Shehab: Our institutions based on democracy, freedom of expression
Egypt-Regional, Politics, 4/21/2004

"Our institutions are based on democracy, equal opportunities, and freedom of expression without discrimination on the grounds of religion or race."

This statement by Egypt's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mofied Shehab came in his address at yesterday's meeting of the UNESCO Executive Council meeting in Paris yesterday.

Reform in the Middle East was the focus of the meeting, at which Dr Shehab represented Egypt.

"If ever an example of real and serious reform in this area were called for, Egypt would unequivocally fit the bill," he said, referring to political, economic, social and educational reforms the government has been implementing over the past two decades.

"All reform initiatives for the Middle East will be easily sabotaged as long as the peoples in this area do not share the same views with those who advocate reform from abroad," Dr Shehab added.

"The current turbulence in the Middle East is not conducive to fully realising their development aspirations," Dr Shehab said, calling for dialogue between the various cultures of the world for the sake of better understanding.

While the Middle East region is being showered every day with reform initiatives from everywhere in the world, the decision-makers, be they Americans or Europeans, seemed to have overlooked the fact that the inhabitants of this region have a political will of their own.

They would never accept diktats from others, no matter how powerful these others may be.

Those who devised the Greater Middle East Initiative and the authors of reform plans seem not to have noticed that the Middle East has been involved for years in processes of comprehensive reform, even though the pace may not be fast enough for Westerners.

Nor should it be forgotten that this area has its own circumstances and a standard model of reform drawn up by foreigners may be far from suitable for the Arab world.

Shehab said that the Middle East region is in a dire need of radical reforms that do not neglect the security and economic interests of the region, in addition to the ambitions of the Arab people.

The Universal Declaration for Cultural Diversity, which was adopted by the 31st UNESCO General Assembly was a positive step towards more effective inter-cultural dialogue, he said.

"This declaration has contributed to creating an awareness of the importance of preserving human heritage," he added.

"We firmly believe that our descendants will never be able to carve a niche for themselves in the world of science unless they enjoy the benefits derived from the modernisation of education, which has been a priority for successive governments," Shehab said, referring to government efforts to develop the quality of education and to eliminate illiteracy.

"The desired results in this respect will never materialise unless every Egyptian has access to education, which is the cornerstone of civilisation," Shehab said.

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