October 21, 2003

Arab Human Development Report 2003

The latest report, just released, has been covered heavily in the news in the past few days. It is available for download at the UNDP site linked below.
Today's program on "The Connection" features a discussion of the report and reaction. It will be archived at WBUR.


UNDP - Arab Human Development Report 2003

Building a Knowledge Society
"AHDR 2002 challenged the Arab world to overcome three cardinal obstacles to human development posed by widening gaps in freedom, women's empowerment and knowledge across the region.
Looking at international, regional and local developments affecting Arab countries since the report was issued confirms that those challenges remain critically pertinent and may have become even graver, especially in the area of freedom. Nowhere is this more apparent than the status of Arab knowledge at the beginning of the 21st century, the theme of this second report. Despite the presence of significant human capital in the region, AHDR 2003 concludes that disabling constraints hamper the acquisition, diffusion and production of knowledge in Arab societies. This human capital, under more promising conditions, could offer a substantial base for an Arab knowledge renaissance.

Posted by Jane on October 21, 2003 10:49 AM in Development , Research