DOHA - The three-day regional conference for the Arab states on Mid-Term Review for Education for All (MTR-EFA) was opened at Ritz-Carlton in the presence of
H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, here yesterday.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening session, The Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah said education is the key tool to face the challenges posed by the fast changing world.
"Education is a key instrument in strengthening mutual cooperation. Hence civil societies have to play a pro-active role in the education sector", he said.
Abdullah bin Hamad who stressed the need for Arab nations engaging in frequent dialogues on improving quality of education said quality education plays a critical role in the labour market.
"Qatar's development vision is largely based on quality education. We want our people to face the changing world's challenges with innovative education. We believe it is important for the country's progress that our people must have exposure to the innovations in all sectors, including education, science and technology and industry", Abdullah bin Hamad said.
Abdullah bin Hamad called for placing the 'education for all' programme in its social and political context to ensure that education is meeting both the academic and the modern labour market pre-requisites.
Addressing the session, Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Vice-President of Qatar Foundation, said Qatar, being the emerging educational hub of the Middle Eastern region, is very conscious of its responsibility to engage the less fortunate in the education sector.
"We are eager to make Qatar an even more active participant in the export of education to all those who are able to benefit from it. One topic in which we are particularly interested currently is education in conflict zones, where so much valuable human potential is being tragically wasted," Dr Abdulla said.
The inaugural session was attended by education ministers from various Arab countries and several educational experts.
The EFA initiative was launched by the UNESCO in 2000, when participants of the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, endorsed a comprehensive vision of education, based on human rights, to secure education for people at all ages and to make education accessible to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged.
© The Peninsula 2008
