H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari (second left), Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the post of Director-General at Unesco, at the event.
ROME: H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the Post of Unesco Director-General, has called on teachers and academics to establish proper educational policies and enhance moral education in order to prevent the rise of extremism.
Addressing the “Mediterranean Universities Union” at the University of La Sapienza in Rome on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Union, Al Kawari said, “A diverse university education contributes greatly to developing a mind that employs critical thinking and allows graduates to personally be able to distinguish between that which is resolutely good and that which is inherently bad, and encourages people not to become victims of “thinking by proxy”, which embodies the current mindset among ignorant, violent extremists.”
He noted that a number of extremist leaders in the world were once students in the most important and largest universities in vital areas of the globe “where the absence of fostering true values of human kindness has led to the predominance of technicality over innate values, and indoctrination over critical thought processes.”
He said the Unesco is inevitably facing a great variety of global challenges that reflect the strong need for new ideas from an aspiring new generation that will be able to step up to the challenges that lay before us.
“The ignorant hands that have destroyed edifices of humanities heritage in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Timbuktu are the result of an educational system that has failed to produce enlightened minds and knowledgeable citizens; instead it has, unfortunately, “dropped the ball” in this regard and has produced a number of destructive and extremist minds and thoughts. Sadly, it seems as if the current education system we have in place has replaced hope and optimism with aspects of cynicism,” said Dr Al Kawari.“I would like to stress here the fact that education is the most productive way to counteract these criminal tendencies, and this, in my opinion, is also the task of universities, as well as all educational facilities around the world,” he added.
He said despite the diverse contributions made by so many countries in the world to support the Unesco cultural, scientific and research projects, the organisation was not able to completely consolidate its projects due to the financial crisis it was experiencing.
“I sincerely believe Unesco is in need of a fresh new momentum that should be characterised by creativity in its approach, creativity that will enable it to deal with on-going developments that hinder the better performance its work as necessary and required,” said Dr Al Kawari.
“Unesco, despite its historical background and vast, cultural achievements, is still unknown for a great many population segments around the world, and I am confident that when this amazing organisation will be once again introduced to the world with its clearly defined objectives and goals, the international community will realise its important role, now more than ever, to sow peace in human minds, so that societies will react in conjunction with it and provide it with all the means necessary to perform its mission in the most bountiful and productive way,” he added.
He said the financial alternatives he was proposing in his plan for Unesco “will continue to facilitate the achievement of what we aspire towards in the fields of culture, university education and scientific research, to further enrich societies and add to diverse, cultural understanding, support for peaceful communities and achieving a real change in thinking on human development.”
Dr Al Kawari invited the “Mediterranean Universities Union” and similar regional organisations to consider taking on new university and scientific research projects related to these issues, and present them as opportunities to be co-financed by the Unesco and major international companies, economic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic foundations that are interested in funding such initiatives for the noble objective of truly enhancing the lives and understanding of human beings everywhere, across all walks of life.
