AU Arabists demand intensified scientific research to boost Africa’s development

The African Union of Arabists has called for intensified engagement of scientific research and media institutions to strengthen developmental efforts in Africa. The call was made by stakeholders during the International Forum on Scientific Research and Media which held at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco. In a […]

The African Union of Arabists has called for intensified engagement of scientific research and media institutions to strengthen developmental efforts in Africa.

The call was made by stakeholders during the International Forum on Scientific Research and Media which held at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco.

In a statement made available in Ibadan, they submitted there’s need for intensified efforts to strengthen the engagement of scientific research and media institutions, as well as media and cultural actors, to contribute positively to the process of societal development in African countries.

According to them, the importance of partnerships to realize true cooperation between the countries of the South should be prioritized.

Participants at the forum also praised the Moroccan initiatives launched by His Majesty, King Mohammed VI for cooperation and development in Africa.

Other institutions that joined hands in organizing the forum include the African Union of Arab and Arabist Academics, the Regional Directorate of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and the Communication Sector of the Souss-Massa Region, in partnership with the Morocco in Africa Laboratory, the Islamic Institute of Dakar, and the Regional Tourism Council of the Souss-Massa Region.

The aim was to embody the comprehensive meaning of the South-South partnership, as a fundamental mechanism for achieving development in Africa.

Professor of International Communication and President of the Union, Professor Al-Khader Abdel-Baqi Muhammad from Nigeria, expressed his sincere thanks to Morocco for hosting and sponsoring the Union, represented by Ibn Zohr University in Agadir.

The Secretary General of the African Union of Arab and Arabist Academics, Mohamed Bouzenkad, emphasized that this forum sought to raise the issues and possibilities offered by scientific research in embodying the African-Moroccan partnership in its scientific, cognitive, and cultural dimensions, as well as to consolidate this cultural diplomacy with a view to integrating academic and media actors into this dynamic.

He pointed out that in this context, the African Union of Arab and Arabist Academics, established in Morocco a year ago, has developed a deep awareness of the need to keep pace with this national and continental dynamic with targeted and effective work aimed at developing the Moroccan-African partnership in its economic and social dimensions through solid scientific and academic efforts that contribute to strengthening the mobilization of various stakeholders.

The scientific sessions of the forum were presented by experts and researchers representing several African and Arab countries, as well as representatives of African scientific unions, structures, and media institutions.

This forum provided a suitable opportunity to discuss how these research and media institutions can engage in this context, its challenges, and ways to develop it.

It is worth noting that this forum came within the framework of celebrating the first anniversary of the founding of the African Union of Arab and Arabist Academics at Ibn Zohr University, on the sidelines of the “Arabic Speakers in Sub-Saharan Africa” ​​conference in February 2024.