about the project
The Knowledge Project is a joint initiative between the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Arab States (UNDP RBAS) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) that aims at supporting countries of the Arab States region and beyond in their journeys to build knowledge societies to achieve sustainable development. It encompasses a variety of knowledge products which started in 2009, including three Arab Knowledge Reports, the Arab Knowledge Index, the Knowledge4All portal and mobile application, the Arab Reading Index, the Future of Knowledge Foresight Reports, and the Global Knowledge Index.
2021 marks the beginning of a new phase of the Knowledge Project and a new decade of the partnership between UNDP RBAS and MBRF that extends until 2030. In the coming period, the main activities will consist of reviewing the structure of the Global Knowledge Index, enhancing the Knowledge4All portal and mobile application, releasing the Future of Knowledge: A Foresight Report 2022, holding youth activities and building global partnerships to develop the skills of Arab youth.
The unprecedented changes and new realities facing the world today underline the increasing importance of the Knowledge Project as it comprises expertise and knowledge initiatives that help identify strengths and weaknesses in knowledge systems and guide development policies to build knowledge societies and economies.
UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.
UNDP’s activities in the Arab States region build on UNDP’s five thematic priorities, with additional emphasis placed on addressing the main impediments to human development in the region as identified by the Arab Human Development Report series, namely freedom and good governance, knowledge, and women’s empowerment. Through its activities, the Bureau therefore seeks to promote and advance:
- Sustainable development
- Democratic governance and peacebuilding
- Climate Change and disaster resilience
- Women’s empowerment
- Knowledge societies
- HIV and development
- Energy and environment
- Youth
Launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in May 2007, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation has since led and implemented pioneering programmes aimed at establishing Dubai and the UAE as the centre for knowledge and research.
MBRF aims to empower future generations and enable them to devise sustainable solutions to facilitate the process of knowledge and research in the Arab World. The Foundation is committed to create knowledge-based societies throughout the region by funding research projects, activities, and initiatives. It nurtures ideas and innovation while focusing on its main pillars which are education, entrepreneurship, and research & development.