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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters What Egypt needs for new millennium
By Gamal Nkrumah
As we stand on the brink of the new millennium the world is being transformed beyond recognition. Breakthrough technologies in microelectronics, inconceivable advances in biotechnologies, the marvels of genetic engineering are unfolding at lightning speed. Computer software and gene therapy are reshaping our world. But, how is Egypt preparing itself for the 21st century?
Ismail Serageldin
That question is precisely the topic under discussion at a growing number of seminars around the country and in academic and intellectual circles. Last Sunday, World Bank vice president for special programmes, Ismail Serageldin, addressed the critical issue of why and how nations must adapt themselves to the new knowledge-based global economy at a seminar which took place in the Mubarak Public Library, Giza. Ambassador Abdel-Raouf El-Ridi chaired the well-attended seminar.
Serageldin is running as an independent candidate for the post of director-general of UNESCO to succeed Federico Mayor who completes his second and final term in 1999.
Serageldin emphasised that the various cultures of the world must adapt to take account of the rapid technological developments. Social changes and the transformation of the educational systems to enable youngsters to cope with the new knowledge-based economy is essential. Serageldin said that he believed that predominantly Muslim cultures, like that of Egypt, can easily adapt to the new knowledge-based economy. He explained that the Islamic heritage laid much emphasis on education and learning and free thinking. The injunction of Prophet Mohamed to seek knowledge even if it is from as far away as China symbolised the spirit of the religion. He regretted that some Islamist groups now call for retrogression and are closing Muslim societies to new technological developments.
Serageldin regretted that fears are voiced about biotechnology and restrictions are imposed on the invention and use of new biotech industries and research on genetically modifying plants, animals and human beings. "Yes, there is the need for safety restrictions in certain instances, but we cannot say 'We cannot learn about that, it is too dangerous. We cannot use that; there are too many risks, too many unknowns.' Ethics and genetics are two separate issues that are not necessarily always contradictory," Serageldin said. He pointed out that the Arabs after Islam pioneered the translation of the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and thinkers into the Arabic language. It was through Arabic translations of such works that the European enlightenment was made possible. Serageldin stressed that a major prerequisite for the flowering of learning and laying the foundations of the knowledge-based economy was tolerance, democracy and a respect for human rights. "Pluralism must be coupled with tolerance and respect of the others," he said.
Serageldin said that the world is changing fast and it is up to us to catch up with these changes. He warned that we must act fast and start by asking ourselves some pertinent questions: Is Egypt's current educational system producing a generation that could cope with the new knowledge-based economy? Is our current culture and social organisation capable of absorbing these far-reaching global changes?
Serageldin also pointed out that one of the features of the knowledge-based economy is the widening gap between rich and poor both within the same countries and between rich and poor countries. He gave the example of the fact that the richest 15 Americans collectively own more than the combined wealth of the entire population of Sub-Saharan Africa -- over 700 million.
Gross inequalities in wealth and access to knowledge are among the most disturbing features of the new knowledge-based global economy.
The poor are excluded from the knowledge-based economy and are marginalised further. Two-thirds of internet hosts are in the US. It is indicative of this new age that the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, is a computer magnate.
"There is no development without peace. Most of the world's contemporary wars take place within the borders of a single country. But as long as gross inequalities of income remain there is little chance for lasting peace," Serageldin said.
