Jordan Times
Friday, May 20, 2005
Nobel laureates outline
priorities for world's future
By Mahmoud Al Abed
PETRA — Nobel laureates and key world figures wrapped up their meeting here on
Thursday by agreeing to reconvene in this ancient seat of civilisation on a
regular basis to follow up on recommendations to provide hope to the world's
poor and oppressed.
The official declaration of the Petra conference will be announced today, the
opening day of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea, by the forum's founder,
Klaus Schwab, who took part in the two-day Petra conference.
His Majesty King Abdullah, the meeting's host, urged delegates to reach out to
the youth of the Middle East, where half of the population are below the age of
18.
The King called on the Nobel laureates to guide the youth to a future of
opportunity, peace and security.
He stressed that the youth in this part of the world would not “accept empty
words and promises. They want to make a difference; to share in the fruits of
modern knowledge... And we must make a beginning now.”
The meeting underscored the role of the private sector in promoting peace
through economic investment and the need to strengthen democratic institutions
and civil society organisations “to address inequity and injustice, which are
the root causes of terrorism.”
Individuals, according to the prize winners, should be encouraged “to become
agents for peace by cultivating a sense of individual responsibility based on
universal values.”
Conference participants included peace prize winners the Dalai Lama, Northern
Ireland's David Trimble, Israel's Shimon Peres and Elie Wiesel from the US,
among others. Prime Minister Adnan Badran and Prince Ghazi also attended the
conference.
Former US President Bill Clinton outlined the main challenges facing the world
including security, social justice and the environment.
He said a key factor in the world today was the issue of global
inter-dependency, which has had both positive and negative consequences. Clinton
said this notion was under trial when the Sept. 11 attacks took place because of
slack immigration policies and open borders. He added that the Internet and new
technologies helped the terrorists execute the attacks.
However, he pointed out that these same elements helped the Asian tsunami
victims as information access and the media created a wave of world sympathy,
which led to popular fund- raising campaigns.
Clinton called for a commitment to global peace to “create a world of more
friends and fewer enemies.” He also said that world countries should work
“hand-in-hand” to protect the environment.
Participants agreed to enhance the prospects of peace by linking conflict
mitigation strategies to economic development and education, especially efforts
to promote literacy.
In his concluding remarks, Wiesel, co-host of the conference, pinpointed
education as the key to solving the many of the world's problems. “We owe our
hope and commitment to our children,” said Wiesel, whose US-based Eli Wiesel
Foundation for Humanity launched the Nobel Laureates' meetings in Paris seven
years ago.
According to a statement issued after the meetings, educational progress will
involve promoting access to information and also envisions connecting “every
classroom worldwide to the Internet.”
The education, media and culture panel highlighted the need to enhance press
freedoms and diversification of media ownership.
Delegates cited good governance, consultation, capital access through
microfinance initiatives and women's economic empowerment as key elements of
progress and economic prosperity.
The conference called on world leaders to take note of the hazards of
over-reliance on hydrocarbons and focus on diversifying energy supplies with an
emphasis on renewable energy sources to help alleviate global warming.
They also called for more scientific research in the developing world and
bilateral and regional agreements on scientific exchange in the Middle East.
Referring to economic opportunities, Schwab said 80 million jobs needed to be
created by 2020.
Participants rounded off the meeting by saying they would consider establishing
a Nobel laureates group as part of their follow-up activities to “assist
communication, cooperation and collaborative endeavours.”
Meanwhile, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported that Their Majesties King
Abdullah and Queen Rania on Thursday met with Clinton.
Also on the sidelines of conference, the Monarch met separately with Tanzanian
President Benjamin William Mkapa and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.
King Abdullah also met with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
President Sadako Ogata yesterday.