the events of the Forum's fourth edition in 2007. But due to political reasons in Yemen the formal forum was cancelled.

According to Dr. Abdul Majeed Al Khajah, Professor at UAE University and a member of the UAE national Organising Committee for Civil Society, issues on environment and sustainable development will be discussed for the first time in this forum since it is increasingly becoming an essential topic in the region.

Workshops

The first forum, in Dubai, will include five closed workshops opened only to invited guests on political reform; education reform, labor market, unemployment, youth and women empowerment; cooperation between government, private sector, and civil society; and environment, renewable energy, food crisis, humanitarian and development assistance.

When asked by the media on the likelihood the discussion will bring changes in the region, Dr. Ebtisam Al Kitby, Political Science professor of UAE university said the political reform is the most difficult to witness.

Channel

"We are opening a channel between the civic society and the governments to implement reforms in the region. From my own view as a political scientist these forums have lost their momentum in front of the G-8 countries. Realistically in this UAE forum we are aiming to ease the laws, which are hindering any progress in the sphere of reform," she said.

The recommendations will be generic and tailored to respond to the needs of individual countries. The issues raised will be followed up through "democracy assistance dialogue," by Turkey, Yemen, and Italy.

Around five recommendations will be drawn from each thematic session, said Al Kitby, who is also a member of the Organising committee.

These countries will host regional conferences to follow up on specific issues raised during the forum.

Although Israel is part of the Middle East equation, it did not take part in any of the previous forums nor will it be present in this one, said Dr. Al Kitby adding that their presence will be "a form of recognition to their existence which we don't agree to."