Author: ArabianRecords.org

ARAB AWARDS: 8 University Lecturers on Shortlist for Most Innovative Teacher in Arab World

Times Higher Education has announced a shortlist of eight finalists for its Most Innovative Teacher of the Year in the Arab World award.

The winner will be announced in December during the Arab Universities Summit in Jordan. Times Higher Education (THE), a British higher-education data company widely known for its World University Rankings, is organising the award in partnership with the University of Jordan and Al-Ahliyya Amman University.

The most innovative teacher award is part of a competition called THE Awards Arab World, which aims to “identify and promote innovative and inspiring work taking place at higher education institutions, whatever their size, reputation, or focus, and wherever they may be located.” Candidates for the awards may come from internationally renowned institutions or lesser-known institutions operating in challenging circumstances.

Times Higher Education said it had received over 400 entries from 15 countries for this year’s awards, which have 12 categories. To see the full lists of shortlisted candidates in each category, please click here.

Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s chief global affairs officer, said it had been a huge challenge to narrow down the field and select the “elite group” of candidates for the most innovative teacher shortlist. “Those who made it should be very proud of their achievements,” he said.

The finalists for the Most Innovative Teacher award are:

The awards website gives a brief summary of each competitor. Following are excerpts from those descriptions:

Ibrahim Issa Al Balushi. Al Balushi is a senior lecturer and head of entrepreneurship and business incubation activities, as well as the head of the Curriculum and Instructional Resources Committee at the College of Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, in Oman. Known for his innovative teaching strategies and student support, Al Balushi received the Academic Excellence Award for Best Teacher in the College of Engineering in 2021. He also plays a key role in national projects aimed at developing entrepreneurship courses.

Fatma Alzahraa Abdelsalam Elkhamisi. Elkhamisi is an assistant professor of pathology and director of the International Student Unit at the Faculty of Medicine at Helwan University, in Egypt. She has implemented a continuous cycle of student-centred approaches, emphasising clinical relevance, diverse learning styles, and motivation theories. Elkhamisi is known for designing engaging learning environments using digital tools, collaborative work, peer teaching, and reflective learning.

Mohamed Amin. Amin is an associate professor and coordinator of social responsibility activities at Alamain International University, in Egypt. He teaches an elective course called “Community Participation in the Development of Modern Egypt” using innovative methods such as the flipped classroom model, game-based learning, and project-based learning.

Abir Enany. Enany is a faculty member and vice dean of the Faculty of Science at Egypt’s Misr University for Science and Technology. In the spring semester of 2023, she introduced a new approach to teaching a course on ancient Egyptian archaeology from the Middle Kingdom. Her innovative plan involved transforming course topics into sustainable development projects, with each site assigned to a student group for development, making the material more engaging and understandable.

Amer Hijazi. Hijazi is recognised as one of the top 10 influencers at Jordan’s Ahliyya Amman University, where he is transforming educational standards by engaging students as active participants. His innovative teaching methods, including software clinics that reflect industry standards, focus on creativity rather than traditional metrics, significantly impacting sustainable development goals like quality education and sustainable cities.

Mohamed Ismail. Ismail is a professor of physics at the Faculty of Engineering at Egypt University of Informatics. Upon returning to Egypt after earning his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University, in the United States, he introduced innovative teaching methods. He developed a mobile application for interactive student feedback, real-time comprehension assessments during large lectures, and live demonstrations. Ismail also leads faculty initiatives to support students’ academic, social, and psychological well-being. Additionally, he founded a popular YouTube channel that has become the most-watched physics channel in the Arab world, expanding his teaching reach globally.

Zahy Ramadan. Ramadan is a professor of marketing and management at the Lebanese American University, in Beirut. Times Higher Education quotes from Ramadan’s application: “As an academic with 20 years of experience in marketing across the Middle East, Gulf, and Asia Pacific regions, I believe in a holistic learning approach that emphasises continuous high engagement, interactive scenario building, market simulations, integrating advanced research into the curriculum, and learning by doing.”

Rami Abdullah Wahsheh. Wahsheh is an associate professor in the departments of communications engineering and electrical engineering at Jordan’s Princess Sumaya University of Science and Technology. Wahsheh said: “My goal as a teacher is to help students understand the subject matter and learn how to teach themselves beyond structured learning, by focusing on fundamental problem-solving skills.”

