His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Great Arab Minds initiative, the Arab world’s most significant intellectual movement, on 4th January 2022, and allocated an AED100 million budget to fund it.
The initiative is designed to search for exceptional talents among Arab scientists, thinkers, and innovators across key fields to identify, support, and acknowledge leading thinkers in the region, amplifying their impact on the region.
Over five years, the Great Arab Minds initiative will identify the 1,000 most influential Arab minds across six categories:
- Natural Sciences (Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry)
- Economics
- Medicine
- Literature and Arts
- Engineering and Technology
- Architecture and Design
The initiative will also collaborate with governments, universities, and research institutions in the Arab world to support, empower, and honor these great minds and invest in them to ensure a brighter future for the region.
Each year, the Great Arab Minds list will be announced at an award ceremony at the Museum of the Future in Dubai to honor those who made it to the list. The Great Arab Minds Award will be granted to one awardee from each of the six award categories. Each winner will receive AED 1 million to fund their research and projects in the Arab World, further amplifying their impact on the region.
Great Arab Minds will also have the opportunity to enroll in the Great Arab Minds Program, which provides them with access to resources that enable them to continue their work in collaboration with prestigious companies and institutions worldwide.
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Reigniting the Arab Civilizational Drive
The Great Arab Minds initiative is a quest to rekindle the passion of great minds and pioneers in scientific and cultural fields to promote knowledge-based development. It draws inspiration from Arab history to re-establish a sustainable modern-day model of the Arab world’s “Golden Age,” which was the height of the region’s cultural, economic, and scientific advancement.
Moreover, the initiative seeks to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of Arab scholars, innovators, and thinkers with the aim of becoming a beacon of knowledge in the world.
The initiative serves as a knowledge and intellectual powerhouse that embodies the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to support ‘brain regain’ in the Arab world. By recognizing and empowering great minds, the initiative aims to keep those talents in the region, and they will become role models for future Arab generations that contributed to the development of human civilization and knowledge.
Arab scientists emerged in the darkest periods of history as an illuminating torch that contributed to developing human civilization and knowledge.
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Two-thirds of the stars’ names in astronomy have Arabic origins.
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The field of Algebra originated in the Arab region.
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Algorithms were first written in Arabic
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The science of optics has its roots in the Arab world.
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The fields of medicine, philosophy, pharmacy, astronomy, among others flourished due to the contributions of great Arab minds.
Main Objectives
Facilitating the recognition of Arab thought leaders, scholars, scientists, and geniuses in
Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Medicine, Architecture and Design, Economics, and Literature and arts.
Establishing a platform for innovation to transform ideas into real-life breakthroughs and solutions.
Countering the efects and costs of the brain drain across the Arab world by creating promising opportunities to attract and retain Arab talent.
Empowering a cluster of Arab scientists and thinkers to serve as role models for future
Arab generations.
Building a network of Arab thinkers, scientists, and exceptional talents to work as
one team to drive the Arab world’s intellectual renaissance.
Encouraging Arabs to publish scientific research and work on innovations and inventions in various fields.
Promoting and accelerating the growth of the knowledge-based economy in the Arab world.
Maximizing the impact of the Great Arab Minds, their scientific contributions, and their
projects on Arab societies.