Chapter ONE THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY: CONCEPT AND PROBLEMATICS REPORT REPORT INTRODUCTION today and the entities towards which societies have been moving since the end The theoretical framework of the Arab Knowledge of the 20th Century and the beginning Report for the year 2010/2011 is determined of the 21st Century. The most important through addressing the central concept, which the of these include the ‘information society’, GENERAL GENERAL report aims to highlight and discuss thoroughly. ‘network society’, ‘knowledge economy’, This central concept is represented in ‘preparing and ‘knowledge society’. These terms can the young Arab generations for the knowledge be used interchangeably, even though society’ as an objective and a means to achieve the each term emphasises some aspects, and desired Arab renaissance. This chapter addresses excludes others, of the transformational the concept of the knowledge society in relation phenomenon we are experiencing (Judith to the preparation of the young along with a Sachs, in English, 2008). The Arab Human number of significant problematic issues relating Development Report for 2003 considered to the Arab renaissance and involvement in the that knowledge was a tool to expand the The concept of knowledge society: Cultural development in the options and abilities of human beings, preparing future Arab region, the inherent contradiction in the and it was the main key to achieving knowledge society and knowledge economies, the comprehensive development. It also generations for burning of stages and the change in education defined the knowledge society as one based tomorrow is related systems. on the dissemination and production of to the concept The concept of preparing the future generations knowledge, employing it efficiently in all of building the for tomorrow is related to the concept of building areas of community activity, economy, civil knowledge society the knowledge society as a whole. In short, most society and politics, as well as in private of the starting points, requirements and elements life where knowledge has increasingly as a whole requested in the Arab Knowledge Report for become a powerful engine for economic 2009 for the establishment of a knowledge society and social transformations (UNDP, 2003). in the Arab region are revisited: To expand the The UNESCO Report issued in 2005 area of freedom, education reform, consolidate IT adopted the concept of the knowledge infrastructure, and creativity stimulation. To that society and used it in the plural form, end, a window should be opened to communicate ‘knowledge societies,’ considering it most with ourselves and the world to bridge the consistent with the transformations taking knowledge gap which will increase daily and place in a world in which the technological become more difficult to remedy if ignored. dimension represents the cornerstone of society and in which the new economy and THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY: communication networks represent the THE CONCEPT AND main features of its general structure. ITS RELATION TO THE The first Arab Knowledge Report for PREPARATION OF THE 2009 elaborated on the significance of the FUTURE GENERATIONS term ‘knowledge’ in the concept of the ‘knowledge society’ to include cultural and There are many terms that describe the civilisational dimensions, not restricting it enormous changes we are living through to scientific and technological dimensions GENERAL REPORT - THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY: CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMATICS 13 as in the fulcrums and indicators of the technology, which has emerged since the knowledge economy stated in some 1970s: the scientific revolution associated literature, such as the World Bank’s reports. with a new global awareness influenced The Arab Knowledge Report stresses by the communications revolution, and that the knowledge society, which some the knowledge revolution (or ‘post- call the ‘digital society,’ is a society project modernism’ as it is called in the West). and is larger than its tools and internet All these revolutions spawned coherent networks. Thus, it was possible for the contexts composing of new emerging Arab Knowledge Report to adequately paradigm which are called by different express that the ‘knowledge society’ is a names - as mentioned above - but the one step ahead of the ‘information society’ we have settled on is the term or paradigm as agreed upon now by many experts of the ‘knowledge society’. who hold the view that information Since we are involved in studying the and communication technology has led processes of preparing the young for the to the realisation that ‘knowledge’ has knowledge society, we must point to the become the principle and driving force pivotal role of increased investment in for all dimensions of economic, social, rehabilitation, formation and education political and cultural changes taking place in order to develop the human resources The Arab around us in today’s world (the UNDP suited to this quantum leap in the economy Knowledge Report and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and knowledge society. Researchers have stresses that the Foundation, 2009). In this sense this predicted what is happening in the world knowledge society, report emphasises, with respect to the regarding the radical shift in these aspects which some call preparation of the young, that the Arab of society and the movement of the ‘digital society,’ vision of the knowledge society must take production to a new stage. They stressed a comprehensive course. It tends towards that cooperation between people and is a society project building a society where knowledge countries was the result of disparity in and is larger becomes the product of combining the knowledge and skills and that investment than its tools and cultures of information, experience and in education would reduce the gap not only internet networks ability to govern, in order to rationalise between people but between countries resources, mobilise and use the available as well (Bell, in English, 1973). That idea means to reach the renaissance and enjoy enjoyed considerable support, particularly the gains of human development. at the beginning of the 1990s, because In the context of attempting to the basis of growth in economic wealth understand and explain the new global involved knowledge workers. However, changes, including the cultural, political, the main wealth-producing activities will social and educational aspects around not be in the use of raw materials, capital us, an Arab researcher (Al-Sayyid Yasin, or labour; rather, the added value will be in Arabic, 2000) adopted a general produced through innovation and creativity concept that has spread through social and through the application of knowledge science circles in recent years. This concept, at work. The value of products will be or ‘paradigm,’ coined by Thomas Kuhn in determined in the ‘knowledge’ retained his noted book ‘The Structure of Scientific in the final product (Druker, in English, Revolutions’, can be translated into Arabic 1994). as ‘The Complete Theoretical Model’. The Another researcher (Tuomi, in English, researcher’s observation confirmed that the 2001) attempts to monitor the development old paradigm, which had prevailed before, of the information and knowledge revolution had fallen along with its political, value and and its growth in three waves. He argues that cognitive meaning, and that a new paradigm the first wave - roughly from the beginning was being created with the ascendance of of the 1970s to the beginning of the the new revolution in communications 1990s - was associated with an anticipated 14 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT 2010/2011 ICT revolution, which was expected to and implement appropriate technology lead to, and did lead to, the convergence policies in isolation. Technology policies of television and telecommunications. and social policies have to be developed This led to a focus on deregulation and in a complementary way and strive for network infrastructure and to technology complementary objectives. It is necessary, development initiatives, especially in if we want the ‘society’ in information Japan, Europe and the United States. The society to be more than a rhetorical second wave started at the beginning device, to develop a more sophisticated REPORT REPORT of the 1990s of the previous century appreciation of these social issues” and focused on global competitiveness, (Ducatel, in English, 2000). economic growth, protection of privacy, and intellectual property rights. Its key KNOWLEDGE AND difference from the first wave was the TECHNOLOGY AND emerging concern about the haves and COMMUNICATION GENERAL GENERAL have-nots, i.e., the ‘digital gap’, within the REVOLUTION same country and between countries in the The emergence of world, as well as the stress on the concept The knowledge society has been based of globalisation due to the expansion of on multiple revolutions in information the so-called ‘digital networks and progressive accumulation and communications technology, and the gap within the of information technology. The second accompanying revolutions in thought, same country and wave spread rapidly around the world, and values and culture, as well as in all aspects between nations quickly found itself surfing an even bigger of social and political life. Knowledge has wave, the internet. What distinguished become the basis for the production and in the world’ is the information and telecommunication the main driver of economic and social the result of the technologies in the first and second