ASTF Library

Scientific Research Outlook 2002

SRO II Overview:

In collaboration with 18 scientific organizations, the Arab Science and Technology Foundation organized the Symposium on Scientific Research and Technological Development in the Arab World 2002, which is the second of a series of symposia (Scientific Research Outlook in the Arab World) the first of which was held on 24-26 April 2000 and came out with the Arab scientists’ historic resolution to establish the ASTF.

The time of the Symposium coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Arab Strategy for Science and Technology, which was set forth by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO). The Symposium took place at the University City Hall in Sharjah, the city selected as the Cultural City of the Arab world for 1998 and saw the birth of ASTF.

The second symposium, as a whole, could be viewed as a continuation of the first, albeit with more elaboration on, and in-depth analysis of, the preconditions of an effective and efficient Arab contribution in the current revolution in science and technology.

By organizing this Symposium the ASTF aimed to investigate the situation of Arab science and the international trends in S&T in an attempt to identify research priorities and ways to translate them into action. A preliminary plan for collaborative Arab scientific projects was put forth with a view to attracting funding from the ASTF.

Four scientific areas, constituting the theme of Scientific Research Priorities, were identified as being the cornerstones of development and stepping stone for the expected Arab successes. These areas are:

  • Energy and Water 
  • Information and Communications Technology 
  • Biotechnology 
  • Materials Sciences

In short, the Symposium has channeled efforts in the direction of identifying scientific tracks for the Arab countries to adopt in the next stage of development, setting forth practical and practicable plans to achieve the desired scientific headway in the Arab region, and resolutely seeking to set going the development plans through the adoption of the selected scientific tracks. The Symposium was also a good opportunity for Arab scientists to show their support for the ASTF and their confidence in its ability to mobilize the Arab scientific community. The feelings of scientists for the ASTF significantly reflected a real desire to get out of the ’bottleneck’ of scientific backwardness that is currently prevailing in the Arab world.

SRO II Objectives:

Considering the Arab reality, scientific research and technological development should play a more positive role in the sustainable development of the Arab countries by drawing on the vast resources of expatriate Arab scientists and their willingness to get involved in scientific cooperation projects in their homelands.

After the first symposium had reviewed the current S&T situation in the Arab world and opted for a number of specialized scientific fields to be the center of interest for the Arab researchers, the second set out to achieve the following objectives:

  • Contributing to the revision and updating of the Arab Strategy for Science and Technology to live up to the standards of contemporary science and technology.
  • Crystallizing the concept of the Arab scientific community and monitoring its self-awareness, maturity, social impact, limitations, and ways of activating it.
  • Setting realistic objectives for a number of research projects in the selected tracks with the participation of specialists from inside and outside the Arab world within the framework of serious and fruitful scientific partnerships.
  • Identifying the research capabilities of universities and research institutions in the Arab countries and shedding light on them in preparation for forming the specialized Arab scientific networks and setting up distinguished Arab virtual research centers concerned with scientific areas within the selected tracks.