MBRF, UNDP promote Global Knowledge Index

Dubai / Emirates Business

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised workshops and meetings in Singapore, the first stop in a series to be held around the world to promote the Global Knowledge Index as a tool for sustainable development and the betterment of society.
The main objective from these activities was to promote constructive dialogue, raise awareness and informing the public and stakeholders about the key aspects and features of the Index, as well as its expected outcomes and the importance of connection between knowledge and development. The workshops target students, teachers, academics, researchers, media personnel, and decision makers. The initiative was launched in Egypt where Knowledge Week was held in March, drawing 2,100 participants.

To that end, a joint delegation bringing together representatives from both organisations will be meeting with officials from the five countries that topped the Global Knowledge Index, in order to introduce the Index and discuss its findings. The first stop was Singapore, which is ranked the second on the Index among 131 countries.
The delegation included MBRF’s CEO His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb and Dr. Hany Tokry, Chief Technical Advisor of the Knowledge Project, along with representatives from the Foundation and the advisory board for the Global Knowledge Index and the advisory committee for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award. The meetings kicked off from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore, where the delegation met with the Department of International Organisations to discuss the Index and Singapore’s performance, as well as means to increase cooperation between both parties. The delegation then met with the National University of Singapore, during which the performance of Singapore in the index was presented and the two sides discussed possible ways of cooperation.
H.E. bin Huwaireb reiterated the Foundation’s commitment to expanding the scope of the Global Knowledge Index in terms of beneficiaries, by sharing and discussing its findings with relevant entities and decision makers around the world. This, in turn, fuels the sustainable development of societies, increasing awareness of the challenges inhibiting the production and dissemination of knowledge.
For his part, Dr. Hany Torkyy noted, “These meetings raise awareness around the importance of knowledge and knowledge-based sustainable development policies. They are part of the Global Knowledge Index team’s agenda, which is chock full of activities to connect with statistics offices and ministries of education around the world. This will allow us to identify the opportunities and challenges that knowledge faces in each individual society, as well as the best solutions to address them.”
The workshops target students, teachers, academics, researchers, media personnel, and decision makers. The initiative was launched in Egypt where Knowledge Week was held in March 2018, drawing 2,100 participants. It was followed by Knowledge Week Jordan with more than 500 attendees from various ministries, media professionals, researchers, university students and professors, and representatives from several private companies.