ISLAMABAD:Coordinator General COMSTECH Dr M Iqbal Choudhary on Thursday emphasized on working on war footing to ensure every child must get the basic right to education.
He was speaking at the “V Nobel Fest” arranged by the Inclusive Development Foundation (IDF) in partnership with COMSTECH among others in Astana, Kazakhstan during 26-28 in hybrid format, said a release received here.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Choudhary said, “We live in a world which is defined by knowledge and its application.”
He quoted Pakistani Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam that “developing countries differ from developed countries not only because they have less wealth and capital but because they have less knowledge”.
Dr Choudhary appreciated the focus of V Nobel Fest on education and knowledge and said it was timely and important.
He stressed that “we need to act and act promptly at all levels.”
Dr Choudhary said the major challenges the Muslim world had been facing in the field of education were: low access to education as among the 780 million illiterate people, half live in OIC region; female literacy was well below the world average; exclusion of children of minorities and children with disabilities; armed conflicts leading to large scale migration; and lack of investment in schools, trained teachers, and educational material.
He said: “I am pleased to report here that as per vision of the former President of Kazakhstan, we are in the process of developing an institutional mechanism for inter Islamic cooperation, called OIC-15, comprising 15 most developed OIC member states.”
Dr Choudhary said on behalf of the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee (COMSTECH), “I express my greetings to the organizers of V Nobel Fest for putting together another excellent festival of knowledge for future leaders.”
He extended gratitude to the organizers for extending invitation to COMSTECH as the co-organizer of the VI Nobel Fest, to be held in early 2023 in Islamabad.
IDF is an independent non-profit organization that aims to foster open dialogue on inclusive policies related to the most pressing public issues.
Nobel Fest is a unique online platform for discussing and sharing innovative ideas with Nobel prize laureates, distinguished scientists and experts.
The main mission of the Nobel Fest is to make world education and science accessible in every corner of the world.
This year’s Nobel Fest held in Astana, Kazakhstan, students and young scientists from all parts of the world have been granted unlimited access to the platform, and allowed to connect and communicate with Nobel Prize laureates and distinguished scientists.