"We were defeated by a weapon created in a laboratory...
And our [recovery] should start from the laboratory!"
Japanese wisdom, a reference to the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Uprisings and waves of angry demonstrations and popular revolutions in the countries of the Arab world demanded political freedoms and regime change, essentially with the help of sophisticated information technologies and social networking websites on the internet. This was a demonstrative application of the theory of CRI Executive Director, Curtis Carlson, from Silicon Valley. In his theory, he claims that "we are in a world today where many people can access education and other cheap means of innovation - it is the age of chaotic, archaic, yet smart innovation from the bottom up. This is the antithesis of the more organized, yet stupid, forms of top down innovation."
Nonetheless, these Arab revolutions and uprisings, which, in effect, ushered in the first union of Arab revolutions under the slogan "Raise your head! You are an Arab!", will soon find themselves facing scientific challenges and the need to change entire ‘educational systems' in order to elevate the Arab world from the scientific backwardness and stagnation in innovation to the realms of development and prosperity. The restructuring of the Arab world will not be complete if it remains confined to the economic, political, security, and social realms. It must extend to include the scientific, technical, and educational realms as well. This process of restructuring must be geared, first, towards finding solutions for the more imminent ills, including the frustrations of the better educated younger generations, as this will enable them to benefit from previously untapped potentials hidden by previous political regimes, and, secondly, towards dealing with contemporary and future challenges.
In this series of articles, we will tackle the preparations necessary for an Arab agenda and outline its characteristics in the field of higher education and scientific research, as well as the role this agenda has in achieving economic, social, and national security and interests in the Arab world. In attempting this, we will discuss the realities of higher education and scientific research in the Arab world today and analyze educational policy. We will also discuss domestic, regional, and international challenges that the scientific and educational sectors face, and present some policy recommendations to deal with these challenges and establish conflict management mechanisms in which laboratories and educational establishments are an important weapon.
