At Middle East’s first ‘Belief in Dialogue’ conference:
Ihsanoglu calls for higher education reform, stresses priority of S&T Sharjah, UAE – In his speech at the opening session of the three-day long Conference on ‘Belief in Dialogue: Science, Culture and Modernity’ at the American University of Sharjah on 21 June 2011, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stated that the OIC encourages development of science and technology (S&T) based on the premise that OIC Member States are committed to become a community that values knowledge and is competent in utilizing and advancing S&T to enhance socio-economic wellbeing of the Muslim world. He declared that the OIC General Secretariat and OIC institutions have made advances in the fields of S&T and Higher Education in the last five years and have moved closer to the targets set by the OIC for Vision 1441H for S&T. He stated the number of scientific publications in the OIC Member States has more than tripled from 18,391 publications in the year 2000 to 63,342 in 2009, whereby Turkey alone produced more than 25,000 scientific publications in 2009. He said the OIC Member States’ research and development (R&D) spending has, on average, doubled from 0.2% of the GDP to 0.41% in 2005. He emphasized that the leading countries of the OIC should increase the R&D expenditures up to 1% of their GDPs. In his speech, titled “Modernity, Civilization and Science in the Islamic-European Civilizational Dialogue”, the Secretary General expressed the need to reform higher education sector and stressed that priority should be given to S&T with emphasis on the tolerant and moderate understanding of the religion of Islam. He reiterated his call for the OIC Member States to strive for quality education that promotes creativity and innovation, and to increase their expenditure on R&D, considering that Islam and science have had a remarkably harmonious relationship over the centuries. Ihsanoglu gave an account of Muslims’ meritorious contributions to scientific and technological achievements and their quest for advancement. He noted that Muslim scholars developed new disciplines, enriched and enlightened Europe, Asia and Africa in various fields of scientific and intellectual pursuits, including mathematics, astronomy, optics, medicine, chemistry, philosophy, theology, law and diplomacy as they added to the old knowledge, corrected many concepts and brought in many innovative contributions, developing a genuine scientific approach, and introduced experimental methodology to the world through new sciences and technologies.
He underlined that with the advent of the 21st century, the importance of scientific enterprise became more prominent and the need for excellence in research is felt in more advanced Muslim countries. The ‘Science, Culture and Modernity’ conference was organized by the British Council in conjunction with American University of Sharjah (AUS) and held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder and President of AUS. Dr. Peter Heath, Chancellor of American University of Sharjah, speaking at the opening ceremony said, “It is an essential part of the mission of AUS, as with any great university, to offer opportunities for its own community and for members of the general public to consider, discuss, and investigate the great issues of the day." Patrick Brazier, Regional Director (MENA) of British Council, addressed the opening ceremony on behalf of the British Council, “It is important that the discussions that take place here in Sharjah do not end here. That is why we at the British Council, with our international networks, are committed to ensure that the dialogue continues.” “We will be running further events in different places around the world. And with our partners from the BBC World Service, we will be making sure that the conversations continue, over the airwaves and over the internet.” The themes and issues discussed over three days all addressed the intersection of science, religion, ethics, public policy and the extent to which the development and accumulation of more knowledge about these topics will promote common cause amidst diversity or simply fan the flames of disagreement and division,” he added. Over 40 of the world’s leading thinkers from across 10 countries have convened at the AUS Conference, which is part of the British Council’s global ‘Belief in Dialogue’ program. ‘Belief in Dialogue’ is a new British Council program which will explore how people in the UK and globally can live peacefully with diversity and difference in an increasing pluralistic world. Currently in its development phase, the program will consist of a number of activities based on dialogue, widening participation and engagement with policy makers, opinion formers, thought leaders and the wider public worldwide. The aim is to build global awareness and understanding between diverse communities which enables greater appreciation of the value of living with difference.
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