He added: “To encourage students to continuously learn, explore knowledge, solve problems, and connect course content to job market skills, I have revised my approach to recording lectures. This involves linking examples given to real-world practical applications. I have also adopted new techniques in teaching and learning.”

YouTube Channel Leads to Job Offer

When he heard he had been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education award, Ismail told Al Fanar Media: “I’m thrilled, as it honours over twenty-two years of my career in higher education.”

Ismail said he joined Egypt University of Informatics at the request of students. “The students, who were following my YouTube channel and struggling with physics, went to the dean of the college, Dr. Amr Elmasry, and asked for my help. The university then reached out to me via email with a great job offer, and I decided to join them.”

Last year, YouTube gave Ismail a YouTube Creator Award for his scientific content’s widespread popularity. His channel, “Physics for Engineers,” has over 198,000 subscribers and has garnered millions of views.

source/content: al-fanarmedia.org (headline edited)

__________

 Times Higher Education announces the shortlist for its Most Innovative Teacher of the Year in the Arab World award.

________________________________________

EGYPT / JORDAN / LEBANON / OMAN

QATAR Airways acquires 25% stake in South Africa’s Airlink

In a strategic move to expand its presence in Africa, Qatar Airways Group has announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in Airlink, a prominent regional carrier based in Southern Africa. This investment, revealed on August 20, 2024, aims to enhance the existing code-sharing partnership between the two airlines and bolster Qatar Airways’ growth strategy across the African continent.

Airlink, established in 1992, has a robust network covering more than 45 destinations in 15 African countries. With a fleet of over 65 jetliners, it serves various cities throughout Southern Africa, as well as destinations in Madagascar and St Helena Island.

The collaboration is expected to bring mutual benefits, including network expansion, increased capacity, and extended marketing reach. Airlink Chief Executive Rodger Foster highlighted the significance of the deal, saying, “Having Qatar Airways as an equity partner is a powerful endorsement of Airlink and echoes our faith in the markets we currently serve and plan to add to our network.”

The partnership will also align both carriers’ loyalty programs – Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Airlink Skybucks – offering enhanced benefits to customers.

Qatar Airways, which currently flies to 29 destinations in Africa, has been actively pursuing its Africa growth strategy since 2019. The airline has been expanding its presence on the continent, adding new destinations such as Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Harare, Kano, Luanda, Lusaka, and Port Harcourt to its network, while also resuming services to Cairo and Alexandria.

This investment follows Qatar Airways’ previous strategic moves in Africa, including acquiring a 60% stake in a new multi-billion-dollar international airport being built near Kigali, Rwanda, in 2019.

As part of its broader expansion plans, Qatar Airways has also announced increased flight frequencies to popular tourism destinations. Starting October 27, the airline will add an eighth daily flight to London, bringing the total to 56 weekly flights. Additionally, it plans to increase services to Male (Maldives), Miami (US), and Tokyo (Japan) during the 2024-2025 winter season.

This latest acquisition underscores Qatar Airways’ commitment to strengthening its position in the African aviation market and capitalizing on the continent’s growth potential.

source/content: gtrmag.com /globaltravelretailmagazine (headline edited)

__________

Senior executives from Qatar Airways and Airlink at the announcement

__________

QATAR

COMOROS / BRITISH : Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid on the power of collaboration

The artist, also a guest editor of ‘Bazaar Art’ praises communal creative practice and refutes the notion of the lone genius.

Some people imagine that making art, being a visual artist, is best accomplished and performed alone; I’m pretty certain they are wrong. My own experience has been exactly the opposite from the beginning.

I am an only child, the daughter of an English textile designer and a Comorian college lecturer; I was born in Zanzibar. As a little girl in the early 1960s, I played in the streets and back gardens of Maida Vale in London with two boys who lived nearby. Together we dug an enormous hole, without our parents’ knowledge or permission, to prepare for a swimming pool.

At school, in the art room, the teacher asked us to design the costumes and sets for Cyrano de Bergerac, a play in which it took two men, via poetry and letters, to court a young woman. As head girl, I joined others going out on strike to protest about democracy and freedom of speech.

