The Closing Ceremony of "The Role of Digital Transformation and AI Applications in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab Region” Conference
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The Bibliotheca Alexandrina has witnessed the closing ceremony of the international conference "The Role of Digital Transformation and AI Applications in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab Region (MENA)’, which was sponsored by the Library and organized by the Arab Institution of Knowledge Management (AIKM) and the IFLA Regional Division Committee for the Middle East and North Africa (IFLA-MENA).
The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Prof. Khaled Al-Halaby, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Institution of Knowledge Management (AIKM); and Dr. Saif Al-Jabri, Chairman of the IFLA Regional Committee for the Middle East and North Africa (IFLA-MENA). A total of 213 participants took part in the event. They represented 13 Arab countries, namely Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The conference produced a number of recommendations, including the importance of positively embracing smart systems. It also called on stakeholders to expedite the preparation of codes of ethics for artificial intelligence and draft the necessary laws and legislations that govern the practices of artificial intelligence, particularly with regard to the protection of intellectual property.
The conference stressed the importance of information institutions promoting information literacy in order to maximize citizens’ benefit from digital transformation projects. It also highlighted the importance of launching a comprehensive strategy for digital transformation to achieve sustainable development goals.
Moreover, it encouraged cooperation between academic institutions to disseminate research and promote innovation.