Executing phase one of the Digital Teaching Project

On March 10, 2009 a press conference was held at the Ministry of Education where his Royal Highness Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Al Faysal announced the accomplishment of the first phase of the digital teaching initiative, in the presence of the Minister of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon, and member of Arab Thought Foundation trustees board

Mrs. Bahia Hariri, His Excellency Ali Omlil Marco’s Ambassador in Lebanon, responsible of the Saudi Embassy in Beirut Adel Khashan, MP Ghinwa Jalloul, General manager of Intel for the Middle East the Nordic and the North Africa Khaled Al Amrawi, General secretary of Arab Thought Foundation Dr. Suleiman Abdel Menaam, President of the Lebanese Journalists’ Association Melhem Karam, General director of education M. Fadi Yarak,  Director of the Educational Center for Research and Development Dr. Layla Fayad, head of the Digital Teaching project at the Ministry Dana Chedid, as well as the specialized board at the ECRD and many Lebanese teachers and schools principals.
In her speech, Minister Hariri welcomed his Royal highness Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Al Faysal who took in charge the preparations for Fikr Conferences held by the Arab Thought Foundation since its establishment, and praised his distinguish role in developing the mechanisms of these conferences and its subjects and techniques.
Mrs. Hariri also praised the aspirations of the Arab Thought Foundation that consistently pursued, since its beginning, the establishment of a revival partnership between the capabilities of the intellectual and financial nation in order to upgrade the Arabic Nation and to work towards its evolution, stability and prosperity.
Then Mrs. Hariri addressed in the name of Beirut and of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education a special thank you for the His Highness Prince Bandar and for the Arab Thought Foundation for their initiative to spread the digital teaching in the Arab World, and for offering, and in cooperation with the International Company Intel, a grant of 560 educational computers that were distributed to nine public schools across Lebanon, in addition to the training sessions that Intel offered during October and November on the techniques aiming at combining technology in the educational curriculum.  
Mrs. Hariri pointed that this grant is part of a bigger grant offered to several Arab countries and is based on the belief of the Arab thought Foundation president and board of trustees in the importance of education in the uplifting and progress process, then asked all associations to follow the Arab Thought Foundation’s model in having a real partnership in the development, growth, prosperity and stability. She also invited the president of the Arab Thought Foundation and the board of trustees to come to Beirut on May 2010 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Arab Thought Foundation as a loyal gesture from Beirut addressed to the lawful and in order to assume her responsibilities towards its country and nation.  
His Royal Highness, Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Al Faysal thanked Mrs. Hariri for the patronage and support of the first phase of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Arab Thought Foundation and Intel to distribute 9000 (nine thousand) educational personal computers on the neediest Arab students.  The prince considered that this initiative participates in upgrading the importance of knowledge that the Foundation aims at achieving, based upon its belief that education and knowledge are the basis of building man that is the real treasure of a country: since “ameliorating the learning environment offered to our children is not only limited to the head of the education sector and the government alone, but is the fruit of a common work and effort among all society categories”. His Highness also announced the determination to pursue this journey, and the second phase of the project from Lebanon, he also announced the existence of a similar grant to be offered to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan so the total number of offered computers to 2240.
His Excellency also expressed his hope that this initiative becomes a continuous journey to achieve an educational model built on thinking, creativity, interaction, and talents and experience acquiring, in a way that participates in the development of teaching. At the end, His Highness hoped that this initiative- sponsored and supported by the Arab Thought Foundation Board of Trustees- becomes a motivation for the Arab business man in order to condense the efforts and offer more grants and assistance to the educational institutions at their communities in order to promulgate digital teaching all over the Arab nation.
From his part, Mr. Khaled Al Amrawi, Intel representative said that the Company’s board “found that this project had a special favor”, and believed that “the computer doesn’t lead to progress and that the investment in the minds is what leads to the progress that results from training teachers on the computer usage, and the establishment of a communication infrastructure in schools”. Al Amrawi also noted that this phase “will be evaluated in six months, to measure the student’s profiting extent”.