Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi philanthropic foundation is behind some of the most ambitious science and technology plans which hopes to spark and even fund the imagination of everyone from kindergarten classrooms to Ph.D. students.
Abdul Aziz Al Fahim, Director of the Science and Technology Department at the philanthropic Emirates Foundation is the face behind this initiative.
"Science and technology are the driving forces for a modern economy. It is of a high interest not only to the foundation but also the government as well. Many of the issues that surround us from global warming to infectious diseases have to do with science and technology. The challenge for us is to make this field available at such an early age," Al Fahim said.
An Emirati, Al Fahim did much of his studies in North America and has earned an international reputation in the area of scientific research, which makes him a perfect fit for the foundation's vision. The challenge before him is to tap the imagination of the young and old alike.
Today, the language of science is predominantly Latin, taught in English. Fifty years ago, students going into the field were required to take German language courses to better understand the terms used.
The lack of science and technology education not being taught in Arabic has left a generation simply not interested in this field.
"What we have learned is that this area is really not on the minds of many (nationals). One of the reasons for that is due to the language barrier. When you examine many of the science and technology websites, documents and book, they are hardly available in Arabic," Al Fahim added.
With that in mind, the Emirates Foundation set forth 12 plans, one of which would be to translate complex websites, including the United States space agency Nasa's website. "Once we bridge the language gap, this will open a lot of doors in the field," Al Fahim said.
This would only be the start of the vision. With a major campaign to target the education system through science fairs and Ph.D fellowships, the foundation recognises education is where it starts.
"Through multimedia projects we hope to make science interesting for the next generation. We hope to find the gaps and fill them, be it resources or knowledge," Al Fahim added.
Being a visionary man, Al Fahim expects the fruits of this initiative may take years to flourish but the thought of inspiring a generation to one day dream of putting an Emirati on the moon is worth the effort.