Welcome back to our live coverage of our MENA meeting from the Dead Sea. The first live sessions of the day will kick-off in an hour or so, and you can follow us throughout the day here on our live blog, on our social channels and on our blog, Agenda.
Around the world, more women are being elevated to positions of diplomatic and political leadership, and the Arab world is no exception.
As the world prepares to usher in a new wave of globalization, and with a substantial part of society still feeling battered and bruised by the last one, how is this new era viewed by people in the Middle East and North Africa?
Research company Qualtrics and SAP have analysed data from a large study of respondents across the region, and we'll bring you some of their main findings throughout the day on our live blog.
Here's the first snippet, based on the first question - can we save the planet without killing economic growth?
Here's how people in the region feel about the trustworthiness of climate science...
And on the causes of climate change...
And on how to punish the world's biggest polluters...
On the panel:
Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates
Janet Heckman, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Atle Idland, Desert Control Middle East FZ-LLC
Rita Schwarzeluehr-Sutter, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
Reem Khouri, Whyise (Moderator)
Atle Idland, notes that many people are forced to leave their homes due to water shortages and a food insecurity as a result of increasing desertification.
Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, on the need for political in action on climate change he says the talking needs to end and policy implementation needs to happen.
"We have to roll up our sleeves and do the work we have to do," he said.
He added, "For us, as governments, for sure we want to ensure that the air that we breathe and all people breathe is healthy, the water that was applied to the communities and public is going to be safe, that the food we provide has the highest standard of health as possible."
Rita Schwarzeluehr-Sutter, noted that the private sector is a critical partner with governments on climate action. She pointed to incentives as a way to encourage the private sector to use renewables.
Idland is optimistic that the MENA region is deploying resources to fight climate change.
"We see that adopting new technologies, adopting Smart technologies, is really happening in the Middle East," he said.
Janet Heckman pointed out that the private sector injects important efficiencies into developing and implementing projects.
Impact of climate change on migration
Background reading:
Resources in the region are under increasing pressure - whether from water scarcity or waste management.
Research suggests that 'water wars' will likely be fought in the future, as a result of climate change and increasing populations triggering competition for the resource.
What can leaders do to prevent the next regional crisis?
The Belt and Road Initiative includes 1/3 of world trade and over 60% of the world's population and is driving new partnerships between China and the Middle East.
These new relationships could see a shift in how countries in the Middle East and China work together - so what does the future hold?
On the panel:
He Wenping, Professor and Director, Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
Li Chengwen, Ambassador for China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
Ryan Hass, Foreign Policy Fellow, The Brookings Institution.
Shandana Gulzar Khan, Deputy Minister and Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan.
Read more on the Belt and Road.
The region is embracing and adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. But, as new technologies transform how value is created and distributed how can policymakers ensure no-one is left behind?
On the panel:
Khalid Al Rumaihi, Bahrain Economic Development Board
Wafa Ben-Hassine, Access Now
Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum
Mudassir Sheikha, Careem
Murat Sönmez, World Economic Forum
Lara Habib, Al Arabiya (Moderator)
Wafa Ben-Hassine, noted that the MENA region has a young population that is tech-savvy, which is great leverage to engage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
She added that government policies that support a range of innovations including machine learning or providing e-government services need to adopt a user-centred framework.
The UAE is well poised for the new industrial revolution, according to Omar bin Sultan Al Olama.
"We're ... developing incentives for AI companies, developing incentives for data centres to move to the UAE and we understand 100% that the new industrial revolution is focused on quality data and computers."
Mudassir Sheikha, highlighted the importance of leapfrogging into the digital future so that the MENA region gains parity with the rest of the world.
"Technology is known for killing jobs and automation seems like a bad word but in this case and there are examples outside of Careem as well, where platforms like Careem have created a lot of jobs and infrastructure that wasn't there before," he said.
Khalid Al Rumaihi, talked about the complicated issue of data protection. He argued that protection means that individual companies need to have a key role in protecting citizens' data.
Al Olama echoed the point noting that his government has been proactive in partnering with and maintaining an open dialogue with companies.
"Every single time a company does something that might not fit 100% with our outlook for the future, we come and sit with them on the table," he said. "So my guiding star is responsible development and we put this on all technology and that is the call that I would say for all private sector companies."
Sheikha acknowledged that technological advancement comes with risks, but said that they're important to take for development. He argued, too, that innovators must also take responsibility.
"We need to ensure the safety of the people taking rides with us, in the same way that Facebook probably needs to ensure that fake news are not becoming a big part of the platform and creating side effects," he said.
Al Rumaihi, also stressed the importance of being at the vanguard of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
"I think it would be detrimental to the Middle East if we ignore what technology has to offer," he said. "Not just for the technology and its sake but the jobs."
He added, "Ultimately all of us in the Middle East need to create jobs and these jobs are going to come in the future as engineer, coder, data scientists."
Murat Sönmez highlighted the complex nature of implementing ethics in Artificial Intelligence. He argued that ethics cannot be legislated as they're regiona and country specific. But he said it is important to develop standards that reflect the value system of individual countries.
"We cannot impose each other's values and hopefully we will each have that common AI ethical principles and then we can push it down," he said. "We have to make sure the data is representative, not biased."
Background reading:
Read more about start-ups and technology in the Middle East.
Here's the next insight from the Qualtrics/SAP report on how the Arab world feels about globalization. This time, respondents were asked - how do we make sure technology makes life better, not worse?
Here's what they had to say...
The global community has made significant progress in tackling ISIS, with territory regained across Syria and Iraq. But propaganda still continues to recruit foreign fighters.
So, how can we protect at-risk populations?
On the panel:
Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Founder, Imad Association for Youth and Peace.
Anne Speckhard, Director, International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism
Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary-General, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar
Abdullah Abdullah, CEO of Afghanistan government.
