Ahmed Friaa, President of the Tunisian Forum for Knowledge and Human Development, to La Presse: “Tunisia can become the Singapore of Africa”
“The world is currently living at the rate of profound changes and it is imperative that our young people are in tune with technological innovations. It is essential not to miss the boat and to prepare them for the era of competition of intelligences”.
A partnership agreement aimed at the exchange of knowledge and technological developments has just been signed between the Tunisian Forum for Knowledge and Human Development – FTSDH, chaired by Ahmed Friaa, former minister, the Chinese Association for the Management of Technology (CAMOT) and the Tunisian Association for Road Safety.
A ceremony was held in Tunis also attended by Professor Richard Li Hua, President of Camot, Afif Frigui, President of the Tunisian Association for Road Safety (ATPR) and Ezzeddine Jebali, President of the Friendship Association Tunisian-Chinese. Focus on young people
The purpose of this agreement is to create a partnership with a group of universities among the most important in China and other universities in the West, particularly in America and Europe, with a view to exchanging respective experiences and helping young Tunisians to integrate the knowledge society.
“The goal is therefore to open up prospects for our young people in the context of the technological revolution that the world is currently experiencing”, declared to the newspaper La Presse, the president of the Tunisian Forum for Knowledge and Human Development, Ahmed Friaa.
“Tunisia has enough skills to aspire to become the Singapore of Africa. If we manage to exploit the intelligence of our children, we are able to become a radiant country on a regional and continental scale. It is through knowledge and the transfer of modern technologies that we manage to overcome crises. The world is currently living at the rate of profound changes and it is imperative that our young people are in tune with technological innovations. It is essential not to miss the boat and to prepare them for the era of competition of intelligences. It is also for these reasons that our Forum works to disseminate scientific and technological culture, particularly among young people, to help them identify and then carry out development projects in disadvantaged regions. The FTSDH also works on improving the employability of young people.
Meetings, demonstrations and seminars on themes related to the objectives of the association are periodically organized for this purpose”, explains the former minister, Ahmed Friaa.
He takes up at the end the quote from Stephen Hawking: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but rather the illusion of knowledge”.
Tunisia, a technology transfer hub
For his part, Professor Richard Li Hua said that he is visiting our country for the first time within the framework of cooperation with Tunisian institutions. “A cooperation that particularly targets the transfer of knowledge and technologies.
The signing of this partnership agreement was encouraged by the significant infrastructure that our country has in terms of technology,” notes the Chinese guest who, it should be noted, enjoys a notorious reputation on an international scale.
He is Distinguished Professor of Strategic Management and Leadership and Strategic Advisor at Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai Campus, China, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pennsylvania State University, USA, and at Bournemouth University, UK.
He is also President of Camot Innovation Academy, Cambridge, UK and was Visiting Scholar at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge (2009) and President and Vice-Chancellor of SIAS International University, China.
“Tunisia has the means to become a technology transfer hub for other African countries due to the large number of study and research centers available to the country. It lacks neither innovation nor human and entrepreneurial intelligence, which are prerequisites for ensuring the transfer of knowledge and technologies to other African countries,” concludes Professor Richard Li Hua.
It should be recalled that the China Association for Technology Management (CAMOT) is an international organization that is committed to “encouraging and supporting researchers and professionals who conduct research on technology management in China”. . It aims to “establish national, regional and international collaborative research programs in the field of technology management, technological innovation, technology transfer as well as knowledge transfer by engaging government agencies, financing, educational institutions, state-owned enterprises as well as the private sectors in China”.
The association in question is incorporated into the International Association for Technology Management (IAMOT) and the International Forum for Technology Management (IFTM), offers its members association with professionals and scholars in the field.
What place then for the Tunisian Association of Road Safety in this agreement? Its president, Afif Frigui spoke in his speech about the smart vehicle and the smart road of the future. We must be well prepared for the advent of a new era with even more connected cars in the years to come and even sections of road that can enter into communication with vehicles, with the aim of making life even more secure. driver and put an end to road accidents.