Dubai: A second edition of the Arab Knowledge Index released at the Knowledge Summit continues to offer a reliable roadmap to the future for all sectors taking next steps, said officials on the final day of the three-day conference on Wednesday.
The new index offers glimpses of trends in education, economy as well as research, development and innovation that help decision-makers in 22 Arab countries tackle challenges.
But despite yet another Herculean effort by an index core team formed by Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), team members, speaking during a panel discussion, said that there are still wide gaps of data they will work to close in the years to come.
The Arab Knowledge Index 2016 was released as a companion document to the latest Arab Reading Index which found that Arabs are avid readers in a survey of 148,000 respondents across 22 Arab countries.
This year’s index includes six sectoral indices such as Pre-University Education, Technical Vocational Education and Training, Higher Education, Information and Communications Technology, Economy, and Research, Development and Innovation.
It includes 360 variables on knowledge and development in the Arab region.
Professor Dr Najoua Ghriss, Professor of Higher Institute of Education and Continuous Training in Tunisia, worked on the index team led by Dr Hani Torky, a UNDP chief technical adviser.
The knowledge index is important, she said, “so that we are not dependent only on international data”.
To access the Arab Knowledge Index, log on to www.knowledge4all.com
Library on track
Meanwhile, Hussain Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality, informed delegates in a separate panel that planning is well under way to construct the book-shaped Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library set for completion in 2018 in Dubai.
Announced as part of the Arab Reading Challenge this year, the proposed new 66,000-square metre facility, Lootah said, will house one of the largest collections in the world.
The facility to be built in Al Jaddaf will house millions of books, as well as audio and visual books for visitors, he said.
“This will be indeed a specialised library that will send informaton to recipients in the fastest way possible,” Lootah said.
Not only will the modern library be a massive electronic storehouse of knowledge to be availed of by generations to come, Lootah said the repository will also serve to preserve the culture of the UAE like no other.
