The intricate relation between knowledge and sustainable development necessitates the advancement of currently dominant teaching paradigms in many regions, including the Arab region, that focuses on the indoctrination of a set... [ view full abstract ]
The intricate relation between knowledge and sustainable development necessitates the advancement of currently dominant teaching paradigms in many regions, including the Arab region, that focuses on the indoctrination of a set of scientific and linguistic foundations among learners as they grow into a world that is increasing changing at a rapid pace, many a times rendering such learned contents meaningless.
Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (i.e. the 4th goal among SDGs) cannot be achieved without developing a paradigm of education as empowerment for individuals and communities to improve the quality of life. The Arab Knowledge Project, a joint initiative between UNDP and MBRF Foundation, is working towards that end, with a vision that promotes knowledge as a gateway to achieve sustainable human development, through advancing areas of implicit and explicit knowledge acquisition; where knowledge skills are supported by a set of emotional and social skills that facilitate the achievement of the desired positive change.
The proposed paper highlights the experience of the Arab Knowledge Project in this regards, through its different initiatives (the Arab Knowledge Reports, Arab Knowledge Portal, Arab Knowledge Index and the Arab Reading Index) which fall within a new vision of education focused on EMPOWERING with the promotion of CORE VALUES without which sustainable development cannot be achieved.
The paper focuses specifically on field studies performed in the Arab region in the years 2011, 2014 and 2016, which aimed at exploring the current state of knowledge in selected themes and areas (schools, universities and the more general level – i.e. public level of reading and reading practices) with a view towards identifying the required set of skills and values in the knowledge society, and assess its level of acquirement among youth, analyzing areas of failure and proposing strategies to overcome key challenges.
