The Pandemic Has Created Opportunities and Challenges That Must Be Utilized to Advance the Economy

In the virtual forum recently held by the University of Bahrain (UOB) under the title “The Future of Development in Light of The Current Challenges: Corona Pandemic (COVID-19)”, participants stressed the importance of identifying the challenges of the current period that the world is going through considering the spread of the Corona pandemic and identifying the most important strengths and weaknesses in the economic, scientific, and industrial systems. In addition to knowing the most important lessons learned from the current crisis, the opportunities available to young people at the present time and the stage following the Corona virus, as well as taking advantage of the opportunities created by the crisis to advance the economy and defining the roles of young people considering the current challenges. Not to mention the development of general frameworks that focus on at the current stage in preparation for the stage following the Corona virus.

Economic analyst and businessman Hazem Janahi stated that “The government’s early response to confronting the Corona pandemic through economic support for the private sector, and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, has contributed to saving the economy,” pointing out that the companies that were steadfast before the Corona crisis will be able to survive this crisis. Indicating that the service sectors that were forcibly closed were the most affected ones during the crisis, and they are the ones who need special economic treatment, including: major restaurants, health clubs, and salons.

Moreover, he pointed to the urgent need for pioneering guidance so that small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to survive and stay in the market, pointing out that they constitute the largest segment of the market and are more deserving of support than major companies, provided that this should be done in a calculated and regulated way. Also, he said that “The Corona pandemic has as well created pioneering opportunities for those who have exploited them properly, such as starting electronic projects or participating in e-commerce.”

The Forum aimed to identify the most important outcomes of current challenges and their impact on the economic, industrial and scientific developments that the world will witness, which will have a major impact on reshaping youth priorities and the tools for creating the future.

The forum had numerous speakers from inside and outside the University and was divided into four themes: economy and flexible transformation, the role of youth in facing development challenges (during the spread of the Corona pandemic), the Bahraini approach to confronting urgent challenges, and education and scientific research: between variables and opportunities.

On his part, Director of the Studies and Research Department at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) Dr. Omar Al- Ubaydli stated that “It is not possible to formulate policies for economic support without collecting accurate information and data about the economic and health repercussions, the extent of damages, and the identity of those affected by addressing them directly and addressing businessmen and businesswomen to identify the challenges and ways of addressing them,” indicating the importance of forming dedicated work teams to collect such information, upon which solutions will be found, stressing that each country has its own nature and circumstances, which cannot be projected onto others.

Furthermore, Dr. Al-Ubaydli stressed the importance of restoring people’s trust to revitalize the economy, explaining that even with deregulation and life returning to normal after the end of the pandemic, the largest segment of people will not go about their lives normally until after they’re completely certain that the virus has been eliminated, which slows down economy revitalization.

While the Bahraini entrepreneur and winner of the People’s Choice Award in the fourth edition of the “Pitch at Palace” competition, the dentist Dr. Nahla Al-Sunni, agreed with Hazem Janahi on the need for entrepreneurial guidance for young people, noting that the currently available guidance is not continuous, and youth may get it when they establish their projects, but it will not continue with them, and due to the lack of experience they will be forced to stop their projects and leave the market. Emphasizing the importance of entrepreneurial and educational guidance, as well as moral support for young entrepreneurs.

In the third session of the FORUM, media researcher and advisor at the Ministry of Information, Dr. Lulwa Boudlameh, analyzed the speech of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa from the BeAware program, and praised the governmental measures and the commitment of individuals in in confronting the Corona virus. Identifying the term “Bahraini Approach” and its features.

Moreover, she indicated that Bahrain was able to take the first place in the world by adopting proactive measures to combat the Corona pandemic, and second in the world in terms of recovery rates. Also, it received international praise for the precautionary measures, Arab praise for its response to the virus, and a Gulf praise for taking effective measures to protect workers. Also, it was able to implement a treatment protocol and achieve innovation in applying technology. Pointing out that Bahrain is one of the few countries that has not resorted to stopping life completely.

For his part, Director of the Bahrain Program for Best Government Practices Ibrahim Al-Tamimi pointed out that the inability to replicate the experiences of other countries in facing Corona virus is because the nature of each country is different. Indicating that in the Kingdom of Bahrain in particular, and the Gulf countries in general, the elderly were not the most vulnerable to the Corona virus, but patients with chronic diseases such as pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, who represent a large segment of society members.

Furthermore, Al-Tamimi stated that “The Bahraini economy is a service economy, and therefore it works for two weeks, and stops its activity for two weeks, so that the economy doesn’t get affected,” noting that Bahrain exercised truth and justice with all citizens and residents alike without discrimination, and it did not prevent anyone from receiving treatment, which confirms that it is a country of justice and law.

In the last session that dealt with the issue of education and scientific research: between variables and opportunities, Director of the Quality Assurance Office at the College of Arts, Dr. Diana Abdulkarim Jahromi, indicated that distance education is not new to the Kingdom of Bahrain, pointing out that electronic learning has been available since 1995. Stating that “The golden period for e-learning began with the launch of His Majesty the King’s project for future schools in 2005 and the inauguration of the Zain E-Learning Center at UOB in 2009. And during the years 2009-2010 the e-learning culture spread, and it was activated more widely in higher education institutions and public and private schools, considering it a basic requirement of international quality assurance and accreditation, while the year 2020 came to be the year of e-learning.”

The Director of the E-Learning Center at UOB, Dr. Fay Abdullah Al Khalifa, indicated that the process of converting courses into digital courses in a short period of time was quick because of everyone’s cooperation, including university academics, students, and employees of the E-Learning Center. Also, she shed light on the strategy of UOB in the process of transition to distance education, by setting the necessary plans to provide the infrastructure for a complete transition to distance education, taking into account the training of academic staff and students.

Moreover, she said: “UOB is outstanding, as it was able to overcome many of the difficulties facing this transformation in a short period of time, especially in light of current challenges in facing the Corona virus.”