At art college, which I hated almost as much as school, it was clear that the young women students were being educated to be assistants to the men. We outnumbered, out-lifted and outperformed them at every available opportunity. I learned that to succeed in theatre design you needed to be a team player—but not a woman.

As a waitress in Covent Garden in the mid-1970s, it was obvious that without the chefs, the washing-up staff and each other, we could never have survived the disdain, the flirting, and the exhaustion inflicted upon us by the customers.

The early days of organising, making and showing with other Black women artists in London were, for me, the real beginnings of my collaborative practice. We worked alongside each other in domestic studios and spoke frankly about funding and the need for studio space, as well as our doubts and fears for the future of our creative endeavours. Some women worked with each other on groundbreaking community print projects and then alongside me to make an exhibition happen. We functioned on the very outer edges of a pretty unfriendly art world for which we had huge expectation of change but an infinitesimal amount of experience as to how this could be done.

During the 40 years since those early showing days of the 1980s, my desire to work with others has grown stronger. Without the collaborative experience of working with a studio team; talking and testing, exchanging ideas, being challenged and having to rethink and compromise (in a good way), my work would be totally different: less daring, less exciting for me and more introspective (in a bad way).

There have been art historians who asked serious and intense questions about the process and curators who enabled me to be myself by taking care of me. Importantly, they dealt with the practicalities and the administrative complexities, so that the only thing I had to worry about was the making and developing or ‘how to push everything I could to the limit’.

Close friends—all artists—have in the past been invaluable partners in my work, constantly questioning, offering expertise or supporting a series of seemingly illogical projects with practical help, money, or by cooking comforting meals, making endless cups of tea or providing favourite biscuits.

During the years I spent preparing full-time art students for the challenging years ahead, which I knew would be filled with unexpected opportunities and inevitable setbacks, my advice to them was always to work with other artists who had different areas of expertise from themselves to make pop-up shows, workshops, group performance projects, homemade ’zines and moving-image productions. I tried to persuade them that it is impossible to do everything yourself, and that their own work would suffer, as would that of their fellow artists, unless they worked for an agreed common goal. Their paintings and films, installations and prints would be stronger, still individual, but part of a wider conversation.

Recently, I have learned how to listen more carefully to the sounds in my head and begun to understand how to make this real in my paintings and installations by working with Magda StawarskaBeavan, an artist who makes screen prints, paintings, and drawings as well as moving-image and sound-composition projects.

For a few years on and off we made screen prints, Magda leading and printing, then gradually worked on sound pieces—mostly hers and occasionally mine. As part of a recent show at Wiels contemporary art centre in Brussels called ‘Risquons-Tout’, we worked for several months during the fiercest lockdowns in the North West of England on an installation called ‘The Blue Grid Test’, combining a 25-metre blue painting on found objects with a six-channel sound work. We talked extensively about codes and patterns, language and love, colour and rhythm, and worked alongside each other, wandering in and out of her studio and mine. All the while, as we built layers of understanding and multiple connections through music and language using invented texts in French, English and Flemish, Magda developed a composition piece that wraps and envelops the audience. I painted a long thin line in many shades of blue. It became a room in which 64 global patterns on numerous items found neglected in cupboards, basements and on shelves in the house, spoke and sang in and out of harmony with the words and music. I felt this could be the beginning of a determination to add to our previous collaborations during the past 10 years by making real more experimental   projects, in print and with sound, in between working on our own exhibitions.

If you can find someone who will listen to you as intently as you are prepared to listen to them, you have probably found the perfect collaborative partner. Be willing to say what you want and then have that idea bettered, and you may have the solution to creating artwork that really could make a difference.

This piece originally appeared in the November 2021 print edition of Harper’s Bazaar UK 

source/content: harpersbazaar.in (headline edited)

____________

____________________________________

BRITISH / TANZANIA / COMOROS

YEMEN: Eqbal Dauqan Ph.D : She May Be The Most Unstoppable Scientist In The World

Two years ago, Eqbal Dauqan was going to work in the morning as usual. She’s a biochemistry professor. And was driving on the freeway, when suddenly: “I felt something hit my car, but I didn’t know what it was because I was driving very fast,” she says.

