Education minister attends the 5th Annual Arab World Conference

HE Saad bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council gave the keynote welcome speech at the Harvard Arab Alumni Association’s fifth annual Arab World Conference held at the W Hotel on Thursday April 22, 2010, which was held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned.

The fifth in a series of annual Arab World Conferences of the Harvard Arab Alumni Association (HAAA), Transforming the Arab World: New Perspectives on Modernity, Culture, and Change” is expected to be the most successful of the series to date. The 2010 Doha conference aims at harnessing the potential of diverse groups of Harvard alumni living in the region in order to identify innovative trends and successful strategies that pertain to the globalizing sectors of business, culture, education, health, and media in the Arab world.

In his welcoming speech, HE Al Mahmoud discussed the importance of education reform in a globalized economy reiterating that education was a right for all and not a gift that can be granted or denied.

He spoke of the seven key elements to building an educational system that is capable of self-renewal. These include a clear and common vision that integrates international best practices while maintaining cultural identities and values; commitment to research and development; belief that all students have the right to obtain high quality education that prepares them for life long experiences; commitment to the highest standards of academic achievement and social development; school and individual capabilities to be reflected in practice; self-evaluation; training and professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders and; commitment to partnerships among parents, school, community and business and industries.

Several speakers presented critical issues and processes concerning the region such as “Islamizing” finance, “modernizing” women, “reforming” education, “globalizing” culture, “democratizing” media and “privatizing” healthcare.

The conference brings together Harvard scholars, distinguished Arab intellectuals, leading policy makers and prominent figures in the business community. In addition to providing an opportunity to learn about key trends taking place in the Arab world, the conference provides participants with an opportunity to discover Doha, meet Harvard faculty and researchers, and network with other Arab alumni of leading educational institutions such as Georgetown, Columbia, Yale, Stanford, The London School of Economics, among others.

The Harvard Arab Alumni Association was established in 2001 to pursue four objectives: provide a network for Harvard alumni with an interest in the Arab world; provide a forum for dialogue of all issues of interest to the membership to discuss important issues facing the Arab world; organize and sponsor educational initiatives of importance to the Arab world and; strengthen ties between Harvard University and the Arab world.