Posts tagged social
Pakistan Future Leaders Conference 2012
Over the weekend Oxford University’s Pakistan Society hosted the yearly Pakistan Future Leaders Conference. It is evident that new thinking is required to tackle the challenges facing Pakistan, which makes it all the more disappointing when rehashed thinking is presented to tackle the problems facing Pakistan. It is quite evident that Pakistan needs to invest in developing its vast youth resource, just as it is evident that Pakistan’s military holds too much power, and its policies have damaged the country. These quite vague and generalised statements don’t illuminate the problem or how to treat the problem. Simply saying we need civilian government does not articulate how this will solve Pakistan’s problems.
Much hope is being placed in Imran Khan’s party, PTI, and a number of prominent politicians have come over to his party from all major parties in Pakistan. This is quite a significant development, and Imran Khan could be a real political player in Pakistan’s next elections. The problem however is that the people of Pakistan will soon again be disappointed because Imran Khan’s party manifests the same thinking, which culminated in the global financial crisis. This is not original thinking.
I like to believe that we will be free, and we will have high-quality research centres in Palestine and the Arab world where students will want to study for PhDs, and continue onto postdocs. The logical progress of research is simply amazing. I honestly have no idea what I will be doing 10 years from now, but I want a world class cancer research centre in Palestine one day and will certainly continue teaching along with my research.
Rula Abdul-Salam Abdul-Ghani - Faculty of Medicine, AL-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
Rula is one of 9 exceptional Arab women scientists who won funding for their research from the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women In Science Pan-Arab Regional Fellowships Program in association with the Arab Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF).
The skateboarders bringing peace to Tunisia
by Jake Hanrahan
How do you bring people together in the immediate aftermath of a revolution? Meet the Bedouins, the arty skate gang which commandeered an abandoned mansion in Tunisia to promote peace in the wake of the upheaval.
(Photo Credit: Nathan Gray)
The Women of Egypt Have a Bigger Battle Ahead by Vickie Langohr
Foreign Affairs Journal
(Photo Credit: Mosa’ab Elshamy, Freelance photographer)
“Shake the Dust - Yemen” is a documentary filmed during the uprising in Yemen. The film follows a group of youth passionate about hip-hop and break-dancing. You can watch the trailer here.
ihya
Across the Middle East Muslims went to Friday prayers. Many of them preparing themselves for a day of struggle, many knowing that it may be their time, but still they struggle for justice. This photo gallery by the Guardian, “Friday prayers and protests in the Middle East – in pictures” captures some thought provoking images.
ihya
(Photograph of a Yemeni anti-regime protester reading from the Qu’ran during a demonstration calling for the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh - Photo Credit: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)
A letter and a petition has been put together calling upon the Saudi Government to release Manal Al Sherif who was arrested for driving a car. From Manal’s offical Twitter page: إن كانت ثوراتهم ثورات الخبز فثوراتنا ثورات النساء
Translation: If their revolutions (in reference to Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen) are the revolutions for bread, then our revolution is the Women’s Revolution.
Free Manal Al-Sharif (Credit: Twitter user @alsumayin)
ihya
Women in Saudi Arabia who are prohibited from driving could be the catalyst that sparks the growing opposition in Saudi Arabia to come out on to the streets in strength to tackle the wider issues facing the country. On Facebook and Twitter, activists have called upon women to defy the country’s ban on women drivers by driving cars on Friday June 17. Already, one activist, Manal al-Sharif, a young computer security consultant was arrested together with her brother, and the Saudi authorities also shut down a Facebook page dedicated to the protest.
ihya
One of the most striking aspects of the protests from last Friday were the calls for Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine. It has been evident since the creation of Israel that the plight of the Palestinian people is inextricably intertwined with corrupt dictatorial governments in the Arab world whose oppression of the Arab people mirrors the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis, and the collusion of Arab governments to perpetuate the occupation of Palestine. The Arab revolution is far more than a call for the removal of tyrannical governments; rather it indicates the seeds for a radical paradigm shift in the people’s consciousness, which has started to grow.
ihya
(Photo: Mosa’ab Elshamy - Flickr)
The Future of Women Leaders in the Middle East
Much has been written about the role of women in the Middle East and Western stereotypes distort the situation of women historically and currently. However an article in Strategy & Business highlights the impact of women upon industry in the GCC:
It’s clear that there is an institutional shift under way in women’s economic participation, and that the leaders profiled here represent a vanguard of things to come rather than isolated outliers. Observers should not be deceived by the deliberate pace of this movement: As women in these countries gain the legal, social, and cultural support they deserve, they will change the face of the GCC’s development for decades to come.
There can be no doubt that women play an integral role in the region’s development, and this will become even more greater in years to come.
ihya
MENA activists bring hope online
Beirut - Hope just got a boost online. From photos of youth in Saudi Arabia rebuilding after recent floods, to blog posts about solidarity in peaceful protests in Tahrir Square, to a video about women working together to overcome stereotypes, the new social networking site, 1001 Stories of Common Ground, offers a view of what is it like to be a creative, active Arab in a globalised world, far from the stereotypes haunting international mass media.
The name, 1001 Stories (1001cgstories.org), might remind website visitors and users of the classical tales of One Thousand and One Nights. The website is in fact a unique interactive platform which promotes real life experiences of positive change, social integration, dialogue, solidarity and much more, documented through articles, videos and photos, which individuals can post on the website.
An Arab Intellectual Awakening?
It is said that a nation’s material transformation is preceded by an intellectual revolution. The rise of the European powers and the USA was built upon an intellectual awakening that gave rise to the industrial revolution, and now we are in the midst of a post-industrial revolution lead by the major Western powers.
However the emerging BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - are starting to challenge the international order, as the post-industrial age allows emerging powers to compete on a near similar starting point of economic transformation. This is partly because the post-industrial revolution is a process of change from which the leading and emerging economic powers all have to go through. In other words, the gap between these nations from where they have started from are not so huge.
It can be argued that it does not matter that Brazil, China or India did not experience the industrial revolution in the same way as the major powers of the 20th century, but rather what matters now is that they harness the new knowledge and technologies to create the next paradigmatic revolution.
It is in this global environment that the awakening in the Middle East proceeds. The awakening in the Middle East has the potential to bring about transformative change if it is truly an intellectual awakening that breaks free from systems and ideas that have prevented the people of the region from realising their full potential.
Observing the intellectual trends in the region, there are many signs of the seeds of this intellectual awakening from book fairs to art to investment in science, the region is poised to make great leaps forward.
By Shan - ihya
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