Speech

His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb,

CEO, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Knowledge Foundation (MBRF)

Press Conference /Official Launch:

The Global Knowledge Index

  • Date: Monday, June 19, 2017
  • Time: 11.00 am
  • Venue: MBRF Headquarters – Dubai World Trade

Centre, Rashid Tower

Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to begin by welcoming all of you to today’s press conference, where we will beushering in a new erafor the knowledge industry.We are gathered here today to launch the Global Knowledge Index, in collaboration with our partners at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Knowledge recognises no borders; it is not limited to specific peoples or nations. With that in mind, it becomes ever so important that we embrace globalisationand be fully engaged with what is happening in the world around us – especially, the rapidly accelerating knowledge revolution.

Since its inception, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, guidedby its Chairman, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has sought to launch and promote initiatives and projects that benefit society at large. Our initiativespave new paths for productive intellectual and cultural exchange, whichhelp build sustainable knowledge economies that reflect the vision of our wise leadership.

We have secured and emboldened this role by forgingthis partnership with the United Nations Development Program. The results have far exceeded all expectations; for the first time, the Arab Knowledge Project gave usdedicated indexes for accurately measuring knowledge and reading levels in the region. This data forms solid ground for us to explore new ways to produce, localise, and disseminate knowledge.This is the cornerstone of the progress and development of nations.

Thesetools have created a competitive environment that entices governments and authorities to launch more programmes and initiatives that spread knowledge, and bring us closer to our goal of transitioning from a consumer to a knowledge economy. They also act as an objective, scientific tool that measures knowledge in the Arab world, and providesaccurate data to support decision makers, experts, and researchers.

Ladies and gentlemen of the audience,

Today, we take our mission one step forward. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation is announcing yet another tool to flag opportunities and identify the challenges facing the Arab world – this time, however, the new tool measures them against those facing countries all around the world.

In cooperation with United Nations Development Program, we are here to launch the Global Knowledge Index, which can gauge knowledge across more than 140 countries around the world.

MBRF and UNDP will set up a cross-continental team of experts and specialists to oversee the new index, and to ensure that it operates along a well-researched methodology. The new tool covers a diverse spectrum of sectors, including higher education; pre-university education; technical/vocational training and continued education; information and communication technology; scientific research and innovation; and, finally, economics.

We hope that the Global Knowledge Index will contribute to economic and social development strategies around the world, enrich the knowledge movement,and serve as a roadmap for the sustainable development of human societies.

I shall now leave you with my colleagues from the UNDP, who have prepared a detailed presentationrevealing the intricate mechanisms and specifications of the Global Knowledge Index.

Thank you.