THE EGYPTIAN GAZETTE

 

14 October 2003

 

 

Mrs Mubarak: Science based on int’l idea, benefits for all

 

 

ACHIEVEMENTS in the field of human development have been realised only through solidarity and brotherhood between nations and peoples of the world. Mrs Suzanne Mubarak told an international conference in Alexandria yesterday. Science is based on an international idea that does not restrict its benefits to one nation, Mrs Mubarak told the opening session of a conference on the role of higher education in promoting cultural integration among Mediterranean countries.

Higher education is the means for development in any society, Mrs Mubarak said, suggesting that this level of education should be made available to all.

Education forms personality and shapes behaviour, rendering people more receptive to others’ ideas, and hence open to dialogue, Mrs Mubarak told the participants of the two-day gathering.

It is a noble goal, which can be reached through noble means because they are fostered by the universities, which produce educated and cultured youth, she added.

Educated young people constitute the backbone of any cultural dialogue or scientific cooperation among the world peoples and nations, Mrs Mubarak told the gathering, which is organised by the EU, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Meanwhile, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr Mofied Shehab said that education is a genuine human right, and that President Hosni Mubarak has made education Egypt’s national priority.

Dr Shehab spoke of the importance of modernising education in preparation for genuine development in Egypt.