Inspiring reform
Domestically driven regional reform tops the agenda at a conference organised by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, writes Ibrahim Nafie
Everyone seems to be talking about reform, in the Arab world and elsewhere in the Third World. Seminars and conferences beneath the banner of reform are regularly held in Arab and Third World capitals and increasingly numerous and diverse parties are climbing on board with demands to place their ideas on the agendas.
Such widespread concern for reform is a healthy phenomenon. That intellectuals, politicians and specialists should get together to diagnose our problems and propose solutions is, in itself, of great benefit. However, before proceeding further in this discussion there are certain points that need to be stressed.
Firstly, reform is a comprehensive process that should embrace the political and economic as well as the social and cultural domains. Therefore, any discussion of a particular area of reform must simultaneously bear in mind how this will impact on other domains.
Reform must be a structured process, one that starts with a precise diagnosis of current conditions and then proceeds to draw up the necessary plans on the basis of the findings. Reforms must be phased in accordance with reasonable time frames, which are neither so long that the reform process stagnates nor so short that measures are given insufficient time to take root.
Any reform process must observe the cultural specificities of the target country, i.e. the process must emanate from within that society. At the same time the seriousness with which we treat questions of cultural specificity cannot be overstated. Such a potentially thorny issue compels the highest degrees of both courage and patriotism. The legacy of our civilisation provide the incentive for reform, not an excuse for obstructing it.
The onus of reform cannot fall on the government alone; everyone must bear responsibility. Research centres, civil society, the private sector, all have a major role to play, whether in the processes of diagnosis, planning, awareness-raising, implementation and fund raising. Moreover, the greater their levels of commitment the greater the benefit that will accrue to all.
The forthcoming conference on "Issues of Arab Reform: The vision and mechanisms of implementation" will mark a major step in the right direction. To be convened at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina between 12-14 April under the patronage of President Hosni Mubarak, the conference aims to generate a reform process that is comprehensive, carefully structured and evolutionary. Planners are keen to ensure the participation of a wide range of representatives from research, development and private sector communities across the Arab world.
The invitation to the conference stresses that it is the product of "an unprecedented initiative on the part of civil society and NGOs, forwarded independently from government agencies and executive circles".
The conference is being organised by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in cooperation with the Arab Academy of Science and Technology, the Arab Business Council, the Arab Council for Women and the Arab Economic Forum.
The conference will set the standard for the types of conferences we need on reform in the Arab world. The agenda has set three main areas for discussion. The first, economic reform and its regional and international dimensions, will deal with the agencies that need to be involved in a collective Arab effort of this nature, the policies that should be adopted by Arab governments individually, the policies they should adopt collectively and the channels of coordination necessary to put these policies into effect.
Under the second area, social reform, participants will discuss proposed improvements to education and training, with special focus on the development and construction of research centres in the fields of science, technology and health. As the primary objective of participants is to lay the groundwork for improving standards of living in the Arab world, they will also discuss family planning, social security, population growth, the empowerment of women, unemployment and work opportunities in the IT age.
Political reform, the third area on the agenda, will focus on broadening the scope of participation in government, the dissemination of democratic culture and institutional reforms. The aims are to promote civil liberties, affirm the role civil society has to play, promote the development of NGOs and enhance the ability of human rights and advocacy organisations.
That the forthcoming conference is the product of an independent initiative from community and non-governmental organisations is of great significance. For one, it reflects widespread disappointment with Arab governments' record of promoting inter-Arab cooperation and at their mobilisation of the resources and human potential we have at our disposal. It also helps put paid to the perception that NGOs have a narrow agenda of their own that is not necessarily dictated by the higher national interest.
I anticipate that the conference will give a well deserved boost to NGOs and grass-roots organisations in general and that this will stimulate and enhance the domestically driven reform process we need.
