Education Without Borders: The visionary governance of the UAE

On Feb. 19, 2005, we were gathered in Abu Dhabi for the largest conference on e-learning at the time, Education Without Borders, held under the patronage of then Minister of Higher Education Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan and Dr. Tayeb Kamali, director of Abu Dhabi Men’s College and chairman of the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training. Also participating were Nobel prize winners Murray Gell-Mann and Carlo Rubbia, CEO of Boeing Lewis Platt and CEO of Thales Denis Ranque.

At that time, no one could tell what e-learning and distance education would be nor predict the tremendous potential that would emerge from these new technologies. I remember returning to the Senate in Paris and hearing my husband, who presided over the France-Gulf countries friendship group, explain the principles of e-learning to his skeptical colleagues.

Today, exactly 17 years later and with e-learning as ubiquitous as it is, I think about our discussions at the time and the conviction that traditional education, with a blackboard and a physically present teacher in the classroom, still had good days ahead.

E-learning is one of the ways the UAE was able to outpace many countries in the world in terms of education.

The vision of Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, has proven to be a success more than ever before.

By earmarking, since its inception, a very large percentage of its budget (over 14 percent in 2020) to education, including that of girls, the UAE has laid the foundations of a solid and educated nation that today boasts incredible talent and rapid development.

The UAE dates back only to 1971, but so much progress has been made since then, not only because the country is rich in hydrocarbons but because it has invested in intelligence and its youth.

Today, the whole world is flocking to Dubai to visit the World Expo. The UAE, which has undoubtedly been the most effective in its management of the COVID-19 health crisis, is once again attracting mass tourism.

Political advances and the Abraham Accords have supported this success.

By earmarking, since its inception, a very large percentage of its budget (over 14 percent in 2020) to education, including that of girls, the UAE has laid the foundations of a solid and educated nation.

Nathalie Goulet

Who could have imagined 17 years ago that the country would see Jewish tourists be able to wear kippahs at the Dubai Mall, celebrate holidays in a synagogue and eat kosher thanks to a special office in charge of certifications and a rabbi stationed in the UAE?

On this anniversary of the first session of Education Without Borders that was held on Feb. 19 and 20, 2005, I want to declare myself as a friend of the UAE. 

I wish to bear witness to the exceptional governance of the country, to a society that is characterized by respect and that has found a balance between tradition and modernity.

The UAE is an ally of France and Europe, and its constant struggle against radical Islamism only strengthens our long-standing and close relations.

The inspirational success of this country is not simply the result of the country’s wealth in hydrocarbon but rather stems out of informed governance, political choices and a winning bet on education.

The Emirati passport today is probably the most sought-after or the most “bankable” passport — and that is the way it should be.

This country is a model for the rest of the Middle East, and we cannot but rejoice for having excellent relations with it. If you think unthinkable .. you think United Arabs Emirates

• Nathalie Goulet is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Orne department (Normandy). Twitter: @senateur61