Dauqan reached the parking lot. Got out of the car and looked at the door. What she saw left her speechless.

“A bullet hit the car, just on the door,” she says.

The door had stopped the bullet. And Dauqan was OK. She has no idea where the bullet came from. But it turned out to be an ominous sign of what was to come.

Gender Canyon

Dauqan is a female scientist in what’s possibly the hardest place on Earth to be a woman: Yemen.

The World Economic Forum ranks Yemen as the worst country for women’s rights. In Yemen, many women can’t leave the house without permission from a male relative.

“If she goes out with her husband or brother, that’s OK. But not by herself. ” Dauqan says. “Not everyone follows this. But this is our culture.”

A culture where two-thirds of women can’t read. About half are married by age 18 — and sometimes as young as age 8.

And then there’s the black veil. Many women in Yemen wear a niqab — a black veil that completely covers their faces, except for a tiny slit across the eyes.

Daquan wears a niqab when she’s in Yemen. She even wore one during her TEDx talk there back in 2014. But she doesn’t wear one in other countries.

“I cover my face [in Yemen] because I respect the culture,” Dauqan says. “I respect the culture.”

She may respect it — but not blindly. For the past decade, Dauqan has burst through glass ceiling after glass ceiling with fearlessness and grace.

Even as a young girl, she was a rebel. “I was a little naughty,” she says with a snicker.

She liked breaking rules. And proving people wrong. So when her parents told her she might not have the smarts to go into science and engineering — like her dad — Eqbal thought: Watch me.

“I told my father, ‘I’ve heard a lot about scientists in chemistry. What is the difference between me and them? So I want to try,” she says.

And she did more than try. She crushed it.

Eqbal won over her father and got his financial support. She was the first among her friends to finish college. Then she got a scholarship to do her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Universiti Kebansaan Malaysia, where she studied the nutritional properties of palm oil.

That led to her writing a popular book about the fruits mentioned in the Holy Quran and their health benefits. For example, Indian Jujube — also known as red dates — are the most cultivated plant in the world and have 20 times more vitamin C than citrus fruit, Eqbal writes in her book.

Next came the prizes. In 2014, Dauqan was named one of the top female scientists in the developing world by the Elsevier Foundation. News programs in the Middle East and in China ran feature stories on her. She became so famous that Al Saeed University made her an assistant professor and head of a department — all this before she’d turned 35. Dauqan was on top of the world.

And then one morning, it was all taken away.

“They were just sleeping”

In March 2015, Dauqan’s hometown of Taiz got pulled into Yemen’s bloody civil war. Planes started flying over head, dropping bombs — even on homes and schools.

“They were bombing my university!” Dauqan exclaims. “They killed some of my students.

“It was really bad. Really bad,” she says. “I’ll show you.”

Dauqan turns to her computer and brings up some photos. On the screen is a photo of several bodies laying flat on the ground. The bodies are covered in white sheets, with only their faces showing.

“This is nine person from my family,” she says. “They were sleeping. And a bomb hit their house. They all died. Nine person from my family.”

A few of the bodies are small.

“Those are two children in our family,” Dauqan adds. “They were just sleeping.”

And then they were gone — Dauqan’s cousins on her father side and their sons and daughters.

“That is why I leave my country,” she says.

“I have to be strong. I want to be strong”

After the bombings began, Dauqan had to stop her research. The university shut down. And it wasn’t safe for her to leave home. She was trapped in a city where snipers target children and bombs fall on mosques, schools and markets.

During one month of 2015, doctors treated more than 4,000 civilians in a Taiz hospital, the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported. MSF hospitals have been hit with bombs four times.

Across Yemen, about 10,000 civilians have been killed in the war and more than 40,000 have been wounded. the U.N. reports. More than 370,000 children are now malnourished because they can’t get food.

And then one day, after spending months in hiding, Dauqan had an idea: Maybe her science could get her out of the war.

She started texting her mentor, Aminah Abdullah, a food scientist at the Universiti Kebangsaan in Malaysia. They applied for a special refugee scholarship with the Institute of International Education-Scholar Rescue Fund, based in New York. She got it, and after a few months, she was safe on a plane headed for Malaysia.

