The first ‘Knowledge Conference’ to be held in December

Dubai: A conference focused on enhancing the role of knowledge in the development and prosperity of Arab societies will be hosted by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) in December.

The Knowledge Conference, the first of its kind in the region, hopes to transfer and localise knowledge and build societies and economies that apply knowledge, as announced in the press conference on Sunday.

The conference is being held under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the guidance of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of MBRF.

A number of knowledge influencers, experts, and stakeholders from around the world will be attending the conference which will be held from December 7 to December 9, said Jamal Bin Huwaireb, cultural adviser to the Government of Dubai and managing director of MBRF.

“This annual event will serve as a global platform for these contributors of knowledge to bring in their experiences and share it with the rest of the world. The goal is to discuss ways to consolidate the culture of building knowledge-based sustainable societies and economies,”

Bin Huwaireb also announced the launch of the Arab Knowledge Report 2014, a joint initiative between the MBRF and Arab Bureau in the United Nations Development Programme, the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Award for Knowledge, which will honour a global figure for his or her contribution in the dissemination of knowledge, and Arab Knowledge Index, an indicator that will yearly monitor the status of knowledge in the Arab world.

Each will serve as integral activities within the conference.

He said the MBRF has always been focused on the dissemination of knowledge and enhancing its role in order to ensure a future generation that applies knowledge to everything.

“We have realised the urgent need for an annual international gathering to highlight the knowledge status in the Arab world. It has become a priority to explore ways to spread knowledge, put forward innovative solutions and find best ways to employ the knowledge,” he said.

Dr Gaith Hamdi Fariz, coordinator of the Arab Knowledge Report, said the Arab Knowledge Report this year “deals with Arab youth and this is why it carries the theme: ‘Youth and Localisation of Knowledge’”.

“We have shifted our focus to Arab youth who play a major role in the transfer of knowledge in the region. Their involvement in the past years has necessitated this focus. This report will look at the status of Arab youth and the ways to encourage them to be involved in the localisation of knowledge transfer,” he said.