The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Education Department) held, on February 23, 2021, a (remote) regional meeting on “Expanding the Use of Open Educational Resources in the Arab Countries”.
In his opening statement, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, commended the valuable contribution of officials in charge of ICT departments and centers as well as ALECSO’s OER Hub coordinators. He indicated that the development of education in the world, the renewal of educational approaches and methods, and people’s increasing expectations that education would help make a real change in their lives, on the one hand, and the many crises and challenges encountered in this regard, on the other hand, are all objective reasons that call for stronger cooperation and partnership to promote OERs in the Arab countries; thereby contributing to ensuring the right to lifelong education in all circumstances and situations.
Dr. Ould Amar stressed that ALECSO has always paid high attention to OERs in its plans, programs, projects, and initiatives. It has established partnerships with Arab and international institutions with a view to developing OERs, enhancing their quality, and expanding their use in the Arab countries. It has also launched the ALECSO OER Hub to promote the production of digital educational contents and provide teachers with relevant training.
Opening remarks were also offered by H.E. Dr. Mai Ahmed Shamandi, Director of the Regional Center for Information Technology and Communication in Bahrain, who commended the cooperation with ALECSO in the organization of the meeting, and by H.E. Dr. Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Shwerikh, Director of the Education Department at ALECSO, who welcomed all participants and indicated that the meeting is part of ALECSO’s efforts to promote Arabic digital content, in line with the recommendations of the 11th Conference of Arab Education Ministers.
On his part, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Jemni, Director of the ICT Department, delivered a statement in which he highlighted ALECSO’s actions and efforts to promote open educational resources. He addressed the following three aspects : First, the general context and the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on education; Second, ALECSO’s initiative to counter the problem of educational disruption and maintain the continuity of learning in the Arab countries. Through this initiative, among the first and most prominent of its kind, ALECSO has managed, jointly with regional and international partners, to provide Arab countries with the necessary technical and educational assistance during COVID-19 school closures; and Third, ALECSO’s project to promote open educational resources, one of its main components being the ALECSO OER Hub for the development of digital learning/education. The statement also included a scientific analysis of the key OER-related concepts in terms of licenses, legislation, guarantee of the original author’s rights, and content production, dissemination and utilization,.
This meeting, organized in cooperation and coordination with the Regional Center for Information and Communication Technology, based in Bahrain, was held in implementation of the recommendation of the 11th Conference of Arab Education Ministers (Manama, November 6-7, 2019). It was an opportunity to share relevant experience and information and to discuss the broad lines of a framework of reference for the production, dissemination and utilization of OER and for the promotion of Internet-based higher education and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
Participants expressed their appreciation of the idea of holding this meeting and commended the significant efforts invested by the Organization. They addressed the current state of OERs and the ways and means to enhance their quality and promote the use, sharing, and dissemination of OERs across the Arab countries. They stressed the need for OERs as a means of promoting education and improving its outcomes, enhancing learning opportunities in line with the Education 2030 Framework for Action, and maintaining the continuity of learning in crisis and emergency situations.
The meeting concluded with a number of recommendations calling, in particular, for forming working teams and developing a roadmap for the establishment of unified Arab policies, setting a legal framework for the production, use and dissemination of OERs, promoting access to Arab online educational platforms, and enriching the ALECSO OER Hub.
