ALEXANDRIA: Arabs must become producers of knowledge, not just consumers of technology, said Ismail Serageldin, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, at the biennial BioVision Alexandria (BVA) conference this week. "Science is advancing every day, technology is like magic, and the Arab world is falling behind, he said. "Scientists are not sufficiently engaged. Held April 11-15 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the conference, New Life Sciences: Future Prospects, featured more than 100 speakers from across the globe, including six Nobel laureates. While new issues in health, food and agriculture, and environmental management were the selected themes of the conference, international scientific collaboration and turning basic science into sustainable development emerged as the overarching themes of the event. "What we have is a lot of knowledge, said Serageldin, commenting on today's information-based society. "But what we really need to cope with our society is wisdom, and that goes beyond knowledge. To do so, the conference speakers agreed, young scientists must be recognized, supported and encouraged. "I can think of no more important task than fostering the next generation of scientists, said Mohamed Hassan, executive director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). "[We must] provide support for the best and brightest young scientists. For its part, TWAS collaborated with BVA in organizing a conference for young researchers in the two days preceding the BVA conference. Featuring 100 scientists under the age of 35, the conference revolved around the problems facing young researchers trying to publish scientific papers in the developing world. Indeed, the BVA conference itself was teeming with young students from the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and sciences, who were eager to learn from the wide array of speakers featured in the event. Many of these students were particularly inspired by Serageldin's call for the support of young scientists and the advancement of science in the Arab world. "Youth should be given more opportunities, said Mai Maher, a first year student at the Faculty of Sciences. "[People] think that because we are Arabs, then we are backward, but that is not true. There are great minds among our youth. The conference highlighted existing efforts to engage these great minds. Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal pointed to the international cooperation between Egypt and Japan in building the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in Borg El Arab, Alexandria. Established in 2009, E-JUST offers a number of engineering programs, including electronics and communications, mechatronics and robotics, and energy resources and environmental engineering. Meanwhile, Abdelali Haoudi, vice president for research at the Qatar Foundation, highlighted his organization's efforts to encourage Arab scientists to take research initiatives by sponsoring a number of educational and research programs open to students from across the world. "Talented scientists exist in all Arab countries, he said, "What's missing is the proper environment for them to prosper. Yet despite these initiatives, Egypt may still be losing many of its young scientists to a sense of dejection and helplessness. Shady Osama, a second year student at the faculty of sciences, was one of many attendees at BVA who are passionate about science. However, he was also one of many students who do not intend to pursue a career in science. Seeing no future in such career, Osama plans to work in business or tourism. "There is no funding for scientific research, he said. "There are second and third year students who have several patents, but it never goes further. While Osama would like to conduct his own research, he finds neither the proper equipment at the university labs nor the will to take on an initiative he feels will lead nowhere. Nevertheless, both Helal and Serageldin stressed the need to fight these losses. "We must turn the brain drain into a brain gain, said Serageldin.
