Qatar has urged Arab universities to help build Arabic-language artificial intelligence, as a Unesco conference in Doha heard that 95% of university campuses in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.
Minister of Education and Higher Education Her Excellency Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed AlKhater made the call at the inaugural session of the 5th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco ) Conference on Higher Education in the Arab Countries, which opened Monday in Doha.
The two-day conference, themed “The New Learning Landscape in Higher Education in the Arab Region,” brings together experts in education and policymaking.
“Higher education is changing rapidly, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence and digital technologies. Over the past two decades, our universities have made significant strides in expanding access, developing their academic and research institutions and achieving gender parity in higher education enrolment,” said the minister.
The opening ceremony was attended by His Excellency Dr Nasser bin Hamad al-Hinzab, chairperson of Unesco’s Executive Board and Permanent Representative of Qatar to Unesco, and Salah Khaled, director of the Unesco Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen in Doha. Also present were a large number of academics, experts, decision-makers and representatives of universities, as well as regional and international organisations.
The minister highlighted that regional co-operation is essential to building stronger, more inclusive higher education systems.
However, she noted that progress has not erased persistent disparities among Arab universities, which continue to grapple with funding constraints, talent retention and disruption to education in several Arab countries, foremost among them Palestine, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.
AlKhater pointed out: “Unesco estimates indicate that 95% of university campuses in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, with 22 completely destroyed. In Sudan, 124 universities and colleges have been destroyed or looted, in addition to the difficulties facing Yemen.”
“This means the loss of scientific and intellectual wealth built by academics and researchers over decades. It is part of our shared Arab scientific memory. We have a duty to contribute to its preservation by providing opportunities to continue studies, hosting affected researchers, and establishing partnerships that safeguard the continuity of education and research,” continued the minister.
The minister said one of the most prominent developments confronting Arab universities today is artificial intelligence, whose impact has reached the core of their mission, from the production and evaluation of knowledge to what it means to be a qualified graduate equipped with the necessary skills.
“This means that the rules governing the use of these technologies are still being formulated, and the door remains open for our Arab universities to become partners in this process. It is not enough for modern technologies to communicate with us in Arabic; our language must be present in their foundations and development,” underlined the minister.
AlKhater noted that Qatar’s Fanar initiative is one model that has promoted the Arabic language. “One initiative in this direction is Fanar, a model developed by the Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad bin Khalifa University in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. A number of universities and higher education institutions in Qatar and across the Arab world have begun using this model,” she explained.
“We therefore call on our Arab universities and higher education institutions to embrace Arabic-based models and contribute to their development, so that they may become a shared Arab project that strengthens the presence of our language in the future of education and knowledge production,” urged the minister.
“This conference also marks the launch of the Arabic version of Unesco ’s Roadmap for Transforming Higher Education. We hope the discussions will help shape shared Arab priorities beyond 2030, based on protecting knowledge, producing it and ensuring equitable access to opportunities,” concluded the minister.
