CAIRO] Arab universities are being urged to make their research more accessible by placing information about it — including summaries of research projects and any results to emerge from them — on easily searchable electronic databases.

The calls were made at a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month, which brought together scientists, technologists, policy makers and economists from across the region. The meeting also heard proposals that a regional database could be built up from a purely national database already established in Saudi Arabia.

At present, three-quarters of Arab universities libraries do not have databases about their research, and most of the databases that do exist are in English, not Arabic.

Reima ljarf, professor of English language translation and online learning at King Saud University in Riyadh, suggested that all Arab universities and research centres should develop electronic records providing details of their research. New research projects should be indexed, and information about them stored in databases on a regular basis, she said.

The increased availability of easily searchable electronic resources would not only give researchers access to a wide range of up-to-date information about the activities of their colleagues in the region, but would increase research productivity, added Ljarf.

At present, foreign universities with branches in the region, such as the University of Columbia in Sudan and the American University of Cairo and Beirut, host many more databases than Arab institutions, she said.

Jamal Al-Fesealy of the King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) in Riyadh, reported that the Gulf states — Bahrain Kingdom, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — are being asked to join the Saudi Research Database to help solve the problem of the lack Arab electronic databases.

The database, which contains abstracts of research projects and CVs of Saudi Arabian researchers, was launched by KACST in August 2003. The information contained in the database is available to anyone who has completed a free registration process.

So far, about 1,500 abstracts have been entered into the database in medicine, engineering, agriculture, basic sciences, and humanities. It also contains details of about 12,500 Saudi researchers.

Al-Fesealy said that if more countries join the database, it could become a gateway through which Arab researchers in all fields could share from their experiences, providing a world-class research database vital for the promotion of science and technology in Arab countries.

WOW its tommorow :D

As a result of the adoption of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in November 2001, the General Assembly of the United Nations has proclaimed 21 May as World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The Day provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of the values of Cultural Diversity, and to learn to live together better, both within and among nations. Hence, UNESCO appeals to its Member States, as well as to all civil society to celebrate this World Day by involving as many actors and partners as possible. UNESCO believes this to be particularly important in the case of youth, who are more open and flexible to cultural differences but at the same time quite vulnerable to negative influences such as cultural prejudice and xenophobia, if not properly guided by society.
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php@URL_ID=12508&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy yesterday urged Arab countries not to ignore youth issues as they tackle economic and political reform, since 60 percent of the regional population is under age 20 and nearly half is under age 15.

"This is a region with a youth bulge," Bellamy said in Amman, Jordan, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. "These are your future workers, these are your future consumers, these are your future participants in the society."

Arab countries risk turning their youth into a "liability" if they fail to invest in primary health and education, she added.

Turning to Iraq, Bellamy said the situation there "has fallen harshly on everyone, and probably more harshly on women and girls than anyone else at this point."

"Fewer girls than boys returned to school" since the war in Iraq ended last May, she said, and "many women are not going out to work because they don't have jobs or because they are afraid of violence these days" (Agence France-Presse, May 17).

Do u think this fair ??????
don't you think that killing forgeine Armies is so Justified now ????? ofcourse revenge now is the only way for protection now. is every one going to wait looking on that without moveing. I am really shoked why our leaders didnt do any single move till now, and by the way i really belive we are coming next? as Seria is coming next too , till when will we keep idiots like Bush do that in our families ??? and for muslims like us. is that justified ? is that the freedom they were talking about ?


http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=2444
http://antiwar.com/

In a Middle East where war fills the daily headlines, many news editors and television producers tend to put science on the back burner. But in a rapidly developing world — where many Middle Eastern countries continue to suffer from drought, hunger and disease — science offers solutions to many problems.

In this article, Nadia El-Awady reports on a workshop of science journalists from across the region, who met last week in Cairo to discuss the problems they face in their field of work. Participants identified bureaucracy, the lack of an agreed 'scientific language' and poor access to scientific research taking place in the region as just some of the challenges.

The meeting concluded with the creation of a provisional network of Arab science journalists that will aim to provide its members with training, skills and contacts, as well as promote the coverage of scientific issues from a development perspective. The Tunisian Press Syndicate will host the network in its preliminary stages, with members communicating via an online discussion group

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2004/05/article01.shtml