Now she’s working to save up money so she can bring her parents and sister to Malaysia. “It’s very difficult,” she says. “But I have to be strong. I want to be strong!”

Dauqan works long hours in labs, continues to publish papers and mentor students. And she has never lost sight of her dreams — even her ultimate dream.

“My dream is to win the Nobel Prize,” Dauqan says with a chuckle. “It is very hard. So I don’t know. “

But Dauqan has already done so much for science — and society. When little girls in the Middle East see photos of Eqbal as a chemist — wearing a head scarf, measuring pH — they don’t need to use their imagination to think: “I could be just like her. I could be a scientist.”

source/content: npr.org (headline edited)

______________

“In college, I would tell my friends that I wanted to pursue a Ph.D., and they would chuckle and ridicule the idea,” says Eqbal Dauqan, who is an assistant professor at the University Kebangsaan Malaysia at age 36. Born and raised in Yemen, Dauqan credits her “naughty” spirit for her success in a male-dominated culture.Sanjit Das for NPR

___________

YEMEN

EGYPTIAN Ahmed Omar, UAE’s Walt Disney, leaves a legacy at 85

Omar created and launched Majid Magazine for children, and an array of adorable characters, in 1979.

Just as Walt Disney founded one of the world’s largest and most influential entertainment conglomerates, an Egyptian journalist is hailed as the “Walt Disney of the UAE” for his pivotal role in shaping the region’s media landscape with Majid Magazine.

For many Arab adults now in their 50s, the magazine and its beloved characters, like Majid, Kaslan Jiddan and Captain Khalfan, are cherished symbols of childhood joy. Yet, few recognize the creative genius behind these treasured memories: Ahmed Omar, who passed away on Aug. 9 at the age of 85.

His vision and storytelling prowess were crucial in shaping the magazine’s enduring legacy.

Born in Egypt in September 1939, Omar embarked on a lifelong journey with words and stories.

His passion for reading blossomed at a young age, and school and public libraries became his sanctuaries, where he delved into a world of diverse books and nurtured a profound love for literature.

Omar’s frequent visits to Cairo’s Azbakeya Book Market, where he discovered affordable secondhand books, helped him build a personal library filled with diverse titles. His extensive reading played a crucial role in shaping his vision and enriching his ideas, which later shone through in his literary works.

He read to build a deep reservoir of knowledge, with classical literature captivating him from an early age. Naguib Mahfouz’s novels, which delve into the intricacies of life in Egyptian neighborhoods, had a profound impact on him. Omar was also shaped by the works of renowned Egyptian writers like Yusuf Idris, Gamal El-Ghitani, Mohamed Hassanein Heikal and other prominent authors.

He began his professional career at the UAE’s Al-Etihad newspaper, where he was a founding member and contributed to laying its foundation. He later managed the local news section.

The most significant achievement of his career was establishing Majid Magazine for children and becoming its editor-in-chief in 1979. The idea for the magazine was born within Al-Etihad daily and eventually transformed into one of the most important children’s magazines in the Arab world.

Omar recognized the need for Arab children to have a publication that represented them, stimulated their imagination and nurtured their minds. Working alongside a talented team of journalists and illustrators, he turned the magazine into a platform for expressing the thoughts and emotions of Arab children through words and drawings.

Through his tireless efforts, Omar made the magazine a symbol of Arab childhood and a cherished part of the memories of successive generations.

He spent most of his time in the magazine’s offices, creating, planning, overseeing writers and content, and preparing issues. When a new issue was printed, he had several weeks’ worth of issues ready in advance.

The inaugural issue of the magazine was published on Feb. 28, 1979, with 5,000 free copies that quickly vanished from the shelves. Majid, a character representing human values rather than superpowers, struck a chord with children. Majid Magazine maintained a weekly publication schedule every Wednesday without fail, gaining significant popularity throughout the region.

Omar oversaw and managed the magazine with ultimate care and interest for almost 30 years. He provided guiding articles for children and wrote scripts for comic stories, enriching each issue with beloved characters such as Zaki the Clever and Captain Khalfan, among others.

