UN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY TEAMS UP WITH ARAB FOUNDATION TO BOOST KNOWLEDGE

UN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY TEAMS UP WITH ARAB FOUNDATION TO BOOST KNOWLEDGE
New York, Nov 8 2007 8:00AM
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the largest private foundation in the Arab world, have signed an agreement paving the way for activities aimed at promoting knowledge in the region.

The $20 million agreement signed last month will span five years and includes support for "quality assessment of higher education in the Arab World," UNDP said in a news release. It will also fund publication of the Arab Knowledge Report, which the agency called "a policy and advocacy tool examining the state of knowledge in the Arab Region."

"The Arab world is in dire need to revisit the 'knowledge' concept, and to embrace the knowledge economy as the only path to success through the challenges of the third millennium," said Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, Regional Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab States.

The Arab Knowledge Report will follow the publication of UNDP's Arab Human Development Report 2003: Building a Knowledge Society, which stressed the need for Arab governments to "close a growing knowledge gap by enabling innovation and investing heavily in education," the agency said.

The agreement is the first partnership between UNDP and a private foundation in the region.

2007-11-08 00:00:00.000

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