by Dana Al Emam | Oct 18, 2012 | JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Thursday renewed his call for “knowledge societies” to boost intellectual life among youths in the region.

In a seminar titled “Youth transition to a knowledge society”, the prince urged an audience of school and university students, ministers, and representatives of local associations and organisations not to neglect their intellectual capacities.

“Knowledge is not deepened in our side of the world,” he said. “West Asia is missing regional knowledge centres for the most part.”

“We need to develop the kind of knowledge that is not restricted by borders,” he added.

The prince also discussed the concept of “humanising knowledge”.

“Humanising knowledge means that containing knowledge in technical devices does not mean that knowledge is monopolised. In fact, it means gathering human powers and abilities to clarify concepts and correct ideas,” he said.

Thursday’s seminar was organised by the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh (TAG) Business Forum and the Arab Thought Forum (ATF) to mark the opening of the regional office of TAG University.

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organisation (TAG-Org), said the university would “make a remarkable change in the educational system” in Jordan.

“It focuses on the student’s right to have access to the finest knowledge,” Abu-Ghazaleh said.

In a recent interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Abu-Ghazaleh said TAG University, which is to open next year, will offer programmes in cooperation with several distinguished universities worldwide.

He also discussed the concept of knowledge societies and their relationship to technology.

“A knowledge society unifies human and mechanical minds to maximise knowledge production,” he told the audience.

Abu-Ghazaleh also announced some of his organisation’s plans for the near future.

“The upcoming year will witness three significant knowledge projects conducted by TAG-Org: the opening of TAG University, the release of the Arab Electronic Encyclopaedia, and a computer cloud that provides TAG societies with free Internet service,” he said.

He encouraged the young people in the audience to join the newly established Youth Arab Thought Forum and announced the Al Hassan monthly message project, in which Prince Hassan will deliver a message of his experience and thoughts to young people every month.

ATF Secretary General Elsadig Elfaqih highlighted the importance of adopting educational and technological advancements and preserving Arab heritage at the same time.

“As the knowledge society expands, the need to follow a healthy way of dealing with technology is increasing, as well as the need to reflect what we learn on our values to come up with suitable conclusions,” he said.

http://jordantimes.com/prince-hassan-renews-call-for-knowledge-societies