His editorials in Majid Magazine served as weekly lessons for both children and adults, filled with educational messages and moral guidance. His contributions established him as an educational pioneer, as he dedicated his knowledge to serving the younger generation and imparting valuable lessons.

Through his deep understanding of the nuances and secrets of childhood, Omar succeeded in capturing the attention of children from across the Arab world. The magazine’s readership grew to hundreds of thousands of young readers.

The late journalist believed that nurturing a love of reading in children is a collective duty of families, schools and magazines alike. He famously remarked: “Instilling a reading habit early in life is crucial, as it is difficult to cultivate later on. Introducing a child to a magazine is not just about providing entertainment — it’s a crucial step toward nurturing a lifelong passion for reading.”

Since the inception of the magazine, Omar was dedicated to imbuing it with a distinctly Gulf Arab flavor, reflected in its content, stories and characters. He attracted leading children’s writers and cartoonists, ensuring the magazine resonated deeply with young readers across the Arab world by preserving the unique identity of Gulf children.

Notable characters such as Kaslan Jiddan, Fadooli, Abu Al-Dhurfaa, Zakiyah Al-Zakiyah, Shamsa and Dana, and Captain Khalfan and his assistant Fahman became beloved figures among the magazine’s young audience.

Omar emphasized that his magazine was designed to appeal to children growing up in a traditional environment, instilling religious values, cultural awareness and pride in their Arab heritage.

As a testimony to his magazine’s success, mail subscriptions to Majid flourished throughout the Arab World as fans eagerly awaited each issue every Wednesday. For decades, it managed to compete with translated comics magazines such as Mickey (licensed from Disney and translated in Egypt) and Little Lulu (licensed and translated in Lebanon).

Consequently, the magazine evolved alongside the UAE’s social progress and embraced digital advancements with a YouTube channel and a website, although critics would argue that it is nowhere as influential today — despite the additional reach provided by modern technology — as it once was in the 1990s and 1980s.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

_______________

__________

EGYPT

KUWAITI Society for Human Rights awarded the 2023 Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights

The EU Ambassador to the State of Kuwait H.E. Anne Koistinen presented the 2023 Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region to the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights.

The EU Ambassador to the State of Kuwait H.E. Anne Koistinen presented the 2023 Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region to the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights. The European Union awards the Chaillot Prize every year for actions, campaigns, projects and lifetime achievements that favour Human Rights promotion and awareness in the GCC region. The Prize is named after the Palais de Chaillot in Paris where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948.

In her speech during the ceremony held at the EU Residence in Kuwait, Ambassador Koistinen said: “I am honoured to present the Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC Region to the Kuwait Society for Human Rights for their unwavering dedication over the years to promoting and advancing human rights in Kuwait. I would like to highlight in particular their work in supporting and advocating for migrant workers’ rights in Kuwait and raising awareness about their labour rights. Engagement with the civil society in Kuwait is a very important part of EU Delegation’s work, therefore I am looking forward to continuing our long-standing cooperation with the Kuwait Society for Human Rights.

Mr. Khaled Al-Humaidi, President of the Board of Directors of the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights, said in his speech during the ceremony that ‘To be honoured today by awarding us the Challiot Prize for Human Rights is a great moral support for the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights. This Society has taken upon itself the responsibility of defending human rights and promoting them in the Kuwaiti society through concerted efforts at the government and community levels. We are delighted that the Chaillot Prize was granted to us for our tireless efforts in protecting the rights of migrant workers in Kuwait through the ‘Together Project’, which aims at raising awareness and protecting the rights of migrant workers in Kuwait. This project was implemented by the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights in cooperation with the European Union Delegation in Kuwait, the Netherlands Embassy, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in addition to the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).’

