Sheikha Mozah: Education A Must for Just Society

posted: 3/20/2005
Source ::: QNA

LONDON: Education is not only the right of every citizen but also a pillar of a developed and just society, said Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missnad, wife of the Emir and President of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Addressing a lecture at the Oxford Islamic Studies Centre on ‘Globalising education and educating the globe: The case for human development and education in Arab societies’, Sheikha Mozah said Qatar recognises the power of education in stimulating a genuine cultural, social and political awakening. Sheikha Mozah’s lecture focused on the benefits of globalisation, human development in Arab societies. She shed light on education, good governance, diversity and traditions in an era where people meet and exchange ideologies, commodities and culture.


Sheikha Mozah said: “Qatar began a series of educational reforms in 1995. The principles of collaboration, respect for others, and popular participation have been the impetus to changes in all levels of our educational structure. We have forged international alliances with established institutions. We have revived our forgotten traditions of dialogue and openness. We have encouraged the private sector to invest in education and stimulate competition between schools and colleges to improve their standards, and offer choices to our students. In Qatar, we are bringing institutions to our region, rather than sending our people outside. Our mission is to build a culture of quality within our region so we can benefit from brain gain rather than suffer from brain drain.”


Sheikha Mozah further said: “We believe in opening up to the knowledge and the cultures of others, tolerating and respecting our differences, while nurturing our similarities and we know that our citizens, indeed all global citizens, require self-confidence to do this. Self-confidence is the essence of tolerance and openness and a strong and dynamic education provides the foundation for tolerance. Only when we respect ourselves and others can we expand our minds beyond the borders of our countries. In Qatar, we hope to inspire such self confidence in our citizens. We envision that every Qatari will perceive himself as both a Qatari and as a global citizen.”


Sheikha Mozah said: “In Qatar we have tried to address these issues. We have set up national research and advocacy organisations to promote the study of family policy. We agree that families need to be more balanced and the rights of children considered thoroughly. Authoritarian methods of decision-making and control need to be discarded and legislation put in place to protect family members from abuse. The rights of women and children in the family especially need to be protected.”


Sheikha Mozah went on to say: “A good education prepares people to be citizens. Qatar has a highly educated population. Our illiteracy rate has declined steadily and over 70 per cent of those enrolled in post secondary institutions in Qatar are women. Yet, we have learned that education alone does not inspire citizens to participate in their country’s development. Citizens need to be inspired with proper venues of participation and this is why genuine political reform must be connected to educational reform.


“In Qatar we have tried to achieve this balance between education and democratic participation by political reforms that are parallel to our educational reforms. Our permanent Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, academic freedom, the right of citizens to establish civic and professional associations, and the right to assemble. Yet instituting a constitution is not enough. Shortly, we will implement a parliamentary system of government where two-thirds of the parliament will be elected. We are actively encouraging the growth of civic organisations, and the growth of private investment in education and technology. We are building the values necessary for a culture of quality.”


Sheikha Mozah said: “A strong civil society allows citizens to express this diversity within a unified framework. As we develop our societies, we must value our indigenous cultures, build upon our similarities and value our differences. Without a civic society there can be no citizens, no democracy. Yet, a dialogue between civilisations is not enough. We must be diligent in defining our own indexes of human development in tune with our culture, traditions and religions. All of this progress must be intricately tied with the Islamic values that are inherent in our societies and the promotion of a deeper understanding of Islamic principles, both inside and outside our own nations, is a huge responsibility for Muslims today. Further, Islamic and western civilisations have never been separate but have always been deeply intertwine.”


Sheikha Mozah said in her lecture: “Education promotes a hunger for knowing, and in this way it nurtures unity between diverse societies. In short, I believe, education can become a global force to build strong civic societies across the world in which citizens communicate and share their common human experiences, it can be the impetus that redirects the globalisation process from its current economic objective to a more humane and moral agenda.”