I had the honor of working with the Al-Aghar Group’s think-tank team to formulate a strategy for the establishment of a knowledge-based society to be submitted to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. The Al-Aghar team, comprising 300 Saudi men and women, who are inspired by their sense of commitment and imbibed with the spirit of Shariah, is convinced of the need to invest the country’s vast resources to construct, by 2022, a society that has skills and is internationally competitive.
The society should be characterized with a sense of sustainable growth through people working in an environment of advanced technology and equipped with a state-of-the-art infrastructure aimed at achieving a high standard of living, while holding on to the Shariah and sublime Islamic values. The building of a knowledge-based society should be based on logical thinking and educational development with special stress on the development of human resources. It should also have due regard for one’s soul as an ideological value. It should also guarantee the future of coming generations through investment, so that they have absolute mastery of professional skills, and industrial and intellectual activities.
The Kingdom’s rapid progress is imperative if it is not to be marginalized by the rest of the world and left incapable of catching up with the fast moving world driven by strong competition. The Kingdom has no choice but to take giant strides to achieve its objectives and reduce the yawning gap between it and other advanced nations. However, special care should be taken so that the Kingdom’s development does not alienate it from its religious values.
The Kingdom should also benefit from the vast talent potential of the outside world, including other Muslim countries, and set up an international knowledge society and a world center for knowledge capital. Of course, there are several establishments making such efforts, and coordinating with them under a comprehensive umbrella would be a matter of great help for the Kingdom in its march to achieving its goal.
The Kingdom is, apparently, facing several international and regional challenges and threats, which make it absolutely necessary to immediately begin constructing a society of knowledge economy. It is under these circumstances that the think tank’s report laid down a set of strategic initiatives guaranteeing quick results. Seven work groups are striving to implement these initiatives with mechanisms based on a logic framework and suitable action plans.
Even before and after the laying of the foundation stone for KAUST, the government allocated SR13 billion for technical and professional education, including training in military technology; SR9 billion for education development and over SR4 billion to establish a system of e-governance. As a result, more and more universities and colleges have been established across the Kingdom. Saudi universities, particularly the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dammam and the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, have beefed up their activities in the development of a knowledge economy. The King Saud University has also embarked on bold activities. The determination of the government to develop the knowledge base of its citizens is also visible in the recent budget allocation of around SR8 billion for the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.
King Abdullah’s declaration to donate $300 million for research studies in the energy sector at the third conference of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also signifies his conviction that research and development is the way forward if the Kingdom wants to make rapid strides to join progress and participate in the construction of the next generation besides making our own contributions to the fast developing world. At the Arab League summit in Riyadh last March, Saudi Arabia also stressed the importance of investing in education, intellect, culture, technology and research in the member countries.
The Aghar Group is supporting the first conference organized by the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association under the logo “Toward a Knowledge Economy” in Jeddah on Jan. 12 and 13. The conference is aimed at introducing, promoting and highlighting ways of building a viable and vibrant knowledge-based economy in the region.
The conference also seeks to explore ways to implement strategies for the development of future generations and will seek to enlighten the private and public sectors on the concept of the knowledge economy from the experience of other countries that have already adopted the knowledge economy. The conference will conduct technical dialogue between new investors, entrepreneurs, experts and people with creative ideas. The meeting will also explore avenues to develop initiatives and inventiveness besides pioneering moves to open new windows in the sphere of hydrocarbon, education, health, energy, desalination, information, telecommunication, tourism and real estate development etc.
The future is the continuation of what we achieve today. Today is the only occasion to learn from the errors of yesterday. With the bounties granted to us by Almighty Allah and the support of a sincere and understanding leadership, we have no excuse for not discharging our duties. There is no excuse to shirk away from exploiting the opportunity to hurry our steps forward by investing in manpower and achieving our hope to build a productive and internationally competitive knowledge-based society.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Faisal ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Saud
Quelle/Source: Arab News, 09.01.2008
