Jordan Watch : The Principles of Arab Reform: Social Reform

A continuation of the Alexandria declaration in 2004. In my opinion, this section on social reform should be the biggest priority for any reform effort in the region

Third: Social Reform

30- Recognizing that the Arab community as a whole possesses great social and cultural resources, it is time to make maximum use of these resources to establish a viable, cohesive Arab society that is capable of solving its problems and, subsequently, moving forward to effectively achieve progress and participate in forging its own future and the future of the world. This involves working towards achieving the following goals:

a) Developing a pattern of family relationships that would help create an independent, distinct and free individual capable of taking responsibility for his/her choices. This requires a review of some of the values that continue to negatively affect the Arab life such as submissiveness and obedience, and substituting them with values of independence, dialogue and positive interaction.

b) The media plays a fundamental role in building the general culture of individuals. Therefore, this requires affirming the role of the media in re-building the values that support development and modernization such as equality, tolerance, accepting the other and even the value of difference. In addition, these values have to go hand in hand with concepts like precision, commitment to perfection and other positive values that would help transform Arab society into a new and functional society.

c) Directing Arab societies towards acquiring, disseminating and producing knowledge. This requires focusing on five integrated and interrelated issues that work towards achieving a society of knowledge. These are

•Confirming the need for human development and setting education as a priority

• Achieving technological development and providing the basis for its infrastructure

Developing strategies for scientific research

• Supporting free enterprise and encouraging creative innovation

• Providing a supportive environment for a society of political, economic and cultural knowledge

31- To insure this, the participants recommend the following

a) Setting Arab criteria for education output at all levels in keeping with international criteria that provide a baseline for gauging and evaluation. However, adopting these criteria should be only the starting point that each country can build on and add to

b) Establishing organizations to evaluate the quality of education in each Arab country. These organizations must be independent of Ministries of Education and should be connected regionally, allowing for exchange of graduates and the free movement of citizens in the job market.

c) Keeping the state's financial support of and responsibility for educational institutions while maintaining the academic independence of these public and private establishments. Furthermore, private financing of higher education should be allowed provided that it is for non-profit purposes.

d) Promoting scientific research and increasing its financial and human resources, linking it with the institutions responsible for production and development, and erasing all red tape policies that hamper the freedom of research and the production of knowledge.

e) Aiming at de-centralization and flexibility in running these institutions

f) Coordinating the output of the educational system with the changing needs of the job market, economic growth, and the building of competitive capacities

g) Inviting the civil society to share in financing education and contributing in running and monitoring it in Arab societies.

h) Granting students the privilege to practice their political rights including peaceful demonstration, free expression of their opinions, and democratic elections in student unions. Students must be permitted to participate in running their own educational process and allowed difference of opinion

i) Eradicating illiteracy, especially among women, in no more than ten years

) Focusing attention on the Arabic language, developing its curricula and agreeing upon a set of criteria to conduct comparative studies in that area

32- Working towards achieving social stability in Arab societies. This requires the reformulation of effective policies that secure justice in the distribution of wealth. Thus, there is also a need to end the social marginalization of certain social groups through establishing policies that emphasize respect and implement international declarations of human rights. There is also a need to focus on the empowerment of women, promoting their participation in the development of society and eliminating all forms of discrimination against them. This is closely related to the issue of integrating youth, enhancing their participation in society and providing immediate solutions for the issue of youth employment. Last, but not least, there is a need to develop the conditions of Arab childhood and formulate the effective social policies to deal with people with special needs and the elderly in the Arab world. Furthermore, the problem of the increase in the rate of poverty requires an effective strategy to address this in the light of the solutions suggested by the United Nations and other international organizations.

33- It is our belief that we should address the negative political, social and economic practices in the Arab countries. Therefore, the participants find it necessary to formulate a new social contract between the state and the citizen in Arab society. This contract should define clearly the rights of the state and its duties towards the citizen and, likewise, outline the rights of the Arab citizen and how to safeguard them.