DUBAI // The former British prime minister Tony Blair joined Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak last night to open the country’s first Global Education and Skills Forum.
At the forum, the Minister for Youth, Culture and Community Affairs and Mr Blair described the changing face of education.
“As educators and leaders, we must be visionary, constantly looking far into the future assessing the needs and priorities not only of our own countries but increasingly around the world as well,” Sheikh Nahyan said, adding national identity must remain a part of that education.
Mr Blair said education was about teaching open minds.
“The education system that succeeds today is the one that doesn’t just teach basic skills but the one that teaches an open mind … if you’re not open to people who are different, then you are not going to succeed in this world,” he said.
The Libyan ambassador and the prime minister of Mozambique were among those present.
The forum was organised by Unesco, the Commonwealth Business Council, the UAE Government and GEMS Education.
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation has set up Face to Faith, an initiative to link students across the world, now with about 1,000 schools participating.
Mr Blair recalled recently witnessing a dialogue between schools in New York and Abu Dhabi.
“Education isn’t complete today if you don’t connect cultures,” he said. “It’s important you reach children at an early stage. If you don’t get to them early, you can find lots of negative influences.”
Sheikh Nahyan agreed. “We must help students prepare for being productive citizens in an international, connected globalised world.”
This requires international partnerships, boosted by such conferences, he said, which in turn “help dispel stereotypes”.
After two decades as the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, he speaks from experience.
Sheikh Nahyan faced opposition more than a decade ago when he pressed for English to be the language of instruction in the country’s federal universities, so Emirati graduates would be able to compete on the global stagebilingual in both Arabic and English, concurred.
He reinforced the role women have to play in the UAE society and economy.
“In the UAE we are strongly committed to empowering our female students,” Sheikh Nahyan said. “In all levels of our education system, there are more female students than male.
“For our country to be successful, all our students male and female, must have the education that will help them contribute to the society in line with their talents and goals.”
Mr Blair reiterated Sheikh Nahyan’s sentiments on educating women, stressing the region’s need to give women equal access to education. “If you take this region, educational reform is critical,” he said. “You’ve got young populations and they have got to be educated for the world they’re going into. Just as important is girls matter as much as boys. They’re entitled to an equal chance and they’re part of a human capital of a nation.”
The three day forum, which will today (FRI) include a video conference with former US president, Bill Clinton, covers topics across the education sectors including public private partnerships, technology in education and vocational training.
Mr Blair said technology was a key to the future of education. “It’s a transformer, a game changer,” he told the audience.
Himself an advocate of public private partnerships, he said giving parents choices was a fundamental obligation of the education system. “You’ve got to allow schools to develop the leadership and ethos that gives them their own identity and doesn’t make them part of an anonymous system.” He said running education as a “big bureaucratic monolith” no longer works.
Margaret Atack, group senior director of GEMS schools in the UAE said she hopes the forum will one day become the educational equivalent to the world economic forum, based on the principle of "the provision of universal access to quality education".
MSwan@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
