Social Issues (3 links)

Arab Knowledge Report 2009
The Arab Knowledge Report 2009, a joint product of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the United Nations Development Program, is the first in a proposed series of analytical reports addressing the state of knowledge, in all its dimensions, in the Arab region. It addresses the factors that impede the establishment of a knowledge society in the Arab world and assesses the state of education, information and communication technologies, research and innovation in the region. It concludes with a roadmap for action so that the Arab world can integrate itself in a rapidly globalizing knowledge society.

Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries
This is the fifth volume in the series of Arab Human Development Reports sponsored by the United Nations Development Program and independently authored by intellectuals and scholars from Arab countries. The report tackles the following question: why have obstacles to human development in the region proved so stubborn?

This report finds that the answers lie in the fragility of the region’s political, social, economic and environmental structures, in its lack of people-centered development policies and in its vulnerability to outside intervention. Together, these characteristics undermine human security — the kind of material and moral foundation that secures lives, livelihoods and an acceptable quality of life for the majority. Human security is a prerequisite for human development, and its widespread absence in Arab countries has held back their progress.

Development Challenges for the Arab States: A Human Development Approach, Part 1 and Part 2
This report, issued by the Arab League and the United Nations Development Program, highlights six key interrelated challenges facing the Arab region, including: institutional reform; job creation; the promotion and financing of pro-poor growth; the reform of educational systems, economic diversification, and increased food security and self-sufficiency within existing environmental constraints. The report stresses that dealing with these challenges requires the adoption of a comprehensive development model based on the human development approach which considers freedoms as the basis for development. The report contains two parts. The first discusses the challenges of social and economic development from the perspective of comprehensive development methodologies, while the second part examines the challenge of food security in detail.