Conference 13: "The Future of Education in the Arab World in the Age of Digital Transformation", Kingdom of Morocco, May 2023,

Conference 13: "The Future of Education in the Arab World in the Age of Digital Transformation", Kingdom of Morocco, May 2023,

The thirteenth (13) Conference of Arab Ministers of Education, chaired by the Kingdom of Morocco in May 2023, discussed the topic "The Future of Education in the Age of Digital Transformation", based on the main document titled "Education in the Age of Digital Transformation", with the aim of discussing the variables affecting the shaping of the future of education, the Arab orientations for the school of the future, developing digital skills in the educational field in the context of digital transformation, developing digital infrastructure and educational administration, and preparing teachers for the school of tomorrow.

The Kingdom of Morocco's document titled "For a Quality Public School" was also presented to the conference, along with the "Comprehensive Education" document, the "Features of an Arab Framework for Financing the Integration of Distance Learning into Educational Curricula to Enhance Joint Arab Cooperation", the "Learning Loss", the document "Implementing the Commitments of the Joint Arab Curriculum for School Theatre", and the "Arabic Language Month" initiative. Interventions on the following topics were also presented to the conference: transforming education in the Arab states in the post-summit era, the Moroccan experience in the field of early education, applications of artificial intelligence in the field of education, and an overview of the challenges of education in the Middle East and North Africa region: priorities and objectives for World Bank support. The conference's working sessions included a presentation of the national experiences of the participating Arab states on the topics of: e-learning, artificial intelligence, digital transformation programmes and infrastructure, integrating citizenship education into school education, and the general secondary system. This was with the aim of exchanging experiences among the Arab states to disseminate best practices and benefit from them

The conference issued a number of recommendations that emerged from the documents presented, which are:

• Recommendations directed to the Arab states: calling on the Arab states to:

1. Commending the role of the Al-Quds Committee, chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, the committee's executive arm, in supporting Jerusalem and its residents through implementing projects covering a number of fields, including education, while affirming support for these projects and pushing them forward toward achieving the noble goals they aim to reach.
2. Providing support and assistance to the education sector in the State of Palestine, especially with regard to preserving the sovereignty and independence of the Palestinian national curriculum and its contents related to identity and the Palestinian national narrative, including protecting education in East Jerusalem from attempts at Israelization, and including in the curricula of the Arab states appropriate educational materials on the most prominent features of the Palestinian national narrative.
3. Commending the Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the great support it provides in the field of basic education in Jerusalem to consolidate the Palestinian curriculum in the holy city, while affirming this role and pushing it forward to support our people in Jerusalem.
4. Supporting the Republic of Somalia and the Union of the Comoros in benefiting from the experiences of leading states in the field of digital transformation, and having the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) coordinate and support them.
5. Providing up-to-date statistical data on the education sector to the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) (the ALECSO Observatory) to produce quality statistics, indicators and reports on education in cooperation with its strategic partners.
6. Employing artificial intelligence applications to support and govern teaching and learning processes.
7. Employing school theatre in developing the educational process and its transformations in cooperation with ALECSO and the Arab Theatre Authority.
8. Nominating talented students to participate in the "Arab Talented Initiative" organized by the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, in cooperation with ALECSO, and adopting programmes that ensure their continued care.

• Recommendations directed to the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO): calling on ALECSO to:

1. Monitor successful national experiences and best practices of continuous professional development programmes for teachers in the field of digital transformation and disseminate them to the Arab states.
2. Develop a joint Arab framework for cooperation in building the professional capacities of teachers, principals and supervisors in the field of digital transformation.
3. Coordinate Arab efforts in the field of advancing the teaching and learning of the Arabic language, enriching Arabic digital content, and cooperating with the International Council for the Arabic Language to ensure the success of the "Arabic Language Month" initiative.
4. Conduct the necessary study to establish a joint Arab digital platform for open educational resources in cooperation with the Arab states and strategic partners.
5. Coordinate with the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education to complete the implementation of the "Arab Model/Indicator for Quality and Excellence in Education" project, and present its outputs to the work of the next session (14) for adoption and to begin implementing it.
6. Organize periodic (annual) forums and symposia to monitor the progress of the Arab states in employing digital transformation in the educational process, and present national educational experiences and efforts in general, and e-learning in particular.
7. Develop a new governance mechanism to follow up on the procedures and commitments of the Arab states to accelerate the achievement of the goals and indicators of the fourth of the Sustainable Development Goals and the resolutions of the 2022 Transforming Education Summit in cooperation with strategic partners.

Her Excellency Dr. Buthaina bint Ali Al-Jabr Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research in the State of Qatar, submitted a request to host the fourteenth (14) Conference in the State of Qatar.

The decision:

• Approving the holding of the fourteenth (14) Conference in the State of Qatar, and extending thanks to Her Excellency the Minister.