Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber - The Vision
Recent UNDP reports have shown that the Arab world is falling behind in key areas of development: Mr Al Jaber is a firm believer in reform to bring about progress, and sees education as a key element for change.
Programmes of educational reform
Mr Al Jaber has entered into a ground-breaking agreement with the Director-General of UNESCO to support programmes of educational reform in the Arab world, and has subsequently been named as the Director-General 's special envoy on education, human rights, tolerance and democracy.
Commitment to Middle East conflict resolution
In addition, as part of his personal commitment to conflict resolution in the Middle East, and in particular Israel-Palestine, Mr Al Jaber has been an active supporter of the 2003 Geneva Initiative and is a founding patron of the Olive Tree Project, which each year brings together 20 Israeli & Palestinian students to encourage mutual understanding and to create a community of graduates committed to the pursuit of human rights and economic welfare.
Importance of education
Education has always been of the highest importance to Mr Al Jaber and he has continued to pursue his studies throughout his career whilst simultaneously running his multinational businesses. Mr Al Jaber has studied Middle Eastern History and Politics at SOAS, University of London, where he is the founding sponsor of the London Middle East Institute and where the Chair of Middle East Studies bears his name.
His desire to provide practical assistance to the community, especially the young, has resulted in contributions to various important educational initiatives, including the establishment of the eponymous MBI Al Jaber Foundation of which he is sole patron.
For several years now, scholarships have been granted to an ever-widening range of institutions, both in Britain and abroad.
Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber intends to continue his work in these and related areas in the coming years.