Ragahd, Eman, Dina, Hatoon, & Rama; Contributing Editors
Mr. John Defterios was the host for the fifth session which was about “The Socio-Economic link: The Double Helix of Life “, he introduced the guests for today after presenting abstract about the main thoughts and topics to be discussed.
Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi was the first speaker. Her speech was brief but comprehensive.
And what was special about her remarks was that she focused on education as a long term solution for many issues that we’re going through. I really praise Sheikha Lubna for participation here (although you might think I am being bias). But as a woman, I have the right to notice this remarkable woman, pay tribute to her effective participation, and be proud of her.
Next was prince Bandar bin Saud ,Chairman of the Executive Board Al-Faisal University, he spoke about his own experience in the education field and asked both private and government sectors to cooperate in financing and supporting the education sector. We hope they will do just that because there will be no economic and social growth without it.
Following was Dr. Soliman Abdel Moniem, (Arab Thought Foundation Secretary General), he compared Internet use between countries, publication of books, number of doctors, and spending on education. He used statistics to support his arguments. His speech lacked the excitement and might not have attracted as much attention as others. I even started to visualize figures revolve around me. But, his contributions of course were notable.
After that we saw a video presentation for the exchange students which included the advantages and disadvantages of education they face in their countries.
Since the effect of morning coffee began to disappear, I am definitely glad for the “teayana” break time .
After a comforting break we returned to the discussion panel moderated by Mr. John and it was about ” Learning : How to Develop Human Capital “ ,which included, Mr. Andreas Schleicher, Head of the Indicators and Analysis Division of the OECD Directorate for Education, Dr. Mona Mourshed, Partner with McKinsey & Company’s Dubai Office, Blair Sheppard, Chair of the Duke CE board of directors and the Dean of the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Dr. Haifa Jamal Allail, Dean of Effat College, and Dr.Ghazi Binzagr, Binzagr Group of Companies. I think they all were talking about the same idea which was about professional teachers and how they can affect the quality of education.
Our last guest for this session was one of my favorite speakers. For those who do not know him well he is a university professor, minister, ambassador, poet, novelist and writer. I hope you know who I am talking about, yes, he is Dr.Ghazi Al-Gosaibi. His presence and his sense of humor had an affective impact on the attendance. And in my opinion he succeeded in attracting attention. In his speech, he mentioned the technical school and how we are doing better than we think, but still are behind in more than we planned. Dr. Ghazi also he thanked Mr. Abdul Al-latif Jameel for his community business programs. I read a lot about Dr. Ghazi and I expected to see a somewhat stronger or more serious character but I was pleasantly surprised to find an example of a tender father in his defense of the Saudi youth and his believe in their capabilities and their potential if they are given the right opportunities.
By that we arrived to the end of the 5th session of JEF, which was a remarkable one.
I think there is one point we’re all agreed on it that economic growth can be achieved only through scientific and social development and building human capacity as a fundamental and important element in the economic equation.
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