The Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) will officially convene the Arab Science Cooperation Summit Virtually on 22 September 2022. The main objective of conducting this high-level summit is to promote and inaugurate an Arab Science Dialogue with the rest of the world. It will discuss Science as a means for development in the Arab region and how cooperation in science at national, regional, and global levels will support the efforts toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs).
It will also present the efforts in conducting science from policies to actions, including research, education and innovation and related cooperative projects and activities with a focus on Science, Open Science, Open Access and supporting science, research and education communities.
The summit will be attended by high-level representations from the Arab countries, including ministers of higher education and scientific research, ambassadors and permanent representatives to the United Nations, League of Arab States, the European Commission, the World Bank, Association of Arab Universities, Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils, UNESCO, UN-ESCWA and other regional and international organisations.
The summit will also be attended by policymakers, researchers and academics representing universities, research centres and supporting organisations in the Arab region and the rest of the world to present current science cooperation and to discuss future cooperation at both policy and technical levels.
Program________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10:00 – 11:45 UTC: Session ISetting the Scene:- Yousef Torman, “ASREN and Science Cooperation”, Managing Director, ASREN, Jordan
- Declan Kirrane, “United Nations Future Summit 2023”, Managing Director, Intelligence in Science, Belgium
High Level Messages:- H.E. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman, ASREN, Jordan
- H.E. Prof. Amr Ezzat Salama, Secretary General, Association of Arab Universities, Jordan
- H.E. Prof. Mahmoud Abu Mouis, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Palestine
- H.E. Prof. Farah Sheikh Abdikadir, Minister of Education Culture and Higher Education, Somalia
- H.E. Dr. Saif bin Abdullah Al Haddabi, Undersecretary for Research and Innovation, The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Oman
- H.E. Prof. Mahmoud Sakr, President of Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt
- H.E. Prof. Abdelmajid Benamara, Secretariat General, Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils (FASRC), Khartoum - SUDAN
- H.E. Dr. Abdulaziz Almuzaini, UNESCO CAIRO Office Director and UNESCO Representative to Egyp
Keynote:- Fadila Boughanemi, Deputy Head of Unit, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, Belgium
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12:00 – 14:00 UTC: Session II- Prof. Saoussen Krichen, Director General of Computing Center El Khawarizmi - CCK, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Tunisia
- Prof. Shaher Zyoud, Director General for Development & Scientific Research, Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, Palestine
- Prof. Fethi Zagrouba, General Director, Tunis Science City, Tunisia
- Islam Abou El-Magd, Vice-President, the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Egypt
- Dr. Nazar M. Hassan, UNESCO Senior STI Regional Advisor for the Arab States, UNESCO, Egypt
- Dr. Shaikha Al-Sanad, Program Manager, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait
- Prof. Jauad El Kharraz, Executive Director, Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), Egypt
- Abdullahi Bihi Hussein, CEO, SomaliREN, Somalia
- Dr. Abdullah Al Abri, Consultant, International Energy Agency (IEA), Oman
- Nabil Ksibi, Engagement Lead, ORCID, South Africa
- Raed Al-Zoubi, Director of the Centennial Library, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
- Andrea Lausi, Scientific Director, Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), Jordan
- Juan Miguel González Aranda, Chief Technology Officer, LifeWatch ERIC, Spain
- Chris Atherton, Senior Research Engagement Officer, GÉANT, Netherlands
- Erik Ruuth, Scientific Coordinator, IMiBio, Misiones, Argentina
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14:00 – 14:30 UTC: Session III- Discussion
- Conclusions
- Planning for United Nations Future Summit
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ASREN and the Arab National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) have an essential and increasingly important role in supporting Open Science in the region. Within the context of implementing the works and activities of the European Union co-funded AfricaConnect3 project, ASREN has adopted strategies of open science, open data and open access in cooperation with its member NRENs and national authorities of relevance in addition to regional organisations. The main objective is to facilitate comprehensive access to scientific resources and repositories to enhance productivity in science and innovation in research.
