Ushering in knowledge era
Mohammad sets up $10b fund to promote human development in region
Dead Sea, Jordan: A foundation with a $10 billion endowment to build a knowledge society in the region was set up by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation will promote human development and improve knowledge infrastructure in the Arab world.
Shaikh Mohammad told delegates at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (WEF) yesterday that priorities for the foundation include launching a research fund, creating research centres at regional universities, and delivering leadership development programmes. Starting next year, the foundation will also begin providing university scholarships, he said.
"It is up to us to provide young people with happiness and hope and to motivate them to explore the unknown, to mould them into assets," Shaikh Mohammad said. "This is the responsibility and honour of governments and societies."
Barriers to growth
Most of Shaikh Mohammad's special address to the WEF, held this year on the Dead Sea in Jordan, centred on the knowledge gap between the Arab world and the West, including its impact on sustainable development.
The initiative was widely welcomed in the UAE. Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, told Gulf News the pioneering project will make the UAE a hub for educational research.
Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education, said the fund is the first of its kind that deals with the realities of the region. Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Director General of Knowledge and Human Development at the Dubai Education Council, said the foundation was a "milestone" for the region in which the monetary wealth of Gulf states could complement the human and education wealth of the rest of the Arab world.
At a glance
- The $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) foundation aims to open doors to young and creative leaders in the region to shape their future by equipping them with world-class knowledge and education.
- The foundation will source and manage a wide range of initiatives, including the establishment of research programmes and research centres, and the provision of scholarships to students to attend leading universities and institutes. It will also support research in universities across the region.
- The foundation will also provide leadership programmes to youth in government, the private sector and civil society organisations.
- Scholarships and grants will be given to researchers in the region.
- The UAE-based foundation will begin work by the year-end.