For the EU, promoting and protecting human rights is at the heart of EU external policy as they are among the EU’s founding values of human dignity, freedom and respect of human rights. Cooperation on human rights and engagement with the civil society are an integral part of the relations between the European Union and all countries, including Kuwait. The European Union and Kuwait held their fourth Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels on 5 December 2023, where the two sides exchanged about the latest developments on both sides and reiterated their commitment to an open and constructive dialogue to jointly address human rights challenges and share best practices.

source/content: eeas.europa.eu (headline edited)

__________

© Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR)

____________

KUWAIT

DUBAI, U.A.E. / SAUDI ARABIA : DEWA and ACWA Power sign landmark agreement for world’s largest solar-powered desalination plant

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), signed a 30-year water purchaser agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for phase 1 of the Hassyan sea water desalination project using solar power. The project is part of DEWA’s efforts to increase its water desalination capacity to 730 MIGD by 2030, from 490 MIGD at present.  The project aligns with Dubai’s unparalleled economic growth and the Emirate’s thriving construction sector. This complements the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, addresses the substantial population growth, and meets the steadily increasing demand for water in domestic, commercial, and other consumer sectors.

The agreement was signed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA; and Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman and Founder of ACWA Power. Officials from both entities were present.

Last August, DEWA announced ACWA Power as the ‘Preferred Bidder’ for the construction and operation of the 180 Million Imperial Gallon per Day (MIGD) Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Hassyan Phase 1 Independent Water Producer (IWP) project, with an investment of AED 3.357 billion (USD 914 million). The allocated land area for the project is 252,300 square metres. DEWA achieved a world record by receiving the lowest bid of 0.36536 USD/m³ of desalinated water. This project is the largest of its kind in the world for water production based on Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology using solar energy. It is DEWA’s first Independent Water Producer (IWP) model project. The water desalination capacity in Dubai is currently 490 MIGD. This capacity will increase to 670 MIGD in 2026 with the completion of this project.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed a 30-year water purchaser agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for phase 1 of the Hassyan sea water desalination project using solar power

“We are pleased to sign the agreement with ACWA Power. This project supports the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to enhance water supplies in Dubai from sustainable sources and achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. We are building water production plants based on Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology which require less energy than Multi-Stage Flash distillation (MSF) plants, making it a more sustainable choice for water desalination. By 2030, DEWA aims to produce 100% of desalinated water by a mix of clean energy and waste heat,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: “We ensure the continuation of the 100% availability of DEWA’s services according to the world’s highest levels of availability, reliability, and efficiency thanks to our state-of-the-art infrastructure and advanced technologies. This is based on innovation and sound scientific planning so that we contribute to making the UAE the world’s leading nation by its centennial in 2071.”

Mohammad A. Abunayyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ACWA Power, said: “This agreement between ACWA Power and DEWA is another example of the strong collaboration between ourselves and our valued partners in the United Arab Emirates. The Hassyan IWP will be the largest plant of its kind in the world, and we have set a new record for the lowest levelised water tariff. The plant will be highly efficient, desalinating water through reverse osmosis powered by solar energy. With our years of experience in the industry, ACWA Power has ambitious aims and we are proud of continually breaking records through innovation and using new technologies to enhance water security. With this project, we are reaffirming our commitment with our partners towards achieving the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.”

source/content: smartwatermagazine.com (headline edited)

___________

The Hassyan IWP in Dubai will have a production capacity of 180 million gallons per day of desalinated wate

_____________________________________________________

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA : King Salman academy launches ‘Camel Lexicon’ / 2024 designated as YEAR OF THE CAMEL

 The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language recently launched a “Camel Lexicon” as a part of its Falak platform for linguistic databases.

This initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia’s designation of 2024 as the Year of the Camel, recognizing the historical connection between these animals and the Arabian Peninsula.

The “Camel Lexicon” is aimed at scholars and researchers, and provides extensive information on the cultural significance of camels in Saudi Arabian society. 

According to Abdullah Al-Washmi, secretary-general of the academy, this effort strengthens national identity by highlighting the role of camels in poetry, literature and daily life. 

Camels symbolize loyalty and authenticity in Saudi Arabia’s culture and are deeply embedded in the country’s poetic heritage.

The Falak platform, launched earlier this year, is a gateway to Arabic linguistic lexicons with over 1.5 billion words from diverse contexts.

It supports text analysis, linguistic data tagging, and collaboration among Arabic-language enthusiasts.

As Saudi Arabia celebrates the Year of the Camel 2024, the academy has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting the Arabic language and preserving the nation’s rich cultural heritage.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

_____________

Camels symbolize loyalty and authenticity in Saudi Arabia’s culture and are deeply embedded in the country’s poetic heritage. (Supplied)

__________________

SAUDI ARABIA

ARAB ATHLETES Bring Home 17 Medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics

From weightlifting to gymnastics and boxing, Arab athletes made the nation proud at the Olympics.

