MBRF Signs New 10-Year Agreement with UNDP
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) has signed a new 10-year agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that covers the 2021-2030 period, at a special ceremony held last week at the UN Headquarters in New York City, renewing the two parties’ partnership on the Knowledge Project.
The agreement enhances both parties’ thought leadership, and boosts their ability to conduct evidence-based policymaking for sustainable development in the Arab region and the world.
The event was organised by the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States and the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, with high-profile representatives in attendance, including the UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner; MBRF’s CEO H.E. Jamal bin Huwaireb; H.E. Saud Al Shamsi, Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations; and Laurent Probst, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Luxembourg and Global Lead of PwC’s Accelerator Network.
“The lessons of the past must inform the development policies of the future, making knowledge a critical ally as we strive to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and shift to a more sustainable and resilient path,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “In today’s fast-paced world, gaining knowledge, sharing it, and applying it develop capabilities and expands opportunities in every aspect of people’s lives, enriching the nations to which they belong – from education to the economy, from technology to the world of work.”
From his side, MBRF’s CEO H.E. Jamal bin Huwaireb highlighted the necessity to measure knowledge within the Arab region and around the world, as “there is no development without knowledge, the Global Knowledge Index, which we launched in partnership with the UNDP, addresses this need and takes into account the pivotal role of youth as one of the most crucial elements needed to build knowledge societies. Our constant attempts to spread knowledge and achieve its goals for development can only be seen through the empowerment of youth.”
Meanwhile, H.E. Saud Al Shamsi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations, said: “A remarkable socio-economic transformation has occurred in the UAE since the UNDP first opened its doors in 1977, and our relationship with the Programme has evolved along with it. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation and UNDP found each other in 2008 and have been releasing one great product after the other – publications that really document the best thinking on development. With the signing of this agreement, we look forward to witnessing the outcomes of the next decade as this partnership continues to grow.”
The event showcased tangible results of the UNDP-MBRF partnership in promoting knowledge for development across the Arab world and globally, in addition to exploring opportunities to be achieved in the upcoming decade.
In addition to the 10-year agreement, the event saw the signing of two other agreements, one charting a plan to engage youth from UAE as interns with UNDP, and another, between the Programme and PwC, to produce the new Future of Knowledge Foresight Report 2019 – one of the outputs envisioned in the 10-year agreement between UNDP and MBRF.
The Knowledge Project – a partnership between UNDP and MBRF – is dedicated to promoting the measuring and enhancement of knowledge across the Arab region and the world. Its key outputs are the Global Knowledge Index, the only global index that measures knowledge across 134 countries, and the Future of Knowledge Foresight Report, which presents a pilot study, covering 20 countries, on the future fields of knowledge that will shape the future of knowledge societies.
