Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation to organise seminar to launch Arab Knowledge Index in Jordan

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) - a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives - in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will organize on Monday April 18 a national seminar to launch the Arab Knowledge Index in the Jordanian capital Amman. The event has been planned as part of plans to announce the results of the Arab Knowledge Index in key Arab cities.

The seminar will be held in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, President of Royal Scientific Society, H.E. Jamal bin Huwaireb, Managing Director of MBRF, and H.E. Zena Ali Ahmed, Director of the UNDP in Jordan, and attended by a group of academics and heads of the Jordanian universities and specialists in the field of knowledge.

The first session of the seminar, led by Dr. Hani Al Turki, coordinator of the Arab Knowledge Project, will discuss the outcomes of the index as well as its methodology and objectives. The session will also highlight the results related to each Arab country, particularly Jordan, and the strengths and weaknesses in terms of the index.

The second session of the seminar will look at the role of higher education in preparing young people for the knowledge society, with three heads of the universities in the Jordan leading discussions on the academic and educational role of Jordanian universities, and how they relate to the labour market. 

H.E. Jamal bin Huwaireb said the launch of the Arab Knowledge Index was the culmination of the efforts of MBRF and UNDP to take the march of knowledge to the regional and global level through partnerships with academic  and research institutions.

H.E. Bin Huwaireb stated that the Arab Knowledge Index will become one of the most important reference points for policy makers in view of its focus on the entire Arab region. He said the index has taken into account the cultural, demographic and economic diversity of the Arab region to generate precise and clear results based on the urgent need to provide a comprehensive, integrated and renewable database that keeps pace with major changes that has occurred in the region.

The Arab Knowledge Index was officially launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during the Knowledge Summit 2015. The Summit discussed the results of the index, its mechanisms and development plans, offering it as a practical tool to measure knowledge and provide decision-makers, experts and researchers accurate information to help them chart development policies that can contribute to the prosperity of the peoples and communities in the region.