Saudi Gazette

Dubai — An initiative aiming to provide free electronic education to more than 50 million students in the Arab world through the contributions of thousands of volunteers was launched in Dubai on Monday.

UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum initiated the Mohammed Bin Rashid Arabic eLearning Project, with the launch of The Translation Challenge.

The challenge calls on all Arabs to help translate into Arabic 5,000 videos and 11 million words of world-class math and science material to be available online free to over 50 million Arab students from kindergarten to grade 12.

The content is to be sourced and localized in accordance with the highest international standards and curricula.

At the launch, Sheikh Mohammed said, “Providing high quality education in science and math to all Arab students is integral to rebooting our civilizational development; E-Learning is the fastest way to bridge the educational gap in the Arab world.”

“We have challenged all Arabs to help translate 11 million words in order to produce 5,000 educational videos in one year; we urge anyone interested to participate in this important ongoing cultural project.”

He elaborated, “Our goal is to provide high standard academic material in science and math to all Arab students. This project is the first step in a long journey to improve education in the Arab world, and make it accessible to millions of Arab students. Translation is the foundation of a cultural renaissance, and opens the doors to intellectual enlightenment.”

The Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic eLearning Project falls under the umbrella of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI). It is an online initiative that seeks to lay the foundation of a new knowledge base, and to establish the future of science and math excellence among Arab students.