The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization held, on September 25, 2023, a symposium on “The Future of Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”.
The symposium was held at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in the United Arab Emirates, in cooperation with the Emirati Ministry of Education and UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. It was attended by experts, academics and specialists in scientific and educational fields, from Arab and other countries, with virtual participation by students from Arab countries.
The symposium discussed the standards and actions required to incorporate AI technology in education, the tools available to develop Artificial Intelligence in a way that respects and protects legislations, rights and fundamental freedoms. It was also an opportunity to share expertise and best practices and to address the potential risks and challenges involved the use of AI, the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, the ways to meet AI-related challenges most effectively, and the mechanisms and strategies necessary to develop AI capacities.
In his opening statement, read out on his behalf by Dr. Mohamed Jemni, Director of ICT Department, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, noted that AI has in recent years witnessed a qualitative leap, so that it has now grown into a major tool in various sectors, including education, with pioneering AI-based projects launched to face challenges and help reduce technological gaps in Arab countries. He highlighted, in this regard, the significant projects undertaken by ALECSO to promote the use of AI in education, as well as other new technologies such as Blockchain and NFT.
Over 50 participants took part in this symposium, representing various universities, research centers, and other relevant institutions.
Dr. Mohamed Jemni offered a presentation about ALECSO’s projects in the field of AI, Blockchain, Metaverse, NFT technologies. Among these projects are the Arab Code Week, the latest edition of which was held under the theme of “Artificial Intelligence and Environment Protection”, with over two million participants; the project to establish a unified Arab Blockchain-based certificate authentication system, a pilot experiment of which was recently launched with the participation of a number of Arab countries; the ALECSO Metaverse Laboratory, the first Arab laboratory that uses the Metaverse technology, and the ALECSO NFT Platform, a qualitative leap in protecting digital products and assets, designed to encourage Arab youth to engage in entrepreneurship by leveraging technological innovations in digital economy projects.
