UOB Participates in the UNESCO Bureau Virtual Consultative Meeting in Cairo

The College of Science at the University of Bahrain (UOB) recently participated in the virtual regional consultative meeting for Arab countries for open science, organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States, located in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

The meeting aimed to discuss the best strategies and approaches to advance the agenda of scientific work in the Arab region, in which participants discussed the best ways to define the main strategic directions, and approaches for enhancing regional and global cooperation in the field of science. Also, after discussing the Arab regional results of the Global Open Science Survey questionnaire that was previously distributed by UNESCO, the implementation procedures and measures were foreseen to promote open science concepts and practices, by activating the proposal to establish a UNESCO regional science platform in the Arab region with the slogan: Towards an open science in the Arab region and around the world.

The UNESCO Bureau stated that its regional science platform will be open to all scientific practitioners without any charge. And in order to facilitate participation, contribution and benefit from it, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States, through the National Committees for UNESCO, will invite all interested parties working in science in all Arab countries to join the platform for the exchange of scientific information and experiences, including the establishment of ethical standards and responsible science, and facilitate partnership between those wishing to cooperate. Also, it will provide free use of the specialized electronic portal for aggregated and classified information on those working in science, and access to information about employment, training and funding opportunities available in the scientific field, in addition to scientific conferences, searching for volunteers to conduct assessment and peer review work, and interacting with the community regarding emerging scientific issues.

Moreover, the platform aims to display and promote innovations, inventions, and findings of research sciences in various scientific fields, including fundamental, natural, social and human sciences, in addition to presenting and promoting the various activities undertaken by governments, public, private and academic institutions and individuals in support of the scientific agenda in various fields, including scientific research and practices of adopting science as a basis for preparing policies, plans and programs. In addition to presenting scientific research proposals in various fields and searching for the proposal of scientific companies to address pressing development challenges, as is the case in the challenge of the Corona pandemic (Covid 19).

The UNESCO Regional Science Platform in the Arab Region is an open platform for everyone working in science in the Arab region, and seeks to advance the agenda of science, strengthen scientific cooperation, and promote and activate concepts and practices of “open science” in the Arab region and the world, in order to make the most effective use of these sciences in dealing with the different challenges and goals of human development.

The UNESCO Bureau found that among the most important constraints to open science in the Arab region are the weakness of open science culture, insufficient legal frameworks, insufficient supportive policies, weak enabling environment with weak investment and targeted financing, lack of infrastructure and weak capacities, language barrier and lack of information, not to mention the weakness of practice by institutions and individuals.

The importance of open and responsible science for the Arab region lies in it being a prerequisite for the advancement of science at the required speed, achieving the desired goal of reaching a knowledge-based society, the formation and establishment of knowledge-based societies and economies that are based on the most efficient use of science and technology as an essential entry point for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, which face multiple and interrelated challenges, including economic, social, cultural and environmental conflicts and challenges. Also, it should be noted that there is a scientific, technological and knowledge gap in the Arab region that separates it from the world.

UOB was represented in the meeting by a number of professors from the College of Science, namely: Head of the Mathematics Department Dr. Abdullah Ja’afar Eid, Head of the Physics Department Dr. Hanan Mubarak Al-Buflasa, Director of the Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation Office in the College of Science Dr. Humood Abdullah Nasser, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry Dr. Suad Ahmed Rashdan, the lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences Ebtisam Essa Butti, and the instructor in the Department of Physics Basma Taqi Al-Najar.