Arab, Turkish intellectuals say education should keep up with globalisation

AMMAN — Participants at the fourth Arab-Turkish Congress of Social Sciences on Tuesday called for activating Arab-Turkish ties in all areas, especially those pertaining to education, development and the economy.

During the closing ceremony — attended by HRH Prince Hassan, president of the Arab Thought Forum (ATF) — they stressed the need for education to meet the requirements of globalisation, while protecting national identities, social cohesion and dialogue in order to combat the roots of terrorism and extremism.

Participants also called for furthering Arab-Turkish cultural exchange, developing the role of civil society organisations and establishing educational centres and projects aimed at addressing the shortage in information.

Developing human capital, both socially and culturally, was also among the recommendations of the congress.

Addressing participants, Prince Hassan said strategic thinking should be supported by scientific research and called for focusing on efficiency to nurture creativity in the field of scientific research to come up with solutions for the economic and social sectors.

The decline in the quality of education and knowledge requires cooperation with neighbours such as Turkey, Iran and Europe, through multilateral dialogue, he said, noting that the decline in the quality of education means a quality decline in the social discourse.

Education nowadays depends on individuals, which has led to brain drain from the Arab world, the prince pointed out, citing remarks he hears during his meetings with foreign officials who say they have “managed to claim the finest of our youth”.

In light of the fierce competition between countries to reach good growth rates, Prince Hassan called for teaching critical thinking skills.

The prince noted that Turkey has turned to supporting vocational or polytechnic education, while Arabs have not changed their perception about this field of study.

He called for addressing the “difficult triangle” of energy, technology and the environment.

The prince wondered why there is no global zakat fund as zakat, an Islamic tax on income, “is a tool to enhance security”.

Calling for protecting the religious sphere from attacks, especially those targeting Jerusalem, Prince Hassan noted that Western culture dominates the world’s habits, traditions and scientific and human sciences.

For his part, ATF Vice President Taher Masri voiced the forum’s commitment to cooperating with Turkey and Arab countries to bolster efforts geared towards fighting terrorism.

He stressed the political role Turkey can play in the recovery of the Arab world.

Jawad Anani, a member of the ATF, underlined the need to overcome young people’s sense of marginalisation, which cost Arab countries around $50 billion in brain drain.

“The cost Jordan has paid due to the mass exodus of brains in 1982 was $16 billion,” he indicated.

The conference was organised by ATF, the Turkish Institute of Strategic Thinking and the University of Petra, in cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency and the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation.

Around 100 Arab and Turkish experts, intellectuals, researchers and officials took part in the event, during which they held 14 workshops.