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

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.”

 

 

Sustainable Development Goals:

3- Good Health and Well-Being

4- Quality Education

8- Decent Work and Economic Growth

11- Sustainable Cities and Communities

17- Partnerships for the Goals

13- Climate Action

 

Key Words:

The future of development considering current challenges,
economic support for the private sector, pioneering guidance, youth priorities,
Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, a river,
BeAware, converting courses into digital courses, Quality Assurance Office in
the College of Arts, e-learning culture