Nagla Rizk – On 28 to 29 October 2009 I was in Dubai for the launch of the Arab Knowledge Report 2009 of which I am co-author. The report was originally written in Arabic, and was translated to English, released under the title: Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive Intercommunication for Knowledge. The Report is published by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. The Report authors are: Kamal Abdul Latif, Mouin Hamza, Nagla Rizk, Omar Bizri, Ramzi Salama, and the Report Coordinator is Ghaith Fariz.

Knowledge, freedom and development

At the heart of the Report is the belief in knowledge as a cornerstone for development, indeed, the triad: Knowledge, Freedom and Development are the things we as authors emphasized, arguing that one cannot go without the other. From that entry point, we proceed to look into the enabling environments for boosting Arab knowledge, onto to a closer look at education, information and communication technologies, and innovation as three “sectoral” themes within the study of knowledge production. A concluding chapter sums up our argument, highlighting the need for expanding freedoms – not just economic, but political, social and freedom of thought and expression, as well as developing the proper institutional structures that nurture the production of knowledge and creativity of the mind in the Arab world.

A fundamental argument in the report therefore is the relationship between   knowledge, development and freedom. Starting from Amartya Sen’s “development as freedom”, we adopt a wider definition of freedom, which encompasses freedom of thought and expression, social and political freedoms in addition to economic freedom,  ths which refer to friendly business environments that facilitate doing business. We find that in practice, freedoms have been segmented in the Arab world. While some countries in the region have done well on indicators of economic freedom, many have slacked on indicators of freedom of thought and expression. One country may achieve notable successes in the ease of doing business while its bloggers are arrested. Another may portray improvements in gender empowerment, yet fair poorly on democracy indicators.

A central problematique raised in the report, therefore, is whether freedom can be dissected, meaning, whether a knowledge society can be built on some but not all types of freedoms. We ask, can freedom be segmented? And if so, how sustainable is the knowledge, and henceforth the development, that emanate from such an environment with incomplete freedoms? 

Our answer to the first question is, no, freedom cannot be segmented. Just like knowledge is hard to divide, freedom is an integrated whole, and is needed in its totality in order to develop a knowledge society that acts as an engine for sustainable human development. This answers the second question.

Additionally, within my analysis of freedoms in Chapter 2 of the Report, I have chosen to speak of “freedom of intellectual property”. In that sense, I argue that Arab countries have faired poorly on that front as well. On the one hand, most countries have not benefited from the flexibilities already available within the current global knowledge architecture. On the other hand, by signing to bilateral trade agreements, some countries have actually committed to further restrictions, amounting to a TRIPS-plus situation. In the end, there remains little space for knowledge and technology transfer, adaptation and production in the Arab countries. The next question would be: who transfers, adapts and produces? 

 Arab knowledge capital: A critical challenge

The Arab region lacks the critical mass of skilled human capital able to innovate and lead the region into the future. First, the state of education in the Arab world is far from impressive. Quantitative indicators of educational achievement are problematic, and the quality is questionable, despite the fact that Arab countries have spent 5 percent of GDP and one fifth of their budgets on education over the past 40 years. Adult illiteracy rates remain at a staggering one third of the Arab population, with women constituting two thirds of the 60 million adult Arab illiterates. There are almost 9 million primary school aged children who are out of school, and “female school life expectancy” lags behind their male counterparts. 

Research and innovation represent another hurdle for Arab knowledge. Indeed, innovation is argued by the authors to be the weakest link in the chain of Arab knowledge production. Arab researchers and scientists account for 1.1 percent of global scientific publishing. Low levels of investment in research and development obstruct both the quantitative and qualitative innovation performance within the Arab region. Data reveals that spending on scientific research lay below 0.3 percent of GDP in majority of Arab countries. Worth noting, 97 percent of such spending is funded by Arab governments. Furthermore, the levels of annual expenditures on scientific research per capita do not exceed US$10, compared to US$33 and US $1,304 in Malaysia and Finland, respectively

Arab scientific research institutions are usually affiliated with higher education institutions rather than with production and service sectors. This has led to the creation of a wide gap between education and research as well as economic and social needs, which in turn weakened the impact of innovation and research and limited applicability of its outcomes.

One bright spot for Arab knowledge has been the expansion in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the Arab world. In 2008, technological performance in the Arab states witnessed a remarkable improvement, which surpassed the achievements in different regions. Four Arab countries were listed among the 50 countries in the world most ready for investment in the area of technology. Also, the rise in the number of Arabic users (almost 60 million) of the Internet is the highest among the top 10 languages used on the Internet. Nevertheless, usage rates, in almost all of the Arab states, lay below the global rates of 21 percent of the population.

However, Arab digital content is limited, and more research is needed on the interaction of the Arabic language with technological developments in terms of recognition, voice reproduction and semantics. The required investment in ICT for the region as a whole may outweigh the available resources of any one Arab country. Overcoming the scarcity in resources requires cooperation between relevant institutions within the region as well as partnerships between Arab states and international organizations.

Whether in education, innovation or ICT content, the suppression of freedoms will continue to act as a hurdle obstructing the expansion of Arab knowledge content.  Modest as it is, Arab indigenous intellectual capacity will only thrive in an environment of freedom of thought, expression and participation, along with expanding other social, cultural and economic freedoms. This is a prerequisite for developing an Arab Knowledge Society.

Gaps yet hope and a road map: Towards building an Arab knowledge society

The Report recognizes the presence of a knowledge gap between the region and the rest of the world, and indeed between different countries of the region. We conclude with a hopeful note that this gap can be overcome, with a proposed vision for building the Arab knowledge society. Three foundations of this vision are provided: First, broadening the scope of freedom is a must, considering freedoms as an integrated whole. Second is the positive interaction with the developmental needs of society. Third, openness and intercommunication are instrumental for participation in the global knowledge revolution.

Within that, we identify three main axes for further action. First axis relates to the creation of the enabling environments, expanding freedoms and strengthening the institutional structures that support the production of knowledge. The second axis highlights the importance of the transfer and indigenization of knowledge. We recognize that transfer of knowledge should be accompanied with tailoring and adaptation of knowledge to the Arab context. The development of the Arabic language, the revitalization of Arab thought, and the adoption of the historical and comparative pre-requisites of modern thought are necessary conditions for of indigenization and capitalization on the achievements of the knowledge society. Additionally, the process of indigenization requires the establishment of new social structures and, material resources as well as new skills and new patterns of labor.

The third axis calls for the deployment of knowledge where new acquired knowledge is applied to production and progress in society. This in turn will positively impact Arab social development and increase the participation of different social groups including youth. The deployment of new knowledge is necessary for engaging Arab countries in the new global economy.

Finally, we recommend developing an Arab knowledge index, which would not be restricted by imposed methodologies; rather, it would be more suited to the realities of the region. This is a research project in and by itself.