Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber - The Man
Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber is a self-made businessman and philanthropist dedicated to education, peaceful coexistence, tolerance and democracy in the Middle East.
MBI Trust at SOAS
During the mid-90s, MBI Al Jaber recognised the need for a high-profile international forum for the study and understanding of the Middle East. He envisaged a centre of expertise and resources for academics as well as for the world of business, government, the media and NGOs. He set about the realisation of his aim by founding the MBI Trust at SOAS, where he initiated a scholarship programme aimed at nurturing leadership skills in young Arabs through studying at elite institutions in London.
Sheikh Al Jaber endowed the MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS, and was founding patron of the London Middle East Institute in 2000, which is directed by the MBI Al Jaber Chair. Sheikh Al Jaber's contribution to the greater understanding of Middle East issues was recognised by an Honorary Fellowship at SOAS.
The MBI Al Jaber Foundation
Sheikh Al Jaber is founder and sole patron of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, which emerged out of the MBI Trust's scholarship programme. The MBI Al Jaber Foundation has enabled many young people from all parts of the Arab world to fulfil their potential through studies at elite institutions of higher education, including the American University of Cairo, the American University of Beirut, INSEAD in France, and the London School of Economics, Westminster University and other prominent universities in the UK.
The scholarships are an extension of Sheikh Al Jaber's belief that individuals can make a difference, and that education is the key. Sheikh Al Jaber has continued his own education throughout his business life, and regularly attends lectures, conferences and roundtables focusing on peace, tolerance, democracy and sustainable development in the broader Middle East/North Africa. In recognition of this work, Sheikh Al Jaber was awarded a Doctorate of Letters from Westminster University in 2004.
Advancement of women's education
Sheikh Al Jaber is committed to the advancement of women's education in the Arab world. This has led to his generous support of a number of projects, including a major donation to Dar El Hekmah Private College for Women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The donation doubles the campus of the College and provides new academic and social facilities for faculty and students.
The first tranche of graduates from the College was supported by MBI Al Jaber Foundation scholarships enabling several womens students to come to London to earn their Master's Degrees.
UNESCO
In 2003, MBI Al Jaber entered into a series of agreements with the Director-General of UNESCO, which further underline his commitment to broader aspects of education and tolerance in the Arab world. These range from Kitab fi Jarida, which enables the serialization and free distribution of classic Arab texts via newspapers, to an ambitious project for educational reform and the Arabisation of internet domain names, providing greater access to the internet for Arabic speakers from anywhere in the world.
Education Reform
A further project under the aegis of UNESCO and funded by Sheikh Al Jaber is the Arab High Level Commission for Education Reform.
Dismayed by the lack of advances in education in many Arab countries (as outlined in recent UNDP reports) Sheikh Al Jaber feels keenly that school curricula and teacher training need to compete better with their counterparts in the West. The Arab High Level Commission, made up of leading Arab academics and educationalists, will advise on the restructuring of education systems and their contents with a view to regional cooperation and harmonization of Arab education systems vital in an increasingly competitive world.
A consequence of MBI Al Jaber's work in this area is his nomination as a UNESCO Special Envoy, as the Director-General 's personal representative for education, human rights, tolerance, peace and democracy.
Conflict resolution
MBI Al Jaber has a strong commitment to conflict resolution in the Middle East and supports Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking both personally and through his philanthropic activities.
Willing to take personal risks for peace, he was the only Arab businessman outside Palestine to attend the 1 December 2003 Geneva Initiative for Public Commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, and he continues to support the initiative extensively. He is also a founding sponsor of the Olive Tree Educational Trust Project, a unique programme which brings Palestinian and Israeli students together to study peace, democracy, tolerance and conflict resolution at City University in London.
In 2004 City University recognized MBI Al Jaber's combination of business acumen and philanthropy with the award of an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science.