First question up - has ISIS been defeated 100%?
Anne Speckhard says: "You can kill a person, take a territory, but getting an idea is a whole other matter, and the idea still lives."
"ISIS was selling a dream of an Islamic caliphate with purpose and dignity, and that dream still lives," she adds.
What motivates these groups to prey on young boys to join them?
"There are four things that make it a rest, a group, and ideology, social support, and your abilities," says Speckhard.
"If you are a kid in Europe that is discriminated against and ISIS comes to you and says, 'I have got something better when you can belong, I've got a wife for you,' or if you are Tunisian and you can't get married because you are impoverished and they say, 'Come, there are beautiful girls here,' ... The group is really crafty on pulling people in."
Abdullah Abdullah talks about the roots of the group. "It began with one single tribe, which is on the other side of our border with Pakistan ... Then there were some people from the Taliban who were not happy with their leadership and they joined ... They thought they were helping people with their families because they had come with their families and they were saying, 'Just accommodate us here,' but the first thing they did was, once they consolidated their feet on the ground, they blew up 10 elders from the same tribe ... Even to describe it is difficult."
Is education the answer?
Latifa Ibn Ziaten, whose son, a French soldier, was killed by a terrorist in Toulouse, says: "It is true that education is at the root of the solution.
"It is of utmost importance. Education is critical for youth, because that is what needs to be done for the future, but you have to consider vulnerability, and some young people feel discriminated against.
"When I speak to young people, I ask them, 'Why do you do this? Why are you joining this terrorist sect why are you so full of hatred?' They say, 'Well, the French public has forgotten us. The state has left us aside. We are not like other young people."
So young must be the focus, she adds. "Education is the first step, but children need to be supported in every walk of their lives, and, as a mother of Moroccan origin – I am French, my families in France, and that is the experience I have every day. We must listen to our young people. We must support our young people, whoever they are. They need support."
How do you protect them from propaganda, like videos they watch on the internet. "First of all, a child should never be in a vacuum ... And the people who produce these videos must be stopped. This message should not be conveyed to young people. What must be shown to young people is something that can help them have hope in their future.
"There is still a lot of hatred online When you insult somebody online, on social media, it goes worldwide. But when you send a letter, you can tear the piece of paper and put it in the garbage can. Men have set up this machinery and it must be better controlled.
"I paid the highest possible price. I lost a son of 30. Without the machinery, my son would be here."
Hassan Al Thawadi, who is in charge of delivering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, says sport can act as a unifier. "I think it goes without saying, if you look at the one unifier and the one element that is a unifier between most global citizens in the world, it is sports. And it is football.
"You can go to any corner of the world and have a heated debate as to who is the best football player in the world - Ronaldo or Messi? And that will be regardless of language, ethnicity and creed, and even some of the most radical followers would still have an element of passion for sports in it."
To what extent do we also have to focus on right-wing or white supremacist extremism?
"We have to fight violent extremism in every one of its forms and do the things from all of us," says Anne Speckhard. "The government needs to take down this poison that the kids are drinking so that other people's sons don't die.
"The big tech companies when it comes to ISIS, they now have a library of their films and images, so they can find it by machine learning. But they are smart. In Albania, our research director found 500 Facebook profiles putting out ISIS hatred and they spell 'Jihad' with a 1 so they can't find it. Right-wing extremism is even harder to find by machine learning."
Who needs to step up their game? Latifa Ibn Ziaten says: "There is a great responsibility as parents. The role of parents is as important as education. Of course, the worshippers, the imam is there to pass on a message of peace and love ... [but] Radicalisation takes place in prisons, even in sports centres.
"We should open our eyes, whether it is in the sports sector or in prisons or even in schools. Today, I see young girls, young boys in schools that are radicalised ... People are blind ... For me, today, I openly say that everybody is responsible ... We have to give a chance to this generation, to this youth. When I talk with young people of 12-14 years old, they have no hope. How can we have a 13-year-old not having any hope? ... They should be dreaming at that age.
"That is why I go to families, because today, if we can pull out of this trap, again, we have to work with families. The government has to do its job, and all citizens, all members of society. The media, for example, all have to take their own share of responsibility so that they make a better world for these young people."
What are the prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine?
Our session on this topic was, as you may expect, quite lively.
The full session is available here. In the meantime, here's a couple of clips from the discussion.
From Saeb Erekat, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian National Authority...
And Dalia Dassa Kaye, Director, Center for Middle East Public Policy, RAND Corporation...
To thrive in the era of globalization, the Middle East and North Africa requires more cooperation.
But what hurdles and challenges will need to be overcome to allow further integration and collaboration?
Watch here for the full session.
Here's a sneak peak from Alan Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding:
As well as Adel Boseli, CEO of Amal Glass DMCC.
Background reading:
Learn more about the challenges facing the region.
Here's a snapshot from a report by research firm Qualtrics and SAP on how people living in MENA feel about patriotism and immigration.
From adapting to our changing climate and creating jobs for young people to the rise of Arab women and the region's most exciting start-ups, here's a look at some of the key moments from our MENA summit at the Dead Sea in Jordan.
That's it from us at the beautiful Dead Sea in Jordan, thanks for following us on the live blog and our social channels over the last few days. It's been a pleasure - we hope you've enjoyed it too.
We'll see you next time!
نسدل الستار على اجتماعنا ونودعكم من شواطئ البحر الميت الجميلة في الأردن. نشكر لكم متابعتكم لمدونتنا وقنوات التواصل الاجتماعي الخاصة بنا خلال الأيام الماضية. سعدنا بمتابعتكم، ونأمل أن تكونوا قد سعدتم معنا.
إلى لقاءٍ قريب.
👋👋👋