Meet the Olympics winners here

The 2024 Olympics concluded last night in Paris, and have marked a very special season for Arab athletes.

Despite controversy and a few ups and downs over the past 17 days, the best sportswomen and sportsmen from the region did their nations proud, earning a total of 17 medals. Overall, the medals were won by athletes from seven countries: Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain and Algeria. Bahrain won the highest number of medals this time with four major wins (two gold, one silver, and one bronze). In second place was Algeria, bringing home three medals (two gold, one bronze).

Tied in third place, Egypt and Tunisia earned three medals each (one gold, one silver, one bronze), followed by Morocco, which also won three medals (two gold, one bronze). Jordan came in fifth with one silver medal, and Qatar completed the seventeen wins with a bronze medal.

It’s no easy feat earning an Olympics medal, and while 2024 has marked a proud moment for the region, it’s also important to note that this isn’t the first time our athletes have brought home this number of wins. Back in 2020, the Tokyo Olympics saw Arab athletes earn a total of 18 medals!

Among this year’s winners, some of the most talked about athletes were the ones that went through the biggest hardships. Algeria’s Imane Kheliff faced speculation and bullying at a global level, but remained undeterred in her pursuit for gold. Winning her medal last week, she said, “I sent them a message with this gold medal, and I say my dignity has been restored and my honor is above anything else.”

Days prior to Khelif’s proud moment, France-born Algerian athlete Kaylia Nemour (who be made history when she became the first-ever African gold medalist in gymnastics. The win was twice as special given Nemour’s past dispute with the French gymnastics federation, which led to her switching from competing for France to competing for Algeria in 2023.

Also in the list of noteworthy names is Tunisia’s Firas Katoussi, who won a gold medal in 80kg taekwondo, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who brought hold gold in 3,000m steeplechase, and Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy, who set a world record with 1,555 points in modern pentathlon. Congratulations to all the athletes who represented the region and did their nations proud. Below, a complete list of all the Olympics winners from the region.

Algeria
Gold: Imane Khelif, women’s 66kg boxing

Gold: Kaylia Nemour, women’s uneven bars artistic gymnastics

Bronze: Djamel Sedjati, men’s 800m

Bahrain
Gold: Winfred Yavi, women’s 3000m steeplechase

Gold: Akhmed Tazhudinov, men’s freestyle 97kg wrestling

Silver: Salwa Eid Naser, women’s 400m

Bronze: Gor Minasyan, men’s 102kg weightlifting

Egypt
Gold: Ahmed ElGendy, men’s individual modern pentathlon

Silver: Sara Ahmed, women’s 81kg weightlifting

Bronze: Mohamed ElSayed, men’s épée individual fencing

Jordan
Silver: Zaid Kareem, men’s 68kg taekwondo

Morocco
Gold: Soufiane El Bakkali, men’s 3000m steeplechase

Bronze: Men’s football team

Qatar
Bronze: Mutaz Essa Barshim, men’s high jump

Tunisia
Gold: Firas Katoussi, men’s 80kg taekwondo

Silver: Fares Ferjani, men’s sabre individual fencing

Bronze: Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, men’s 58kg taekwondo

source/content: en.vogue.me /nitya chablani (headline edited)

________

___________________

ARAB ATHLETES

BAHRAIN: PARIS OLYMPICS 2024 : Gor Minasyan grabs third Olympic medal for Bahrain at Paris Olympics 2024

Bahraini athlete Gor Minasyan secured the third Olympic medal for his country in Paris after winning bronze in the 102+kg weightlifting on Sunday.

Bahrain’s Olympic run in Paris has proved to be its most successful one yet after winning four medals so far. 

More Bahraini athletes are set to compete on Sunday, increasing hope for the country to secure more medals. 

Wrestler Akhmed Tazkhudinov will compete in the finals of the men’s freestyle 97kg wrestling against Georgia.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

___________

More Bahraini athletes are set to compete on Sunday, increasing hope for the country to secure more medals. (Supplied)

______________

BAHRAIN