Freedom a must for development: Experts

Dubai: There can be no human development in the Arab world without the extension of freedom. That was the theme that was cited repeatedly at the first day of the Arab Strategy Forum 2009, held at the Mina Al Salaam hotel on Wednesday.

Approximately 300 intellectuals, academics and decision makers gathered to discuss knowledge and education in the Arab world, in an attempt by the forum's organisers to "bridge the communication gap" between Arab intellectuals and decision makers.

Launched by the chairman of the board at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the forum also marked the launch of the first edition of the Arab Knowledge Report, a joint initiative by the MBRF and the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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The report painted a bleak picture of the status of Arab knowledge, harshly criticising Arab states to take action to curb poverty and illiteracy before it is too late, but it expressed optimism in the ability of Arabs to turn around and reform policy to give way to human development.

Adel Abdul Latif, Deputy Regional Director of RBAS at the UNDP, referred to the report as "the gateway" for Arab reform that would lead to human and knowledge development.

Woes

"One-third of the Arab adult population is unable to read or write, two thirds of which are women… scientific spending constitutes 0.3 per cent of the GDP of Arab states," he said, referring to knowledge as the "nervous system" of today's society, and information communication technology as its most important tools.

Sima Bahous, the Assistant Secretary General for Social Affairs at the Arab League, said science and education worked hand in hand, calling them the "train and driver of the Arab renaissance".

Adel Al Sharid, Vice-Chairman of the MBRF, stressed the foundation's role in closing the knowledge gap in the Arab world, listing its achievements in translating more than 620 books into Arabic and giving scholarships to 140 Arab students since its launch, among others.

In an effort to improve the quality of education in the region, the MBRF, he said, has so far trained 170,000 Arab teachers and aims to bring that number to two million by 2012. The training the teachers receive is in methods of transferring knowledge.

The Arab Knowledge Report, its authors and a number of speakers at the forum, highlighted the flight of Arab talent abroad and the influx of better quality education in languages other than Arabic.

Asked if the MBRF took into consideration the role of the Arabic language in Arab academia, Al Sharid said it was a concern which led the foundation to introduce Arabic proficiency tests that would be standardised in the region's universities, and help universities place students according to their strengths.

"It's true that good education today comes in foreign languages. University professors in Arabic universities often complain about their students being weak in Arabic. But just the way foreigners came to the Arab region in the past and learned Arabic to gain from our knowledge, we are now learning in other languages," he said. "[Reversing] this will not be easy and will take time, but the focus for now is keeping Arabs from going abroad to get a quality education."

Dr Gaith Al Fariz, director of the report, said he was encouraged by the enthusiasm expressed by Arab states, but said that it was up to individual states to implement its recommendations. "We tell the states that we've made our recommendations and its now in your hands," he said.

Threats

On threats to the Arabic language in academia, he said that development of the Arabic language could go hand in hand with closing the knowledge gap in the region. "But we need to develop the Arabic language to make it compatible with changing times. In the past, we used to resist change for the sake of protecting the language from foreign influences. The Arabic language needs to open up," he said.